Nov 08, 2003 08:09 AM
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(Updated Nov 08, 2003 08:24 AM)
SPOILERS AHEAD
Karma is the eternal assertion of human freedom... Our thoughts, our
words, and deeds are the threads of the net which we throw around ourselves
--- SWAMI VIVEKANANDA
.The first movie of the trilogy:”The Matrix” laid the foundation for the main concepts that the Wachowski brothers wanted us to understand.Neo understand that he is the One. Initially he refuses to believe that, but then, in the end, he realizes that he is indeed special and he has been bestowed with special powers. The concepts are clearly explained by dialogues and the final scene.Morever, the film can be viewed symbolically. In that case, removing all the unnecessary peripherals, the film is about a man who wants to know the Truth…what existence is all about.
Little did I know that the Wachowski brother had another stack of surprises in their sleeves in the second and third installments. In the second installment ,”Matrix Reloaded “ , the sentinels are about to attack Zion Neo(Keanu Reeves) still doesn’t know what the purpose of his life is .He is with his sweetheart :Trinity (Carrie Ann Moss) .He is still restless because even though he knows he is the One ,he doesn’t know what his next step is. That is when he meets the Oracle .She (Gloria Foster) talks about the path he could follow and the choices he has. This movie poses a lot of questions.
Some of them are :
Neo stops the sentinels and destroys them in his “real” world. How is he able to do that ?
Agent Smith seems to gain in power. How is Neo going to stop him?
The sentinels are going to attack Zion in a day’s time. Who is going to win –the humans or the machines?
What is the purpose of Neo’s life? (Most Important)
The last installment of the Matrix :”Matrix Revolutions” works on different levels. The third installment starts where the 2nd left : Neo was successful in stopping the sentinels .But then, this has drained all his powers and he wakes up in a place between the 2 worlds :Matrix and the real world. Meanwhile, the sentinels are successful in creating havoc in the last human civilization :Zion. The humans try their best to defend themselves. Also, the rogue program, Agent Smith enters the body of Bane ,a Zion member. Meanwhile,Neo meets up with the Oracle and learns from her that Agent Smith has grown in power and he can destroy the whole world if he wants to. Neo ,in order to stop this, goes to the machine world with Trinity and strikes a deal with the machines. Bane enters Neo’s spaceship and in that encounter,Neo loses his eyes. But then, he is still able to see the things around him with his mind. He wants peace between the humans and machines .He informs the machines about the rogue program and the things it could do .He also adds that he can destroy the Agent Smith rogue program and he wants peace in exchange for that. The machines have no other alternative. Agent Smith had been given freedom to make choices like humans and it knows that Smith can destroy the whole world if he wants to.Neo enters the matrix with the help of the machines, fights with Agent Smith and sacrifices himself in order to destroy Agent Smith.
There are many many interpretations to this story as the film is filled with symbols and metaphors. Some people say that Neo represents Christ , the Architect represents God , the Oracle represents Holy Spirit and Agent Smith represents Satan. That is, this is the fight between Good and evil which is Christ versus Satan. It has Buddhist influences too. The Matrix concept is very much similar to the concept of Maya : Illusion.
After Neo destroys all the sentinels in the end of the 2nd movie, he wakes up in a world which is between the real world and the Matrix world. He meets with a Hindu couple (Rama and Kamala) and their daughter .It is interesting that their daughter has been named Sati. Sati means conscience in Buddhist terms. Since the meeting happens actually in his mind, probably the director wants to convey that Neo is trying to come to terms with his conscience so that he can know his purpose.Rama informs Neo that they are programs and that programs are deleted once their purpose is over. Agent Smith has been created in order to counter Neo,the One. Probably, this thing which Rama said should have given him the idea of sacrificing himself. If Agent Smith is able to destroy him before destroying the entire world, then Smith’s purpose would have been served. Since Neo had entered the matrix with the help of machines ,it would become easy for the Architect to destroy Agent Smith. In fact, Neo is the antithesis of Agent Smith.So,Neo’s karma is also finished. During this fight sequence, we have “Asathoma Sathgamaya “ in the background which is very appropriate. These verses roughly mean this : “Lead me from the unreal to the real; From darkness to light; From death to immortality.” This song I feel is very much appropriate to the scene because it is not just a fight between Smith and Neo. It is Neo’s mission to destroy his anti thesis –Agent Smith which should lead him from darkness to light and from death to immortality…..Very Apt!!!
The dialogue between Agent Smith and Neo in the last scene is amazing! Smith asks Neo about why he is straining so much when emotions like love are insipid. He wonders why Neo is fighting so much and why he is even ready to give his life. He also remarks that everything is an illusion. The answer Neo gives (“Because I have to”) is very convincing because that happens to be his karma and that is the choice he makes.( As Swami Vivekananda said ,karma is the eternal assertion of human freedom.) One might wonder what the connection between them is. Like Oracle said, Smith is the result of the anomaly that is trying to balance itself. The Architect has the One program and the Agent Smith Program in every Matrix he has built. But every time, the System crashed or there was some problem. So he had to destroy the entire Matrix. But this time ,in the sixth version of Matrix, since Neo goes through another door to save Trinity, his choice is different. So there are many variables that are different. In the end, Neo realizes that his motive and purpose is to destroy Agent Smith which he does in the end.
The movie tagline,” Everything that has a beginning has an end” ,thus concurs with the movie ending…But,the movie is not without its faults . The fight sequences even though it was well choreographed ,it was kinda repetive.”Matrix “ was successful because the whole story was very clear because of its dialogues and the scenes. But , as I had mentioned earlier , the message of Karma and Good vs. Evil in this film was more subtle here. The audience might not understand the concepts fully ,so that is why this movie is drawing mixed reviews. Now I feel that instead of making it into 2 different movies, he could have showed it as one single movie .The fight sequences in Zion when the humans try to defend is unnecessarily lengthy and very “typical” of Hollywood. In fact, in the middle of the almost 45-minute fight sequence, I was very much restless. I wanted to know what happened to Neo…I am sure it is the same case with others too…. The focus should have been on Neo!
Check it out if you haven’t seen it already..!
