It’s no secret that Hollywood is currently experiencing a period of creative stagnation caused by studio executives. Whilst there’s no shortage of original stories out there, studios more than ever are banking on big name franchises and nostalgia value to just pump out endless strings of reboots and sequels to once thought dead franchises. Nothing is sacred, and where there is money to be made you can be sure that studios like Warner Bros. will do anything to get it.
Ever since the release of The Matrix Revolutions in 2003 there have been rumblings of a fourth Matrix film that rear its head every few years. There was fan demand for one, a lot of the stars were happy to return, but series creators Lilly and Lana Wachowski were firm in their stance that there would be no more Matrix films, but they welcomed the community to create fan content to further the story in whatever ways they wanted.
But when Warner Bros. approached the pair with a proposition for a fourth film that would happen with or without them, Lana reluctantly agreed seemingly at the request of the returning cast members. So, is The Matrix Resurrections truly alive and kicking, or a shuffling zombie desperate to be buried once again?
Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is a successful videogame developer revered for his visionary ‘The Matrix’ trilogy of videogames. However, Thomas finds it difficult to determine whether his experiences of the game are just that, or whether his vivid memories were actually lived. But when he is contacted by one of the characters from his game, Morpheus (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), and informed that he has been living within a new Matrix for sixty years, Thomas returns to the real world to aid in the ongoing battle between humans and machines. But he finds that he can’t truly be Neo, The One, without Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) by his side.
Ever since the release of The Matrix Revolutions in 2003 there have been rumblings of a fourth Matrix film that rear its head every few years. There was fan demand for one, a lot of the stars were happy to return, but series creators Lilly and Lana Wachowski were firm in their stance that there would be no more Matrix films, but they welcomed the community to create fan content to further the story in whatever ways they wanted.
But when Warner Bros. approached the pair with a proposition for a fourth film that would happen with or without them, Lana reluctantly agreed seemingly at the request of the returning cast members. So, is The Matrix Resurrections truly alive and kicking, or a shuffling zombie desperate to be buried once again?
Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is a successful videogame developer revered for his visionary ‘The Matrix’ trilogy of videogames. However, Thomas finds it difficult to determine whether his experiences of the game are just that, or whether his vivid memories were actually lived. But when he is contacted by one of the characters from his game, Morpheus (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), and informed that he has been living within a new Matrix for sixty years, Thomas returns to the real world to aid in the ongoing battle between humans and machines. But he finds that he can’t truly be Neo, The One, without Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) by his side.
I had seen a lot of negative critical and fan reception for Resurrections and I have to say it did prompt me to skip watching it until after Christmas because I came to the conclusion that it probably wasn’t worth squeezing it in my very tight schedule to watch what would likely be a very disappointing film. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Resurrections was not only a whole lot better than the majority of people had led me to believe, but also the best Matrix sequel to date.
For some that may be a low bar to achieve, but I do very much enjoy The Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions despite their convoluted silliness. Resurrections however feels considerably more like the 1999 original, and for good reason, but served with a very heavy serving of self-aware self-critique, and a plot so meta that only The Matrix could possibly achieve something so seemingly absurd and stick the landing.
I can understand why this film is divisive because it doesn’t really appeal to people who want something in line with the original film, and it definitely doesn’t appeal to people who want more over the top style like the sequels. Instead Resurrections puts a mirror up to the original trilogy, the obsessive fanbase, and to toxic Hollywood studios to create a post-modern breakdown of entertainment in the same vein as the divisive Nightmare on Elm Street sequel, Wes Craven's New Nightmare. Obviously something this blatantly self-deprecating can be jarring to witness for die hard fans like myself, but I feel the way Wachowski has crafted Resurrections isn't exactly antagonistic and instead more celebratory of a brighter future without endless unnecessary remakes, reboots, and sequels.
