The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

Mr. Anderson lives an unfulfilled life, but glimpses of a different reality make him question what is real, what isn’t, and if he should follow once again the white rabbit.

Sour wine in a new, unmarketable bottle. Films that have impressively elaborated on the human consciousness so far, involve, but are not limited to: Koyaanisqatsi (1982), Dark City (1998), The Thirteen Floor (1999), Inception (2010), Sucker Punch (2011), and, of course, the original Matrix Trilogy (1999 – 2003). Again, to name but a few. In The Matrix Resurrections, it becomes clear that the Matrix, for the people still living in the Matrix, was just a game, and the person who designed the game was no other than Thomas Anderson – a game designer working for a major company. In a meeting they have, the company’s CEO establishes that their parent company, the entertainment conglomerate corporation WarnerMedia, will go ahead with the “Matrix 4” game with or without them. “Originality” becomes the key point of the meeting. Ironically, this is exactly what The Matrix Resurrections lacks. In a nutshell, and spoiler-free summary, here are the major issues that The Matrix Resurrections suffers from:

• Agent Smith’s character development has been upgraded to incomprehensible levels while his personality has been degraded—no disrespect to Jonathan Groff, as it is his character development’s fault, not his. If Hugo Weaving was offered the role, I can see why he gave it a pass.
• The Analyst goes from God level to b*tch level within a few sequences, so he left me utterly bamboozled, a shocking inconsistency. Between him and the Architect, there’s no comparison whatsoever. Again, it’s not the actor’s fault (you’ll see who).
• Morpheus is a pure downgrade. Remember the original Morpheus’ inspirational speech in Zion. If yes, stick to the memory; nothing like it here. It is understandable why Laurence Fishburne had nothing to do with it (even though his answer was cryptic).
• Io: Again, remember the wild dance (and sex) in Zion after Morpheus’ speech? Io develops no connection with the audience whatsoever.
• Neo’s and Trinity’s chemistry, albeit existing, is constricted by the narrative’s shallowness.
• The choreography and fighting styles not only don’t stand out but also look fake. Everyone just fights the same way – one style fits all. Especially given that Keanu Reeves is portraying John Wick, the fight choreographer should have paid a lot more attention to the details.
• Remember, upon the original trilogy’s release, how many of us ran to the music stores to buy the soundtrack CDs? Well, this is not the case here, either.

I feel I need to stop before I annihilate everything about it. The bottom line is that nothing is memorable. It is forgettable. Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss age like a good wine, but I wish I could say the same about the film. If anything stood out at all, that is Bugs! Jessica Yu Li Henwick should get all the praise. It feels like she is the only one who goes the extra mile for what she says and does, and her effort is my only takeaway after the end credits start scrolling down.

Films are products of their time. Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix Resurrections not only lacks originality but also the mysticism of the original trilogy. It provides answers too soon, too fast, to trivial questions compared to those raised by the original Matrix (1999). It also lacks the original characters’ authenticity and passion and the narrative’s existential philosophy.

Warner Bros has been using a hazardous distribution technique with its affiliated company HBO, distributing to both cinemas and HBO Max simultaneously. I guess as long as their parent company’s (AT&T) stock goes up, they don’t care as much about the films themselves. Welcome to the business of art. Or is it the art of business?

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