THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS Review; "A Wholly Unnecessary Epilogue Retreads Old Ground, Delivers Mediocre Action"

THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS Review; "A Wholly Unnecessary Epilogue Retreads Old Ground, Delivers Mediocre Action"

The Matrix Resurrections is now playing in theaters and on HBO Max, but the blue bill is definitely a better option than sitting through this mess of a movie. Be warned, some minor spoilers follow...

Review Opinion
By JoshWilding - Dec 23, 2021 07:12 AM EST
Filed Under: Matrix

The Matrix broke new ground when it was released in 1999, and while the sequels expanded on those ideas to create an entire mythology, they never quite managed to live up to their predecessor. If you made it that far, though, chances are you were fully invested in Neo's story and the trilogy certainly wrapped up in an epic, exciting (if somewhat confounding) way. It's no wonder, then, that there's been so much excitement surrounding The Matrix Resurrections, and in a year that's been full of nostalgia - just look at Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Spider-Man: No Way Home - now feels like the right time to revisit this world. It's just a shame that this epilogue is not only wholly unnecessary, but also a bad movie. 

Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is back in the Matrix and stuck in the life of an unhappy video game developer tasked with creating a follow-up to his hit trilogy: The Matrix. The movie is at its worst when it attempts to get too meta or clever for its own good, and just painfully embarrassing when director and writer Lana Wachowski (David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon also receive writing credits) tries to deliver social commentary on today's world. Someone in their 50s showing how they think Millennials talk and act is as cringeworthy as you might expect, and the movie manages to emphasise that with an embarrassing post-credits scene. Back to the story, though, and Neo once again needs to escape into the real world, rescuing the woman he's been pining after inside the Matrix for decades: Carrie-Anne Moss' Tiffany. The love story at the centre of The Matrix Resurrections works well, as do a few exposition dumps that do a relatively good job of trying to justify this movie's existence while building on the franchise's aforementioned mythology. 

The main issue is that nothing happening here really needs to. There was once talk of The Matrix franchise being rebooted, and you have to believe that was an infinitely better alternative than Resurrections. Making a sequel shouldn't have been that hard, but this story never feels earned and, if anything, is more akin to a 150-minute post-credit scene to The Matrix Revolutions tacked on to send fans home happy. Chances are they won't be, though, because the inventiveness and originality from that first effort is nowhere to be found. Not helping matters is the fact that the action scenes that were once so groundbreaking and cool now feel underwhelming when compared to what we're used to seeing from both major superhero blockbusters and even action franchises like John Wick. Wachowski bringing nothing new to the table in that respect is a disappointment, and by the time the credits roll, you'll be wondering why she felt the need to forcibly bring these characters back while overhauling others in ways that feel like the original actors read the script and responded, "Thanks, but no thanks."
 


Moss is given a mostly thankless role for most of the movie, but does get the chance to shine on a handful of badass occasions. Reeves is very good, but seems about as excited to go through this same old sh*t again as poor old Thomas Anderson. Together, the chemistry these actors shared in the original trilogy is clear to see, and it's never anything less than enjoyable spending time with them. The decision to bring "Morpheus" back proves hit-and-miss and feels like little more than an excuse to cast one of the most talented actors working today in Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. He deserved a better role than this, but does what he can with it. Similarly underwhelming is the decision to have Jonathan Groff play "Smith." Hugo Weaving he ain't, and attempts to recapture the magic of Neo and Agent Smith's war fall flat, particularly during an underwhelming battle that appears to take place in a dilapidated men's toilet. Jessica Henwick is on fine form as Bugs, but when she's saddled with dialogue like "What's up, Doc?" it's fair to say we never get the actress at her best. Neil Patrick Harris is okay, while returning characters from the franchise's past...well, the less said about most of them, the better. 

There are some who might watch The Matrix Resurrections and believe it to be some sort of grand magnum opus that delivers a scorching social commentary and brings these characters into the modern world in a way that is somehow thought-provoking or inspired. Those people would be wrong.

Ultimately, this movie adds nothing of value to the franchise and ironically feels like the studio mandated sequel Thomas is so quick to baulk at early in the movie. The story of "The One" ended, for better or worse, in The Matrix Revolutions. Dragging Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, and Smith back into the Matrix for one more adventure results in a blockbuster that has little of any substance to say, action scenes that won't register, and a retreading of old ground that literally sees clips from the previous movies play out on screen on multiple occasions. Visually, the movie is a bore, with uninspired locations and none of the mind-bending ideas still referenced to this day (prepare to have Bullet Time forever ruined for you). The central love story is compelling and there are some interesting ideas that could have been expanded on in bold, exciting ways, particularly in the real-world. Unfortunately, the movie instead delivers a bunch of jumbled ideas that prove there really must be a glitch in the Matrix. 

A wholly unnecessary epilogue to The Matrix trilogy, Resurrections retreads old ground, delivers mediocre action, and proves itself a tough pill to swallow despite a decent enough love story that, alone, isn't enough to justify revisiting this franchise. Time for a reboot.
 