For me the story is the strongest aspect of the entire film. The first act presents a world where everyone loves Thomas’ Matrix videogames to the point of over-obsession. They’re the best game the world has ever seen and everything since then has tried to emulate what made them so great (a very obvious nod to how Hollywood suddenly made the majority of action films Matrix clones in the early 00’s). The games publisher, Warner Bros., wants a fourth game and will greenlight it with or without Thomas’ input. So, much like Lana Wachowski, Thomas agrees to do it. This front end of Resurrections feels a lot like a rehash of the original film (intentionally) and is loaded with analysis of the previous three films the character of Neo, and a critique of the Hollywood machine, and though it can be a little heavy at times I feel it works so well at establishing why this film exists without hiding the fact that it should never have existed.
From the second act onwards, we get a return to ‘normal’ in the sense of the plot surrounding the human and machine war is re-introduced and it feels more in line with the sequel films. But even then the film continues to shine a light on the glaring issues those films had, and then submitting to every genre trope it possibly can in the most tongue in cheek ways it can possibly do it. The film is screaming at the audience “Is this what you really wanted?” whilst simultaneously looking to Warner Bros. with a smug “Ae you happy now?” grin as it watches the empire of what was The Matrix trilogy crumble and burn under its own self-critique. It’s going to piss a lot of people off, but for me, this was the most Matrix thing the film could have possibly done. It’s respectful in its dismantling of those older films, because it’s ultimately all about Lana Wachowski looking back at her legacy and wondering why people can’t seem to let go of it when she and her sister moved on two decades ago.
There were some aspects of the story though that rubbed me the wrong way. For example, unplugging from the Matrix doesn’t work the same way as it did in the original films, and can seemingly be done at any time…apart from when the plot decides it can’t. There are other minor tweaks to the established mechanics of the Matrix that go unexplained that make me question why they were changed, or at least why the change wasn’t implemented better. But it’s a small gripe in the grand scheme of things.
For some that may be a low bar to achieve, but I do very much enjoy The Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions despite their convoluted silliness. Resurrections however feels considerably more like the 1999 original, and for good reason, but served with a very heavy serving of self-aware self-critique, and a plot so meta that only The Matrix could possibly achieve something so seemingly absurd and stick the landing.
I can understand why this film is divisive because it doesn’t really appeal to people who want something in line with the original film, and it definitely doesn’t appeal to people who want more over the top style like the sequels. Instead Resurrections puts a mirror up to the original trilogy, the obsessive fanbase, and to toxic Hollywood studios to create a post-modern breakdown of entertainment in the same vein as the divisive Nightmare on Elm Street sequel, Wes Craven's New Nightmare. Obviously something this blatantly self-deprecating can be jarring to witness for die hard fans like myself, but I feel the way Wachowski has crafted Resurrections isn't exactly antagonistic and instead more celebratory of a brighter future without endless unnecessary remakes, reboots, and sequels.
For me the story is the strongest aspect of the entire film. The first act presents a world where everyone loves Thomas’ Matrix videogames to the point of over-obsession. They’re the best game the world has ever seen and everything since then has tried to emulate what made them so great (a very obvious nod to how Hollywood suddenly made the majority of action films Matrix clones in the early 00’s). The games publisher, Warner Bros., wants a fourth game and will greenlight it with or without Thomas’ input. So, much like Lana Wachowski, Thomas agrees to do it. This front end of Resurrections feels a lot like a rehash of the original film (intentionally) and is loaded with analysis of the previous three films the character of Neo, and a critique of the Hollywood machine, and though it can be a little heavy at times I feel it works so well at establishing why this film exists without hiding the fact that it should never have existed.
From the second act onwards, we get a return to ‘normal’ in the sense of the plot surrounding the human and machine war is re-introduced and it feels more in line with the sequel films. But even then the film continues to shine a light on the glaring issues those films had, and then submitting to every genre trope it possibly can in the most tongue in cheek ways it can possibly do it. The film is screaming at the audience “Is this what you really wanted?” whilst simultaneously looking to Warner Bros. with a smug “Ae you happy now?” grin as it watches the empire of what was The Matrix trilogy crumble and burn under its own self-critique. It’s going to piss a lot of people off, but for me, this was the most Matrix thing the film could have possibly done. It’s respectful in its dismantling of those older films, because it’s ultimately all about Lana Wachowski looking back at her legacy and wondering why people can’t seem to let go of it when she and her sister moved on two decades ago.
