The Matrix Resurrections

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Ann Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, Jada Pinkett Smith, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christina Ricci, Lambert Wilson
Directed by: Lana Wachowski
Rating: R
Genre: Science Fiction, Action
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Years later, a band of survivors believe Neo (Keanu Reeves) is still alive, somewhere in Matrix.

Review:

Tim: The journey from The Matrix Resurrections being announced to actually seeing it was quite a trip. When I first heard they were going to do a fourth Matrix movie, I was ecstatic. The Matrix is still one of my top 5 favorite movies ever. It's a perfect film, a film like no other before it. The sequels failed to live up to the hype, but they had many redeeming qualities and strengths to them. I couldn't believe we were getting another entry. Hearing that it was going to be directed by only one of the Wachowskis was definitely a blow, but I hoped Lana would shepherd it home effectively. And then, the eternal question during the pandemic- "Do I see this in theaters, or on streaming?" This was one of the ones that simultaneously released in theaters and on HBO Max. A few years ago, it would have been inconceivable to me to not see this in theaters. When the trailers came out, I hesitated. It looked... fine. I waited till my brother saw it (at home) and asked his opinion. "Definitely an at-home watch". And so, that's how I skipped theaters for a movie that I was once overjoyed about.

And the sad thing? I'm glad I did. The Matrix Resurrections isn't worth braving the theater to see. It's good, but a deeply flawed movie that doesn't live up to the original nor the sequels. It's easily the worst entry in the franchise. Again, it's never bad. It's a good movie. The Wachowskis just set too high a bar.

The best part of the movie actually tackles this. This is kind of confusing, but in the Matrix, (MINOR SPOILERS), Thomas Anderson was responsible for building a series of video games that are basically The Matrix movies. This allows the film to brilliantly discuss the trilogy, it's role in the cultural zeitgeist, how many have misinterpreted the movies and their messaging, and a bit on how expectations about the movies became impossible. It's the most genius part of the film, a wonderful in-film examination of what these movies meant and didn't mean. It sets up Lana's thinking about this one, too. No matter what she does, it'll never be enough for some people. She won't invent the next "bullet time". Those expectations are inflated and unfair. She's exactly right and it's a rewatchable scene for what it says about this legendary franchise. I loved it.

But here's the thing- despite that commentary, the rest of the movie is actually somewhat disappointing. It feels like any other action movie. This could be any of dozens and dozens of films we've gotten over the years. Besides this brilliant scene, it mostly goes through the paces. There's completely average fight scenes. There's a lot of talking. There's the expected revisiting of the past (verses really driving the story into the future). This is a fourth film like most fourth franchise films- a shadow of what it once was. I loved the first movie and the second movie has issues, but is still great. Revolutions is messy, but still did things no other movie did. That isn't the case here. I really tried to think about the film to identify a moment that made me sit up. A moment that surprised me, delighted me, awed me. The original trilogy all had those moments. Besides the aforementioned commentary scene, none of that happens here. The action scenes feel scaled way, way down. There's carbon copies of better scenes in previous films with small adjustments made. There's not one action moment that made you widened your eyes. There's nothing especially cool about any of it. It's fine, it mostly moves the story forward, but the scenes feel sanitized and rote. I'm not suggesting Lana Wachowski needed to invent the next Bullet Time. But, she needed to do something that we haven't seen a thousand times before. She needed to get the audience excited, to inspire them, even just a little. There's none of those moments here. That's a crushing blow for a once-great franchise.

I'm being hard on this movie so far. It really is pretty good, though. It was great fun seeing Neo and Trinity again, although I do wish Trinity had a more substantial role. The way they brought these characters back was mostly effective and clever. I liked how the film played with expectations and seemed to have a good sense of self-awareness. The action was fine, it at least kept us interested as the movie progresses. It featured a series of decent-to-good moments.

The cast was a bit hit-or-miss in how effective they were. On paper, the cast is excellent, but Wachowski didn't fully leverage them. I loved seeing Keanu Reeves as Neo again. He does spend much of the movie in a fog, really played Thomas Anderson verses Neo. This kind of felt like a step back for the character. Reeves has never been the most believable actor and he struggles at times with what he was asked to do here. Still, for the flaws, it was fun seeing him in this iconic role again. Carrie-Ann Moss is a very good actress and she brings much to her role. She had great moments and brought energy and emotion into her role. She was really, really good. Seeing these two together, even for only a few scenes total, was wonderful. I loved their reuniting in this film.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II did a decent job as young Morpheus. He had some nice moments. The downside is, he's no Laurence Fishburne. This might feel unfair, but his performance was so much weaker than what Fishburne did. Abdul-Mateen might have been decent, but literally every second of his screen time, I wished it was Fishburne. Nothing he did was even close to what Fishburne did in his films. He tries, but it's not a good enough performance. I loved Jonathan Groff and I thought he did a really good job as Agent Smith. Groff brought something unique to the performance while tapping into Hugo Weaving's iconic performance. I liked that Groff didn't try to just imitate Weaving, but did his own thing. Some of his decisions were really good and I thought Groff overall was strong. Small point, but again, he's not Weaving at this point in his career. The movie would have been better had Weaving been able to reprise his famous role. Jessica Henwick was a wonderful addition to the cast. I'm a big fan of her outside of this, but her performance was unique, while still perfectly fitting into the tone and feel of the franchise. I'd love to see a spinoff with her character. She was that good. Also, Neil Patrick Harris feels like such an unexpected add to a Matrix movie. I never saw this, but Harris is actually excellent in the role. I thought he did fantastic work and was one of the more memorable aspects of the film. His casting was unexpected, but top notch. I thought Jada Pinkett Smith was fine. It was decent to have her reprise her role, but the makeup and her performance felt flat. I did love seeing Priyanka Chopra Jonas here. I like Chopra and I thought her casting was really well done. The problem is that she doesn't get to actually do anything. She delivers a few lines. I desperately wish she had more to do. I also liked seeing Christina Ricci in a very small role, but she again didn't get to do much.

I want to stress that Lana Wachowski did craft a good movie with The Matrix Resurrections. It might be the worst film in the franchise, but it has some solid moments. I suppose I'm glad we got a fourth film, especially if we focus on the movie's strengths. However, the other side of the coin is that this film fails to live up to the expectations of the franchise. It's a movie that feels like every other action movie when this entire franchise has always been about being more. There's no way around it- this ultimately might be good, but it's also a disappointment.


Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions