Nothing will ever top the original because it changed the game, but the new effects felt true to the 1999 film without overdoing it. Technology has obviously advanced quite a bit over the last 20 years, and Wachowski does a great job of utilizing what’s available while making it flow with what came before. Also, if you love explosions, the final showdown will have you cheering in your seat. Neo and Trinity’s relationship has always been an important part of “The Matrix” films — in a story about the significance of choice, they both have always chosen each other.
Jessica Henwick seemed to be about the only one who could be bothered to act in this movie but sadly her storyline was just as dull as the rest of the movie. And that sadly is something that Resurrection does not have. Hell, half of the movie seems to just be footage from the first three movies, one quarter is millennial characters moaning about millennial issues, and one quarter seems to be new, albeit pointless, content.
With every passing day, the film, directed by Lilly and Lana Wachowski, seems to mean different things to different people, who all claim it as their own. To some it’s merely the groundbreaking, hugely influential, oft-imitated sci-fi action movie that’s rarely been bettered. In said scene, employees of a San Francisco video game company sit around a corporate conference table, brainstorming how to build upon the Matrix saga. “Our beloved parent company, Warner Bros., has decided they will make a sequel to the trilogy,” one says, explaining that the studio is planning to do it “with or without” the creators.
It returns to the roots of the original with humor and action. Keanu Reeves and Carrie Anne-Moss haven’t lost an ounce of their shockingly good chemistry. And their continued story will likely please those of you who can’t get enough of The Matrix. While I appreciated the matrix resurrections first reviews packed with nostalgia but … the entire cast, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, Yahya Abdul- Mateen II, and Jessica Henwick are standouts. And then there is the synth-heavy score by Tom Tykwer and Johnny Klimek that sets the right tone and mood that has resonated throughout all four films.
Sure, because it would be much too easy to spoil specific plot devices or characters that play a role in connecting to the previous films. It’s a much more satisfying experience going in with very little knowledge ahead of time. Did they write 5 scripts and couldn’t decide on which one to go with so the blended them together? This was not a Matrix movie by any stretch of the imagination. This was a mess of a movie, and the action scenes made no sense. I don’t know who the fight choreographer was, but they must have been sold a bill of goods with whoever they went with.
First part of the movie, tried to be some kind of self-ironic introspective on the state of movies and even made a direct reference to a Matrix sequel. Now the problem with that kind of commentary is that you effectively break the 4th wall or ruin any idea that this isn’t just a movie. The biggest failing of “Resurrections” is that it spends too much time waking people up from the simulation, something that may frustrate those who just want to see Neo and Trinity on screen kicking butt again. “Resurrections” is less interested in the two fighting side by side and more invested in the journey to reunite the two with a focus on the importance of female consent, something that was lacking in the last two films. If you don’t have time to rewatch six or so hours of “The Matrix” and its animated prequel, “The Animatrix,” conveniently streaming on HBO Max, there are two things you should know going into “Resurrections.”
Much like the beginning of the 1999 film, Reeves is introduced as Thomas Anderson, a man trapped inside a simulation. For that reason alone, “Resurrections” is easily better than the last two installments. But, depending on who you ask, that’s a low bar to achieve since the original trilogy is beloved by most critics and fans alike in descending order. ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ is easily better than the last 2 films, finally doing right by Trinity. But it’s a slow-paced rehash of the 1999 hit that may divide fans.
“You have to see it for yourself.” And the fourth installment in the genre-defying behemoth needs to be seen to be believed. Yet the sentiments it inspires in us, the audience, feel drawn from some deeper abyss. More time spent on developing a decent story would’ve been far better than throwing copious amounts of money at cgi artists & stuntmen. Original Matrix was a very interesting movie, pretty original and with real artistic value.
“Resurrections” feels like a forced entry for the sake of reviving a franchise that is just enjoyable enough to warrant a continuation. Even so, the sequel setup sounds more exciting and intriguing than this entry. The film’s best sequences don’t come until its very end and even those feel a bit lackluster with Neo’s go-to move becoming him constantly throwing his arms out to stop things like a human shield. You kind of expect a bit more from the man who can take out an army of hitmen solo in the “John Wick” franchise. Instead, after Neo wakes, the majority of the film is spent trying to wake Trinity.
The Matrix Resurrections is the fourth film in The Matrix franchise, the third film having been released almost 20 years ago in 2003. Make sure you brush up on the first three Matrix films because this is a film that can be fully enjoyed if you have followed the franchise. Well, Resurrections is, quite simply, the most meta movie of the year. Lana Wachowski, directing without sister Lilly, has peered through the looking glass, seen the reboots and sequels dominating cinema screens and decided to break the system from within. Resurrections can’t escape being part four of a beloved series, yet it frees itself from convention with heart-pounding panache.