Movie Review: The Matrix Resurrections

As is often the case with divisive movies, I actually thought this movie was awesome. It definitely had plenty of nostalgia for the original Matrix trilogy but it also makes fun of you if that’s all you wanted out of this. This movie was clearly very personal for director Lana Wachowski and if you know her story it really helps you see more of the layers in the story and the dialogue. In the movie itself, though, it’s still a very personal story for the characters so even if you don’t know the out of movie story I don’t think you lose too much.

At the core of the story is Neo and Trinity and their connection which powers the Matrix (in more ways than one) and the theme of choice is ever present even more-so than the original which had the iconic red and blue pills but I felt there it was used more as a plot device to get Neo out of the simulation. The soundtrack was reminiscent of the originals but still unique, epic and emotional. Actually, that sentence applies to the whole movie.

I gotta give a shout out to the cinematographers Daniele Massaccesi and John Toll who gave this film a completely unique look compared to the other three films and still making it completely work. The visuals were gorgeous and between the that and the action even if you ignore the story (as it’s not for everyone) then what you get is what everyone imagined when you think about what it would look like if The Matrix was made today.

While I don’t think it’ll innovate action films for decades like the original, it still made amazing use of the iconic bullet-time effect and this movie makes me wish comic book movie actions scenes could look as beautiful as some of the action here. It honestly made a lot of recent action scenes look like garbage in comparison.

Keanu movies tend to do that it seems. Ever since John Wick he’s been on a hot streak that definitely doesn’t end with this movie. He totally carries this film and delivers a great performance. So did Carrie-Anne Moss though she had less screen time than I expected. I also thought Jessica Henwick did a standout job out of the supporting cast as sort of the new Trinity. Neil Patrick Harris also really surprised me as I didn’t think he could pull off a character like this but he absolutely did. He had this scene in a garage that blew me away and I can’t explain more.

The new Morpheus was good and quite different from the original but I did feel a Lawrence Fishburne shaped hole in this movie. I also felt like he became less important as he went despite having an incredibly intriguing introduction. Similarly the new Agent Smith was decent but he was no Hugo Weaving. His motivation was a bit confusing and I thought his 1v1 with Neo was the most underwhelming fight scene.

I do understand some of the criticism I’ve seen towards Resurrections plus what I can imagine is being said about it due to what this movie says almost plainly about today’s audiences. Some of it was a bit too much, mainly for me the guy basically complaining that art isn’t as good as the old days which is a tired argument that I don’t agree with. Other aspects I did agree with such as the over-reliance on nostalgia.

The Matrix Resurrections effectively moved the universe forward in a way that makes sense after the third movie while also criticizing its own existence as yet another legacy sequel/remake/reboot of a previously successful franchise. I really dug that about it.

Objectively it might not be as good as the original but I don’t think that was what they were attempting anyway. For me, I thought the original had a very innovative story with great action for its time but this one connected with me more in a way that I didn’t expect even with some of that in mind before watching it.

I definitely do not recommend this as someone’s first Matrix movie nor for people who just binge watched the trilogy for the first time. For one thing you’ll be completely lost and for the second you won’t get as much of the meta textual references though you’ll probably get more of the call backs than I did.

This movie is mainly for Lana Wachowski but also for people who remember watching the Matrix and know it’s place in film history and are ready for a lot more discussion of philosophy and consumerism between absolutely stunning action scenes and visuals. If you’re not up for that there were like 9 Marvel projects this year that are a lot easier to digest. Speaking up, be sure to stay for the credit scene that makes fun of credit scenes.

I give this movie a solid 9/10 with the caveat that it’s not for everyone and you’ll either love it or hate it.