That Blue Pill Keeps Looking Better...

All right, I've been letting this stew for a few days and then I thought,

Why am I keeping this to myself? Surely the Internet was created as a public arena for pointless complaining.

So I saw the third Matrix movie the other day, and depending on how you look at it, it's either:

A. A slam bang action flick with kickass FX
or
B. A disappointing mess.

Others have gone into great detail on each side of this argument, but here's the thing that made me scratch my head as the lights came up. (slight spoilers)

So, during the first movie, Neo discovers he can see beyond The Matrix and effectively rewrite the program (stop bullets, etc). The movie ends with Neo telling the machines that (paraphrasing) this is a new beginning. The machines can't track him, and he flies away, free from the system. The war between the humans and machines has taken a new turn.

So in Reloaded, Neo hasn't learned anything new. He flies, and has a few more kung fu moves, but that's about it. Aside from freeing a few more people, nothing much has changed. Why hasn't Neo tried, I don't know-TEACHING some of
this stuff? Or at the very least, fly around New York for a few hours and force the Matrix to reveal itself? If there's 100K Sentinels heading for Zion, Why don't Neo and Co. go up to the surface and set off a few dozen EMPs?
And I don't even want to get into the philosophy 101 drivel of the Architect.

Which brings to the final(?) chapter.

So we've abandoned the whole 'War' thing and now it's some sort of Alamo situation. Neo learns that programs have feelings, too. Lots of CGI is used, and in the end, the whole conflict is decided by a fistfight. And wonder of wonders, we end up right back where we started. The Matrix is still online, using human beings as Energizers, there's a small(er)
human resistance, and the average person is none the wiser. Oh, but now there's a truce.....feh.

And notice I didn't say anything about Agent Smith, the Oracle, or even the Merovingian-sinton. Except that whoever designed Monica Belucci's outfit should be given an Oscar for best supporting dress. I only have so much life
force to give. I'm just really puzzled how such an awesome idea could get so far away from its roots. It seems clear to me that the Warchowski Bros. got lost somewhere along the way, and just couldn't get back. I know they pretty much shun all interviews, but I'd love to get their perspective.

Of course, if anyone out there "gets it", by all means, comment here or tell me directly.

Well, take care all.

MikeG