It’s all a subjective, but there was no objective reason to be excited for a fourth Matrix movie and the reason for that argument is very simple. What have the the Wachowskis made that should you excited? The answer is simply nothing. The Wachowskis could have been looked at as a director duo that made a one hit wonder with the first Matrix, which is universally acclaimed as one of the top tier science fiction movies ever made. It’s a game changer for many things and inspired a generation of filmmakers and film fans. What they followed up with is one of the biggest question marks in all of Hollywood. The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions were major steps down from first movie, Speed Racer is an unmitigated disaster, Cloud Atlas was a pretentious snooze fest and Jupiter Ascending should have NEVER made it to the big screen. It’s visually remarkable, but the fact that movie got a green-light is very concerning. The one silver lining with the Wachowskis is that while they were credited as the writers for superhero movie V for Vendetta, there’s been a rumor circulating for many years that they directed the movie. Even though is the sole credit for the movie, there’s a lot of people in the industry that would say otherwise.
Nevertheless, the projects that The Wachowskis have put out since The Matrix have started to question how much creativity and talent that they have and what’s even more disappointing is that it’s been over 20 years since that movie first came out. So when it was announced that Warner Bros. was set to make a fourth Matrix movie but only one of the Wachowskis was set to come back to direct, the excitement wasn’t there even remotely. With all that mentioned, mark up The Matrix Resurrections as one of the best marketed movies of 2021. The song choices and the overall construction of the trailers for the movie were some of the best the year had to offer and it was injecting a smell level of optimism, despite the track record the Wachowskis. Color me shocked, but this kicks the two other sequels out of existence in the best way possible. The Matrix Resurrections is a healthy dose of rejuvenating the franchise, getting back to its roots and reminding use why the first Matrix is spectacular. From having slim to practically no faith at all based on the track record of its sequels and the work that the the Wachowskis have put out since, The Matrix Resurrections is a stunning, thematically dense, action packed romance tale with the flavors and appetites that first one created way back when.
In The Matrix Resurrections, we’re now sixty years after after the events of The Matrix Revolutions and we see Neo who lives an ordinary life as Thomas A. Anderson, who works as a video game creator in San Francisco. However, when a new form of Morpheus reopens Neo’s mind and brings him back into the Matrix, which is faced with a new threat after the Smith infection.
Is The Matrix Resurrections better than the first Matrix? Absolutely not and nor did it need to be but what it really should have been, if anything, was to be better than the two sequels and not only is it better than Reloaded and Revolutions, it’s the mixture of ingredients of what the first film was but going with the times of advancements of special effects and the expansion of its themes and concepts. It’s very reminiscent on where the Terminator franchise was at before Dark Fate came along. Was it as good as the first Terminator movies? No. But what it needed to be was to sort of reboot the franchise and start with a clean slate after three terrible retreads. Matrix Resurrections is exactly what the franchise needed. It pits the story with a fresh and new direction, yet it still summits itself deeper within the franchise by deconstructing it and sorting giving it a facelift. Within that dissection, Matrix Resurrections picks a part the good and the bad things and gives the movie more ideas to explore. Like how The Last Jedi was the first Star Wars movie that challenged the audience with the lore and how to move forward, Matrix Resurrections does a similar thing. It tries to ask even bigger and more philosophical questions within the whole idea of the Matrix. Sometimes bigger isn’t always better, with something as complex as the Matrix, Resurrections goes more bold, even if it does feel a little meta.
Something the first Matrix is famously known for were its visuals and its successful action sequences. While Resurrections is no where near the type of game changer from the first one, this a beautiful and very immaculate movie to look at maybe and the best looking action movie of the year. It looks like an expensive movie and the expensiveness pays off because the world within the Matrix looks spectacular, the colors feel appropriate and everything else from a technical level is incredible. Some have stated that action in this movie is basic and more in the vein of one of the Bourne movies. Respectfully, Resurrections has some terrific action set pieces that aren’t as revolutionary as the first one, but certainly much better than the others. The only set piece that feels technical is the car chase sequence, which is gloriously constructed where everything else is practically hand to hand combat scenes, which look great and feel intense. Props to Lana Wachowski for serving as the sole director for this movie. Having one vision on this movie made things more coherent and made things more precise with her telling this story.
Is Keanu Reeves a thespian? Not in the slightest. But there’s something so charming about his acting to the point where it shouldn’t bother anyone that he’s probably never going to win an Oscar, but he doesn’t need to. The roles that Keanu Reeves plays are perfectly suited for his style of acting and Neo is perfectly made for him. It’s great to see him back as Neo and what’s even more special with this movie is the relationship he shares with Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity. At the heart of this movie, even the three other movies, is the romance they share and Resurrections is elevated by their chemistry.
The score by Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer, replacing Don Davis who composed the score for the first three films, is electrifying, rich and striking music. It’s easily some of the best music they’ve created just like the technical aspects and the themes, it’s a superb addition for this movie.
The Matrix Resurrections doesn’t have a lot going for it’s success because of it being on HBO Max and the fact that there’s a lot of distastefulness with the franchise as a whole. That being said, this is what the franchise desperately needed and it kind makes you crave for some more Matrix adventures.
My grade for The Matrix Resurrections: A-
Zane's take at the Cinema's 