To this day, ‘The Matrix’ still holds up

Published 11:34 am Wednesday, August 9, 2017

It’s been about 14 years since the last “Matrix” film was released to the world.

The film is called “The Matrix: Revolutions” and pits Keanu Reeves against a villain his character encountered in the first film.

This film series is a lot of fun, even though there are some hokey moments.

Sign up for our daily email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

Over the weekend — OK, on Sunday — I watched the first and third installments, skipping the second, “Reloaded,” and it was a lot of fun. Netflix has the entire film series up for viewing.

Watching the films took me back to high school. I graduated high school in 2002, and the styles were interesting, especially the actors’ hair.

Spikes were the thing and leather was in, according to the film.

Just a refresher, Reeves’ character, Neo, is The One. The One has this power inside and outside of the matrix — a digital world — and his nemesis, Agent Smith, is wreaking havoc inside of the matrix in the third film, as he did in the second.

In “Revolutions,” Neo has made a choice to visit the Machine City. The Machine City, from what I can tell, is a place where the machines harbor and create humans for fuel. It’s strange. They turn our bio energy into power that keeps things running.

Of course, the trip to the city is challenging as there hasn’t been a human to visit it in about 100 years.

The film highlights the power of The One quite well. In the film, Neo has a connection between the real world and the matrix. It’s like he can use his power to tap into the source and use it to his advantage.

His power is evident after he is blinded by Smith right before the trip to the city. Neo doesn’t need his eyes, he can see the world around him because of his power.

While Neo and his girlfriend, Trinity, are on the trip, Zion, the home for those still alive in the real world, is gearing up for an epic battle against the sentinels, machine-controlled squids that search and destroy any humans.

The film does a good job of balancing the two, going back and forth when needed, giving the viewer updates as to their progress.

The climax of the film is what you’d expect — Neo vs. Agent Smith — in an all out fight. The fight was sanctioned by the Machine City’s head machine because they know that Smith is a threat to their world as well. Early in the film, it’s established that Smith wants to take over the matrix and the real world.

The battle is fought and the good guys win in the end.

Every now and then when I revisit this film series, I am always taken aback as to the graphics in the film. They were top notch at the time, and will stand the test of time for years to come.

Since then, Reeves has been in several films and continues to make good movies.

I’d be interested in another matrix film, truth be told.