--- title: "The Matrix Revolutions: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-matrix-revolutions/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-matrix-revolutions" critics_score: 46 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Matrix Revolutions (2003): what the critics said Critics' score 46 from 11 reviews: 0 positive, 6 mixed, 5 negative. The consensus leans towards disappointment, with the reviews divided between mixed and negative assessments rather than outright enthusiasm. Praise clusters around the visual effects and the staging of the siege of Zion, which several critics find exciting even when the surrounding story fails to engage them. The more receptive reviews see a stronger second half after a tedious opening, while Hugo Weaving’s performance earns a favourable mention from Total Film. The main reservations concern confusing or weak plotting, drawn-out action and a conclusion that offers too little dramatic satisfaction. The sharpest disagreement concerns whether the spectacle supplies enough emotional involvement: Slant Magazine finds affecting collective human drama in Zion’s defence, whereas The Guardian finds the battles dull and the ideas exhausted. Even the warmer assessments retain substantial caveats, particularly about the spiritual allegory and the romance; the divide is over how much the film salvages, not whether it fully succeeds. ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The page is blocked, so the critic’s verdict cannot be verified. No praise or complaint can be reliably identified from the available text. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-matrix-revolutions-2003) ## Screen Daily — Mike Goodridge Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 3 November 2003. The accessible page identifies this as Mike Goodridge’s review, but the paywall conceals his verdict. No specific element praised or criticized is visible. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/the-matrix-revolutions/4015822.article) ## The New York Times — A. O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 5 November 2003. The URL identifies a review of the film, but the page content is inaccessible. Its verdict and any specific praise or complaint cannot be verified. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/05/movies/film-review-the-game-concludes-with-light-and-noise.html) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Rating 2.5/4. 1 November 2003. Gonzalez finds the first half rough but says the film becomes an exciting, emotionally engaging spectacle. He praises the collective human drama beneath Zion’s battle, while criticizing the heavy-handed spiritual allegory and the unconvincing romance between Neo and Trinity. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-matrix-revolutions/) ## Radio Times — Jason Caro Rating 3/5. Caro finds the first half tedious but says the film gets the trilogy back on track in its second half. He especially praises the technically and artistically impressive siege of Zion. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-g48pej/the-matrix-revolutions/) ## Total Film — Total Film Rating 3/5. 5 November 2003. The review finds the finale an average sci-fi film that falls short of its promised revelations and spectacle. It praises Hugo Weaving’s performance, while faulting the drawn-out action and weak plotting. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-matrix-revolutions-review/) ## Empire — William Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. Thomas finds the finale a solid but disappointing genre offering that narrows the original’s broad appeal. He praises the exciting Sentinel attack on Zion, while faulting its focus on secondary characters and the story’s dependence on outside material. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/matrix-revolutions-review/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2003. Bradshaw considers the film a disappointing, lumbering conclusion to the trilogy. He praises flashes of the directors’ old flair, especially the surreal train-platform sequence and nightclub fight, but says the battle scenes are dull and the film runs out of ideas. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_Film_of_the_week/0,4267,1079198,00.html) ## Time Out — NB Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). The review is sharply negative, finding the film glib and self-reflexive. It singles out Keanu Reeves’s continued befuddlement as part of the problem. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-matrix-revolutions-1) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 2 November 2003. McCarthy judges the finale a deflating and dramatically unsatisfying end to the trilogy. He praises its visual imagination and spectacular effects, while faulting its plotting, dialogue, and lack of meaningful resolution. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2003/film/awards/the-matrix-revolutions-1200538204/) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 6 November 2003. The critic finds the story incoherent and the film a disappointing, overblown conclusion to the trilogy. They praise the Zion battle sequence as magnificently staged, while criticizing the lack of humor and the film’s confusing plot. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-matrix-revolutions-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-matrix-revolutions.md