What does it all mean?
Welcome back to the Matrix!
From 2001-2003, The Matrix was one of my favorite movies. My grandfather taped it and I remember watching that tape over and over again.
I was disappointed by the sequels. The story felt complete and Neo’s “Superman thing” was uninteresting. The Matrix fell away after the release of Revolutions. I did eventually watch The Animatrix, and it was pretty good. Of all The Matrix-related media, it is the project I want to revisit.
I did not go back and watch The Matrix or its sequels before seeing Resurrections. After my 48 hours of Spider-Mania, I need a break from franchise-binge-ing. Besides, I think movies should work on their own.
So to Resurrections…
It is a common maxim with sequels that audiences want the same but different.
I really liked the way this movie reshifted and reframed the ideas from the previous movie.
This movie feels like a white bread sandwich - the beginning and the ending are kind of lackluster and flavourless, but the middle is nutritious.
The movie is a little frustrating for that reason but I did not hate it.
I loved the evolution in the world - the idea of the machines fighting each other, Programmes finding their way into the real world, Machines co-existing with humanity…
This movie may be the final Matrix chapter but I was so curious to find out what else was happening in the real world.
I also like the fact that the film does not spend too much time explaining this new world, but gives us just enough to make it intriguing.
The returning cast are great - it feels like Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss never went away.
Jessica Henwick plays a new human character who wants to draw Neo back to reality. She is good, although she is relegated to the side as the movie re-orients around the original duo.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is good as the alternate version of Morpheus, although his role bears the most in-film comparisons with his predecessor. While it somewhat interesting to see the original scenes in new contexts, it made it impossible not to compare when this film stumbles.
It took time to get used to but Jonathan Groth makes for an interesting spin on Smith - he is more restrained and duplicitous than the incarnation we know. Considering the way the film re-orients the moral parameters of the original movie, it makes some sense but I did miss Hugo Weaving.
This movie is all about deviating from expectations and I welcome it, but Smith feels like a missed opportunity.
I think my dissatisfaction is down to the lack of a clear antagonist and stakes. We do get an antagonist, and his introduction does bring in new stakes, but the film undercuts them.
The Wachowskis always ally their ideas to technological flash, but this movie’s effects and spectacle are underwhelming.
The wonder and newness of The Matrix is not present here. Compared with the original trilogy, the action sequences here are sloppy - the lighting was too dark, the camera was too close, and the editing cuts up the choreography.
Watching this movie, it felt like I was watching half a Matrix movie. The familiar stuff felt stale, but the new ideas (or the evolution of old ideas) is intriguing. More importantly, The Matrix Resurrections packs an optimism about humanity and our relationship with technology that is entirely its own.
It is ultimately about the multiplicity of existence - not just humanity. The most shocking reveal the movie boasts is that homo sapiens is not the sole force for good in this world. The Matrix Resurrections is a movie about breaking down moral binaries and accepting differences.
It was an idea present in the previous movies, but Resurrections pushes and expands that idea to its most benevolent endpoint.
So is this movie sloppy? Yes. Does it boast great action scenes? No.
But while it stumbles, this is the first time since the original that I am actually excited about a Matrix movie. And while it is flawed, it was a breath of fresh air to watch a big budget studio movie with ideas, ambition and a willingness to challenge viewer expectations about an established property.
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