There were some aspects of the story though that rubbed me the wrong way. For example, unplugging from the Matrix doesn’t work the same way as it did in the original films, and can seemingly be done at any time…apart from when the plot decides it can’t. There are other minor tweaks to the established mechanics of the Matrix that go unexplained that make me question why they were changed, or at least why the change wasn’t implemented better. But it’s a small gripe in the grand scheme of things.
The performances are all strong as well. Reeves and Moss return as Neo and Trinity, albeit in very different capacities to what we knew them as in the original films. But they walk back into those characters almost as if they never left them, and whilst Thomas Anderson has definitely got a big John Wick vibe going, but that could be down to Reeves probably having shot John Wick Chapter 4 and Matrix around the same time.
The two biggest recasts are for Morpheus and Smith. Abdul-Mateen II’s Morpheus is a different Morpheus from the original trilogy which is how the big Lawrence Fishburne shaped elephant is skirted around there. This Morpheus comes from a Matrix within the Matrix, being a construct from Thomas’ videogame Matrix trilogy. He acts as more of a plot device for when he’s needed rather than a full on character in the same stead as Fishburne’s Morpheus, but this doesn’t stop Abdul-Mateen II from putting as much into the character as he can with a very memorable scene near the start of the film where he becomes aware of the fact that he’s simply code living in a simulation.
Jonathan Groff is our new Smith and the way the Hugo Weaving bullet is dodged is a little more complicated and more integral to the plot than Morpheus’ switcheroo so I’ll leave the details vague. But really all you need to know is that despite being a different face, Groff brings the same energy and madness that Weaving did to the character and I really enjoyed the unexpected direction they took the character in.
Neil Patrick Harris also stars as The Analyst. A less expositional version of Reloaded’s Architect and with much more screen time. Harris’ performance toes that line between a help and a hindrance so much throughout the story that it’s impossible not to get attached to him, and as always, he delivers such a charismatic performance.
The crew of the new ship that Neo ends up on are less memorable however, with Bugs (Jessica Henwick) really being the only one that stands out, and that’s because she’s in the film a whole lot. I did enjoy Bugs’ character, and Henwick’s performance, but it is a shame that she’s really the only crew member that gets any significant amount of time in the spotlight as opposed to the original films diverse and memorable band of rogues.
What didn’t work for me so much were the action sequences. To me they didn’t feel particularly Matrix-ey. There was almost no hand to hand combat, and the gunfights were all relatively underwhelming in comparison to those seen in the original trilogy. They weren’t bad, but they weren’t what I was expecting either.
The film is also really bright and clean looking, which I found kind of jarring because I’m used to the Matrix films having that weird green filter over them which made everything a bit darker and grimier. Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but these aspects make Resurrections feel like it’s quite disconnected from the previous trilogy. Perhaps that was intentional, but I feel it would have been nice to continue the visual aesthetic established in the original films, and of course bring back those awesome John Woo inspired action scenes.
The film is also a bit long…or maybe it’s just a bit weirdly paced. It’s the longest film in the franchise by a considerable margin and I can’t help but feel some trimming could have ben done here and there to tighten things up slightly.
For me, The Matrix Resurrections is not the Matrix sequel I was hoping for or expecting, but now it’s here it’s the kind of Matrix sequel that I realise is probably the most apt considering the conditions it was created under. As a massive fan of the original trilogy I adored the way that Resurrections tore down the foundations it was built upon to present a scathing critique of the Hollywood machine in a way that felt distinctly Matrix in tone. I’d like this to be it for the franchise, I don’t see where they can go from here without doing a traditional reboot, and I don’t think that would go down very well with anyone. I’m sure with Warner Bros. being Warner Bros. it’ll happen, but Resurrections acts as an intriguing coda to the original trilogy. It doesn’t really pick up where they left off, or try to resolve any of the plot threads that were left unresolved; it treats them as what they are, films that had a massive cultural impact and should rightly be preserved as just that. I would recommend checking the film out as a curiosity piece much like Reloaded. It's a product of some very interesting components and it's good to see a big franchise film take a risk as large as this.