Pennywise1
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grif
grif - 12/23/2021, 7:47 AM
and here comes the turncoats.




SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 12/23/2021, 10:27 AM
@grif - Weren't you verbally doing the same thing on every Spider-Man article?
grif
grif - 12/23/2021, 11:07 AM
@SonOfAGif - never supported nwh
MrDandy
MrDandy - 12/23/2021, 7:52 AM
philinterrupted
philinterrupted - 12/23/2021, 7:58 AM
@MrDandy - this is exactly what I posted on Facebook
GhostDog
GhostDog - 12/23/2021, 7:55 AM
Yahya is a great actor but I don’t see why he had to be Morpheus. He had none of the gravitas that Fishburne has in the role. Same goes for Groff as Smith. It became distracting how both actors were just not as magnetic as the actors whom they replaced.

Neil Patrick Harris was the best part of the movie in my opinion, until the third act where he decided he was in another movie.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 12/23/2021, 8:43 AM
@BlackBeltJones - honestly man part of that feels completely intentional. Especially the less over the top action.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 12/23/2021, 9:13 AM
@McMurdo - I missed the action. Matrix was not only a revolutionary sci to flick but action too. Part of that intrinsic DNA for me
McMurdo
McMurdo - 12/23/2021, 10:28 AM
@BlackBeltJones - I really enjoy the action in the first hour. I plan to see in theaters tonight for the full film but loved what I saw so far.
VictorAlonzo
VictorAlonzo - 12/23/2021, 9:20 PM
@BlackBeltJones - exactly. The orignal Matrix was packed with clean, crisp action scenes. This film was full of close angles and fast cuts to compensate for the poorly filmed combat. Dooo betta!
philinterrupted
philinterrupted - 12/23/2021, 7:56 AM
This movie was trash. I don’t understand the need to retread so much. There’s a good story to be told in here. Carrie Ann Moss was criminally underused. No reason Fishburn couldn’t have been in this considering how Morpheus was used. There wasn’t anything here that made the story worth bing told. Lana Just wanted to play with it her toys again.
The Rage Against the Machine cover at the end was an embarrassment.
Shy412
Shy412 - 12/23/2021, 11:52 AM
@originalmrphil - The Rage cover at the end almost made me throw up. That pretty much sums up this poor excuse of a film.
Dabs
Dabs - 12/23/2021, 7:57 AM
I loved it. A safe, natural way to reintroduce the franchise back into pop culture while bringing back old faces. Akin to TFA for me, which I also enjoyed for basically the same reasons.
Urubrodi
Urubrodi - 12/23/2021, 10:11 AM
@Dabs - Both this movie and TFA are inferior movies to the ones they try to replicate. Not necessarily bad movies, but definitely inferior. Hope the next one won't be like TLJ.
GwenLantern
GwenLantern - 12/23/2021, 8:06 AM
Bravo. Spot on review. Couldn't agree more.

The first act had me intrigued. But after making a Birdman-esque meta-commentary about why a studio mandated sequel would be a bad idea, she proceeds to do exactly that.

From force-fed member berries to the obligatory undoing of the original trilogy's ending with badly thought-out exposition, this was the worst kind of Matrix 4 I could've imagined.

Lana Wachowski's younger self would cringe at this flick.
This is a movie made by someone so deep in The Matrix that she is no longer objective.

And as if ending the movie with a cutesy modern cover version of Rage Against The Machine's Wake Up didn't perfectly sum up the whole ordeal, that "funny" cat-video gag at the end does.
VictorAlonzo
VictorAlonzo - 12/23/2021, 9:27 PM
@GwenLantern - I think that was the point. Seemed like WB was hellbent on bringing this back. The director had two decidions: Let someone destroy what was, or do it yourself. At least if you give the killshot- there's no suffering. You may even get to implement ideas, making the best out of a bad situation. What I want to know is: How much involvement did Sophia Stewart have in this?
GwenLantern
GwenLantern - 12/24/2021, 3:34 AM
@VictorAlonzo - Maybe the more mature thing to do would be to let go of ego and attachment, step back from the project and see what somebody new can do with the franchise.

