To be completely honest, I'm not a huge fan of The Matrix films. I thought the first installment was confusing sci-fi on steroids, but the second lured me in, and the third is an all right finish, but doesn't reach its full potential. By now fans are familiar with the characters. Nero (Keanu Reeves) is the "chosen one" to save the nation of Zion, the last standing empire in a world ruled by robots. No longer trapped inside the Matrix, which is a computer-generated reality (most human beings do not really live; they merely believe they are through holograms, while generating energy for true reality, an empire ruled by machines), Nero and his friends Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) are seeking to rid themselves of a computer program named Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving).

The city of Zion is soon to be under mechanical attack, for there is no longer need for mankind. The Oracle (Mary Alice) has predicted that Nero will be the salvation of mankind, but in his absence the city prepares itself for attack. Nero has become lost in a world between Zion and the Matrix, where only programmers are allowed to go back and forth. He is not allowed onto the train that transports back to virtual reality and therefore must dwell there an eternity. Trinity isn't about to leave him behind and engages in a scheme to free him that will have long-term consequences. Zion is attacked, there is a traitor aboard their spacecraft, and the only way for mankind to be saved is for Nero and Smith to engage in a final brutal battle for the fate of the world. Rather like The Lord of the Rings or Star Wars, you have to see all three to make sense of any of them. Unfortunately it had been several months since I rented the first two and therefore I was left trying to remember places, people, and things while the film charged ahead like a runaway train.

While the special effects have gotten better (no longer do the thousand-plus Agent Smith doubles running around look like cheap Shrek computer animations) the story is still very difficult to follow and involves a lot of imagery... there's a little bit of Christianity, along with Buddhism, Hinduism, and some New Age philosophies. They're actually more downplayed in this one, where Christianity takes center stage for the last climactic battle and events following. The real problem with the script is the lengthy battle scenes that slow down the plot. An hour and twenty minutes in, Neo still hasn't met his objective and faced Smith. Zion has been under attack for roughly half of that, which is a long time to watch machines crash and burn under heavy firepower. This seems to be the problem with all the films, overly long battle scenes that make up for lack of plot. To be fair, I wasn't all that familiar with the story when I popped in the disk, so I may be a little harsher than necessary.

Content-wise, this one has some truly foul language in addition to violence, but the graphic sex scene that spiced up Matrix Reloaded is notably absent. One of the characters has a foul mouth and uses G-dd--n it about a dozen times, along with a half dozen abuse of Jesus Christ's name, general profanities, and uses of s---t. I was disappointed in the language. There's no sexual content except for some scantily clad girls in a bar, and a heavy dose of cleavage from the wife of a programmer. Violence isn't extreme but does get gruesome on occasion as men are impaled with machine tentacles, have their throats cut, are slammed into walls, blown up, have their necks broken, and are shot multiple times. Neo is electrocuted, resulting in the loss of his sight. His climactic battle with Agent Smith gets particularly violent, but involves some of the coolest fighting techniques I've seen in quite some time. It's not a total loss, but for those with sensitive ears longing for an intelligent ride, I would suggest seeking an alternative.