ToadWarrior4

I had a tough time accepting the idea that Laurie Strode would dedicate 40 years to what happened to her in 1978. But, the film eventually won me over with the way it portrayed Michael Myers as this nearly mythological, inevitable force of death

It's not that the film portrays him that way directly, but mostly the performances of the actors sold me.

While Star Wars (through ROTJ) returned to its pre-teen fantasy nature of the 1st film, the Matrix trilogy shed that perception and instead went for a much grimmer, and realistic adult take on the hero's myth. The film is grim in nature, and deals with the realization from the last film that victory is impossible. The rest of the film is a big countdown as the humans (who are all wonderful, especially the actors from Zion like Captain Roland or Niobe) try to prepare for the big assault by the machines. The character interactions in the 1/3 point are all on point. We see the characters in their most vulnerable state trying to make it work in the face of armageddon. It all builds to a brilliant action climax that IMO has still to be surpassed even from modern films that tried to rip it off (IE: Man of Steel). This is a fantastic finale to the Matrix trilogy.

My big "shock" with this movie was seeing a "C+" experience suddenly turn into a a very strong "B+" experience roughly AFTER the 45 minute mark. I've been watching movies all my life, and I can't think of many examples of this happening.

Before that point, the film seemed filled with "newsroom drama clichés" (IE: smirking villains, overly likable protagonists, montage after montage, etc). It just felt "ok...but I've seen this before." Also, I was afraid it would become another "Black Mass"; a well executed, factually correct, but ultimately, for me, a hollow experience.

But, there's a moment when this film decides to go its own way, and it does so very well: - The obstacles become increasingly more interesting. - The emotional scenes in this film are handled well. They seem appropriate and never forced. - The film is brave in its portrayal of the Roman Catholic Church, and pulls no punches. With films like these, you'd expect filmmakers to walk on eggshells and try not to offend their viewers. It was a nice surprise to not see this happen in "Spotlight".

7.8/10 or B+ Watch for Mark Ruffalo, who steals the show yet again.