The Matrix Resurrections certainly won’t be for everybody, especially if you’re after a more traditional Matrix experience…but can you honestly say you would want that from a franchise that defined itself of being so wildly different from anything else at the time? For me though, I’m glad we got this over anything that would have been cooked up by studio executives in a boardroom.
The two biggest recasts are for Morpheus and Smith. Abdul-Mateen II’s Morpheus is a different Morpheus from the original trilogy which is how the big Lawrence Fishburne shaped elephant is skirted around there. This Morpheus comes from a Matrix within the Matrix, being a construct from Thomas’ videogame Matrix trilogy. He acts as more of a plot device for when he’s needed rather than a full on character in the same stead as Fishburne’s Morpheus, but this doesn’t stop Abdul-Mateen II from putting as much into the character as he can with a very memorable scene near the start of the film where he becomes aware of the fact that he’s simply code living in a simulation.
Jonathan Groff is our new Smith and the way the Hugo Weaving bullet is dodged is a little more complicated and more integral to the plot than Morpheus’ switcheroo so I’ll leave the details vague. But really all you need to know is that despite being a different face, Groff brings the same energy and madness that Weaving did to the character and I really enjoyed the unexpected direction they took the character in.
Neil Patrick Harris also stars as The Analyst. A less expositional version of Reloaded’s Architect and with much more screen time. Harris’ performance toes that line between a help and a hindrance so much throughout the story that it’s impossible not to get attached to him, and as always, he delivers such a charismatic performance.
The crew of the new ship that Neo ends up on are less memorable however, with Bugs (Jessica Henwick) really being the only one that stands out, and that’s because she’s in the film a whole lot. I did enjoy Bugs’ character, and Henwick’s performance, but it is a shame that she’s really the only crew member that gets any significant amount of time in the spotlight as opposed to the original films diverse and memorable band of rogues.
What didn’t work for me so much were the action sequences. To me they didn’t feel particularly Matrix-ey. There was almost no hand to hand combat, and the gunfights were all relatively underwhelming in comparison to those seen in the original trilogy. They weren’t bad, but they weren’t what I was expecting either.
The film is also really bright and clean looking, which I found kind of jarring because I’m used to the Matrix films having that weird green filter over them which made everything a bit darker and grimier. Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but these aspects make Resurrections feel like it’s quite disconnected from the previous trilogy. Perhaps that was intentional, but I feel it would have been nice to continue the visual aesthetic established in the original films, and of course bring back those awesome John Woo inspired action scenes.
The film is also a bit long…or maybe it’s just a bit weirdly paced. It’s the longest film in the franchise by a considerable margin and I can’t help but feel some trimming could have ben done here and there to tighten things up slightly.
For me, The Matrix Resurrections is not the Matrix sequel I was hoping for or expecting, but now it’s here it’s the kind of Matrix sequel that I realise is probably the most apt considering the conditions it was created under. As a massive fan of the original trilogy I adored the way that Resurrections tore down the foundations it was built upon to present a scathing critique of the Hollywood machine in a way that felt distinctly Matrix in tone. I’d like this to be it for the franchise, I don’t see where they can go from here without doing a traditional reboot, and I don’t think that would go down very well with anyone. I’m sure with Warner Bros. being Warner Bros. it’ll happen, but Resurrections acts as an intriguing coda to the original trilogy. It doesn’t really pick up where they left off, or try to resolve any of the plot threads that were left unresolved; it treats them as what they are, films that had a massive cultural impact and should rightly be preserved as just that. I would recommend checking the film out as a curiosity piece much like Reloaded. It's a product of some very interesting components and it's good to see a big franchise film take a risk as large as this.
The Matrix Resurrections certainly won’t be for everybody, especially if you’re after a more traditional Matrix experience…but can you honestly say you would want that from a franchise that defined itself of being so wildly different from anything else at the time? For me though, I’m glad we got this over anything that would have been cooked up by studio executives in a boardroom.