While the Matrix was originally conceived with the *possibility* of being a trilogy, it wasn't a definite and the first movie did not rely on it in the least. At the time the first movie came out there were also no firm story lines or concepts for the sequels as far as anything I'ev ever read.

Concept and desire don't factor in when the end result is so piss-poor. The movies just seemed like they were developed over a weekend with way too much beer and not enough thought. The stories were just contrived, cliche and annoying. So much possibility existed with the setup of the original. I don't care whether or not the movie was allegorical - it works very well for Narnia. The fact of the matter is that the sequel just weren't good movies. Not as follow ups and certainly not on their own. Blaming the disaster on the finale doesn't give enough credit to the craptastic progression of the second installation.

I remember having watched SW:Ep2 and thinking, damn, I hope the Matrix sequels don't let me down like this. And after watching the second Matrix I hoped (and hoped) that they would rescue the story line in the third movie. Boy was I WRONG. Of course George Lucas came around with a cowpie of a release two years later to solidify my bad 4 year SW/Matrix experiences.