Product Description

The first of Damaris Publishing's Thinking Fan's Guide series, providing in-depth analysis of the ideas behind the Matrix films written for fans of the films by fans of the films.

The book includes material to help you understand not only the plot of the films, but also the philosophical and religious concepts that are explored throughout the trilogy.

For people who love The Matrix and who aren't content to just fast forward from one action scene to the next.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #133491 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 220 pages

Christian Herald, March 27 2004
Complex and fascinating... best chewed over in bite sized chunks, and definitely worth savouring.

Excerpted from Matrix Revelations: A Thinking Fan's Guide to the Matrix Trilogy by Steve Couch. Copyright © 2003. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
(Excerpt from Chapter 4)
It Ends Tonight: The Matrix Revolutions

'Everything that has a beginning has an end'

So what was that all about then? The trilogy may have been brought to a conclusion, but not necessarily one that all the fans were happy about. Queuing to see the film a second time, I overheard some teenage girls discussing their expectations. One of them told the others "I’ll kill them if it doesn’t have a happy ending". It’s debatable whether or not the Wachowskis can sleep safely in their beds - is the ending a happy one or not? The war is over, which is good. But the Matrix still exists, with lots of people still plugged in, which is bad. But the Architect says whoever wants to be free will be released, which is good. But Neo is dead, which is very bad. But the Oracle says that she suspects we’ll see him again one day, which is . . . keeping the options open for a possible sequel. Loose ends of the story are tied up, although some are left ambiguously flapping in the computer-generated breeze. It wasn’t the ending some fans were hoping for, but maybe you can’t see past the denouement you don’t understand.

Producer Joel Silver has described The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions as being like two halves of the same movie, and to a large extent Revolutions carries on where its predecessor left off. We see the crew of the wrecked Nebuchadnezzer on board another ship, the Hammer, but Neo is still in a coma after stopping the Sentinels in their tracks at the end of Reloaded. Much of what follows fits the expectations we might have had after Reloaded, but there are also significant developments to direct our thinking in a new way. As Morpheus and Niobe might have it, some things in this trilogy never change, but some things do.

A Changed Man

One significant change, which adds to the dramatic tension during the action scenes, is that it is quickly established that Neo is not all-powerful. The laid-back, almost bored facial expression that characterised his fight with the agents at the beginning of Reloaded is wiped off Keanu’s face by his adventures in Mobil Ave train station. As he postures and threatens to get the Trainman to let him return to the Matrix with Sati and her family, he (aptly enough, given his location) gets nowhere. When the Trainman explains that ‘down here I make the rules. Down here I make the threats. Down here I’m God’, the Wachowskis make it clear that Neo’s superpowers aren’t always enough. Later, when Smith hovers in the sky and claims ‘This is my world! My world!’, the echo of the earlier scene is enough to make us doubt whether Neo has got what it takes to successfully slug it out. Meanwhile back in limbo, Neo decides that as the strong-arm stuff hasn’t worked, he’ll rely on his ability!
to travel large distances to get out of trouble. But following the train down the tunnel only brings him right back where he started. Where before we saw Neo speed hundreds of miles to rescue his friends, now he can’t even make it more than a hundred yards and is dependent on others to rescue him. Although Neo’s superpowers are still intact, he can’t always rely on them to save the day. The message is clear: even the One can’t be too sure of himself anymore. And the film is all the stronger for it.

But Neo's powers are still a formidable force, and they have grown. As revealed at the end of Reloaded, they somehow now function in the real world. It is unclear whether the real world is real, or whether it is just another layer of the Matrix , but if the former is true, how come Neo gets to be the One even when he’s not plugged in? Early clues are given in his neural activity while comatose on the Hammer. For some reason, his mind seems to still be located in the Matrix, even though his body isn’t connected. When Morpheus and Trinity are bringing Neo back after his rescue from the Train Station, Link doesn’t recognise Neo’s coding – something is different about Neo. Later the Oracle explains that the power of the One extends beyond the world of the Matrix because of his connection to the Source. It is never (I think) made entirely clear how this works, but the end result is that Neo’s perception of the real world is radically altered. When Neo is blinded in his fight with Bane, not only does his new-found vision get him out of trouble, but it also proves superior - the golden image that he sees reveals Bane’s true form - unlike the man on the hover craft, the man in the flame is wearing glasses. Like the blind seers of Greek mythology Neo doesn’t miss his sight, because what has taken its place helps him to see more clearly. And finally, for the first time in the trilogy, Neo understands what he has to do.

Customer Reviews

matrix revalations
I'm not the biggest book worm in the world, but being a fan of the matrix trilogy I found this book hard to put down. It goes through what happens in the films, and the issues they raise such as postmodernism, religion and whether we really are trapped in a 'matrix'. The book is clearly written by Christians, but this should not be a reason not to buy the book, as they deal fairly with the film, showing all the different philosophies surrounding it, and comparing them with Christianity and other religions/worldviews. The book is subtitled 'A thinking fan's guide' and it does achieve its goal, by provoking questions raised by the film, and making any reader think about how they view the world. If you enjoyed the philosophical side of the films, then this book is an excellent companion.

Shedding Light on a complicated subject
I found this book an excellent rescource for discussing culture, film and philosophy. The balance of authors makes for a range of perspectives and with a film like the Matrix that really helps as I think very few viewers have all the answers.
Well laid out and esay to read, this book is a must if you are seriuosly intersted in film or culture today.

Quick reactions
This fascinating book, published so soon after the release of the third Matrix film, is written by several people. However, it is very well edited and the book works as a whole, not as various unintegrated parts.
It is not a book that tells you what to think, but it does inform your thinking and enable you to worry away happily at important issues the film brings up.
It is a great idea to have such a detailed, prompt and worthy response to a film that caught peoples' imaginations. Thanks to all who contributed to the book and thanks to the editor for making it all one very good work.