I mean they literally ended their trilogy by killing their main characters and rebooting the Matrix. Would it have been so bad to let some fresh creative energy in for a new movie?
VictorAlonzo
VictorAlonzo - 12/24/2021, 3:45 AM
@GwenLantern - That would be an honorable approach. Hollywood is opposite that in every way. The chances of them doing better was: this. Minus the fresh faces.
WruceBayne
WruceBayne - 12/23/2021, 8:07 AM
I watched it twice trying to love it but I couldn’t.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 12/23/2021, 8:09 AM
I watched the first hour, and I rewound sooooo much due to how much lore and important dialogue there is. Nothing hasn’t made sense to me you just have to pay attention. I LOVE IT SO FAR. I loved it so much that I refused to watch anymore till I got to the theater. I’ve already spoiled the plot because I can’t help myself and I LOVE what Lana is doing. This film is so Matrix I don’t care what any of the casuals or haters say, yes it’s different. ITS NOT A COMEDY like many are saying it just has way more levity with the straightness in comparison to the first Matrix. It’s awesome so far I LOVE BUGS AND THE NEW MORPHEUS PROGRAM!!!!!!!!!
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 12/23/2021, 10:30 AM
@McMurdo - So you enjoy this trainwreck of a movie but made sure you spent every hour of the day commenting negativity on every Spider-Man article? Yeah you have issues.
SnideCut
SnideCut - 12/23/2021, 11:45 AM
@SonOfAGif - Dude's anti-MCU bias is plain as day
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 12/23/2021, 12:14 PM
@SnideCut - Yeah that much is very upfront. But at least if he is going to bash the MCU at least have a solid slate of films you support. But supporting a bad movie while bashing another movie as being a bad movie is hypocritical.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 12/23/2021, 12:38 PM
@SonOfAGif - I actually said I enjoyed Spider-Man for the emotional beats. I had issues with the narrative like Strange being an idiot as a plot device and the magic easy bake oven. But I thought the performances and emotional beats were great. And for this movie, I’ve only seen the first hour and yes, I loved every minute of it that’s why I stopped watching lol I gotta watch it all in theaters. I think it’s going over a lot of peoples heads to which is both ironic and awesome
McMurdo
McMurdo - 12/23/2021, 12:40 PM
@SnideCut - my favorite Warrior. How can you be anti MCU if you love Loki and Wandavision? Everyone else trashed that ending for Wanda here I was defending it. Your feige fetishism is plain as day lol
McMurdo
McMurdo - 12/23/2021, 12:42 PM
@SonOfAGif - you read like the worst of fanboyism in that last one buddy. There’s a handful of MCU films I hold very close to my heart and If you need me to announce them I can. I’m sorry that my positive words regarding the first hour of THIS film triggered you. I can’t really control how you take in internet comments but I empathize nonetheless. It’s the Holidays after all 😁
VictorAlonzo
VictorAlonzo - 12/23/2021, 9:30 PM
@SnideCut - Why is critism of the MCU autmatically equated with hate towards the MCU? I ctiticize because I have loved it, for decades. If I hate something, I try to stay as far away from it as possible. Most people are the same.
Origame
Origame - 12/23/2021, 8:22 AM
While I agree this wasn't all that good or necessary, epilogue isn't the word I'd use to describe this film. It's very clearly trying to restart the franchise.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 12/23/2021, 8:23 AM
I tried to visit this site yesterday and every article was a spoiler for something..
WruceBayne
WruceBayne - 12/23/2021, 8:43 AM
@slickrickdesigns - yeah most of the spoilers were Spider-Man related from a single interview thar Tom Holland did. And there were a couple of Matrix ones but nothing significant.
Shivermetimbers
Shivermetimbers - 12/23/2021, 8:44 AM
@slickrickdesigns - I had the same problem. Today is not starting off much better
grif
grif - 12/23/2021, 8:49 AM
@slickrickdesigns - welcome
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 12/23/2021, 9:12 AM
@grif - AOL is that you?
Ocelot
Ocelot - 12/23/2021, 8:28 AM
It’s becoming more and more clear that wachowskis stole the story for the first movie.

This was like an expensive fan made movie, the action and effects looked cheap. How do the movies from 2003 look better than a 2021 movie?

It lacked the grittyness and filmmaking of the originals and was more akin to a Disn£y Marvel/Star Wars reboot movie.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 12/23/2021, 9:14 AM
@Ocelot - it did feel very fan film-ish with a lot of the retreads. Love the Matrix but it owes A LOT TO CERTAIN ANIME and The Invisibles comic (maybe too much)
TheManWithoutFear
TheManWithoutFear - 12/23/2021, 12:55 PM
@Ocelot - I came here expecting more of these comments. I don't really follow the Matrix films all that much but i am aware of the narrative that the first one was stolen. I thought Resurrections being a disappointing re-entry might lend more voices to this story now. It's about the most interesting thing about this franchise to me haha
VictorAlonzo
VictorAlonzo - 12/23/2021, 11:37 PM
@Ocelot - Sophia Stewart. Nuff' said.
DoubleD
DoubleD - 12/23/2021, 8:28 AM
Matrix was 5 Stars, Second Matrix 2 Stars/ 5, Third Matrix SUCKED ZERO Stars. I knew this would be bad, but I will check it out when I'm bored.
philinterrupted
philinterrupted - 12/23/2021, 9:15 AM
@DoubleD - get ready to go in to the negatives with your star ratings or bump revolutions up to 1 star.
DoubleD
DoubleD - 12/23/2021, 10:05 AM
@originalmrphil - I'm not lone one the third Matrix film. Might be two Zero Stars for me.

THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS
R 2003, Sci-fi/Action, 2h 10m

35% TOMATOMETER 218 Reviews
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