[color=#000000
ost_uid0]*spoilers - LOTS of spoilers*
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The matrix-within-the-matrix seemed to be the point, I thought. What else could the Architect have been talking about, regarding an option to cover the last 1%, and Neo having a purpose, and the machines already having destroyed Zion five times? And why else would Neo be able to stop the machines in the real world, just like in the Matrix ("I can... feel them...").
My guess is that there are at least three Matrixes (Matrices? Matrixi?). The second one we've just been exposed to. But if that Matrix-within-a-Matrix is the final one - why on Earth do the machines need the One, why assign him a purpose? They could just start the whole world over again every hundred years or so. The One doesn't need to select the Zion refugees - certainly the machines can do that. It would work like this -
The Lower Matrix is for the common person, simulating "normal life."
Then there is the Middle Matrix, for the "1%" - the rebellious and dissatisfied, who would otherwise cause trouble in the lower Matrix. Instead, they are led to believe that they are freedom fighters, fighting for the human race; in fact, they are still in the hands of the machines.
And then there is the Upper Matrix. This is for people like Neo - people so phenomonal, supermen who could not possibly be content without his incredible struggle. And if Neo needs to be a superhero, he needs plot twists, because otherwise (for example - if he wins), he stops being special. So the Upper Matrix fulfills that need - allowing Neo to realize he is still in the Matrix (the Middle Matrix now), but still keeping him in the machines' clutches. The choice at the end is a wonderful example - the machines know by now that risking the entire human race to save Trinity, out of love, is *exactly* the kind of thing that Neo needs to be doing in order to retain his self-image.
Of course, if the "Real World" is really still the Matrix, all bets are off. We don't know *who* the controllers are - they could be machines, they could be humans, they could be three-legged orangutangs from Alpha Centauri. This could make for a very surprising ending.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie a lot... very different from the original, of course. Now that Neo's beliefs about the nature of reality have been shaken up again, it is possible that the third movie will have more of the original's mysterious flavor.
The action scenes did begin to get tiresome after a while, though. I mean, practically Neo's [i
ost_uid0]definition[/i
ost_uid0] as the One is that he wins all the fights. So what's the point? The Morpheus and Trinity ones, on the other hand, had a bit more suspense. A bit.
What the movie *did* focus on, though you can really only see this in retrospect, is a casual examination of the way the Matrix works. It makes sense - last movie was mysterious, till the answers are revealed; now, we can explore some of the details. So we had all the programs - the Oracle, the Keymaker, and the rest. We had the remenants of previous versions of the Matrix - the Twins and werewolves and whatnot, providing explanation of the Matrix and the paranormal (great stuff for RPGs, btw). And the corridor of back doors. And so on.
So I'm looking forward to Revolutions... I particularly want to see what they do with the Agent Smiths (I'm a die-hard fan of clones and doubles). I hope it's something more interesting then "try to kill Neo."
Signing out, folks.[/color
ost_uid0]