The Matrix Resurrections || Spoiler-Free Review

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Genre:  Science-Fiction, Action
Directed by:  Lana Wachowski
Written by:  Lana Wachowski, David Mitchell, Aleksandar Hemon  ||  Based on:  Characters by The Wachowskis
Starring:  Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Nil Patrick Harris, Jada Pinkett Smith
Score by:  Johnny Klimek, Tom Tykwer  ||  Cinematography by:  Daniele Massaccesi, John Toll
RottenTomatoes - 64% from Critics, 63% from Audiences  ||  IMDB Average 5.7 out of 10  ||  Letterboxd Average 3.0 out of 5



Brief Thoughts on the Movie 

"Although it doesn't quite reach the unattainable highs of the original, The Matrix Resurrections is an ambitious and reflective sequel that delivers a thought-provoking experience that recontextualizes the series while providing fascinating commentary on the modern systems used to control us."

What's It About?

Set after the events of The Matrix trilogy, The Matrix Resurrections finds a different Mr. Anderson (Keanu Reeves) following the white rabbit once again as he begins to question his own reality. Is it nothing more than an intricate illusion - an artificial construct meant solely for controlling masses? And if so, what role does the Matrix play in all of this if there was peace made between man and machine at the end of The Matrix Revolutions?



What Worked?

Expectations can often make or break a moviegoing experience. After living with an imagined and idealized version of an anticipated movie in the lead up to its release, it is understandable for some to feel disappointed, or even betrayed, when their expectations and the reality of the movie don't align. This is a problem that seems to be exacerbated by intellectual properties, franchises, and brands in general. When these specific fans get hooked on a new series or franchise, there is something usually specific to that entry's style or messaging that appeals to them...something that some fans then come to expect from every ensuing entry. Again, the outcome is usually disappointment.

A perspicuous and more recent example of this phenomenon can be seen in the J.J. Abrams/Rian Johnson Star Wars trilogy. After many complaints about The Force Awakens offering little more than a soft-reboot of A New Hope - Kathleen Kennedy and her Star Wars team pivoted to a bold, convention-defying sequel in the form of Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi - a truly unique and memorable addition to the Star Wars canon that was immediately and emphatically rejected by a significant number of the fanbase. The obvious solution: course-correction in bringing back J.J. Abrams for the final chapter - the pandering and sycophantic The Rise of Skywalker. And it worked...more or less. Fans were completely satisfied as the closing chapter brought in more familiar elements from the franchise's past - even if they didn't fit (and often directly ignored) the narrative construct being laid down by the previous two movies. Hollywood (in this example) is acutely aware of fan expectations and is absolutely trying to use your nostalgia as a weapon - to control your movie-going dollar, and by extension - controlling you.

If I haven't lost you at this point, you're rightfully asking yourself - why the hell is this reviewer going on and on about expectations, Hollywood's manipulation of nostalgia, and other franchises during a review for The Matrix Resurrections? I bring all of this up as a litmus test - are you, the audience, interested in high-minded conversations about how expectations affect art? Your answer will play a part in your enjoyment of The Matrix Resurrections , as this discussion is a large portion of the central theming and subtext of this fittingly reflective and ambitious sequel.

It is clear that director Lana Wachowski and her filmmaking team were fascinated with the discussion around the idea of what makes a good Matrix movie. What does The Matrix mean and to whom is its message even resonating with now a days? How do you bring back a series about revolting against "the man" and the system (the agents and machines as villains couldn't make this symbolism any more obvious), when humanity has seemingly embraced the system becoming complacent being confined within this metaphorical Matrix? Anytime that The Matrix Resurrections stops its narrative in order to ponder some philosophical connection between art, entertainment, choice, freewill, and the systems that control us - the movie is all the better for it.

The other high notes for this legacy sequel lega-sequel are its talented cast and its splendid soundtrack. Keanu Reeves and Carrie Anne Moss return for The Matrix Resurrections, perfectly slipping back into their roles of Neo and Trinity (respectively), but the new additions are all brilliantly cast and equally compelling as characters. Jessica Henwick, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, and Toby Onwumere are all fantastic, charismatic, and each imbue these characters with their own bit of style/acting flair that is instantaneously fresh, familiar, and appropriate for the tone of The Matrix universe. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jonathan Groff specifically should be commended for their nuanced takes on playing reimagined versions of previous characters, avoiding mere imitation/impression of the actors who came before them.

Last, and definitely not least, the musical score from Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer is simply wonderful, feeling like an evolution of the iconic soundscape created for the originals by Don Davis and Graeme Revell. The Matrix Resurrections' soundtrack filled with motifs and callbacks - some obvious, some subtle - that is instantaneously reminiscent of the music from the original trilogy, but also provides its fair share of beautiful new themes for the movie to play with.



What Didn't Work?

Though a lot of the legacy characters return in an interesting fashion that recontextualizes them for the narrative needs of The Matrix Resurrections, that is sadly not the case with Jada Pinkett Smith's returning character, Niobe. If you remember Niobe at all - good on you! That's not an easy task, considering that her character from The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions served as little more than a cameo to pique audience interest into checking out the then-released tie-in game Enter the Matrix. The narrative in The Matrix Resurrections does absolutely nothing to justify the character's return, nor does it do anything dramatically interesting to turn me around in my opinion of the character.

Outside of the few questionable choices in handling its legacy elements, such as Niobe's character, The Matrix Resurrections' biggest issue lies squarely in its action and set pieces. The Matrix initially resonated with audiences not just because of its heady discussions on the nature of man and free will, but because it also brought in wholly original, revolutionary action scenes to tie it altogether. The Matrix Resurrections' subtext posits that this original melding was a potential mistake, causing many to "miss" the larger point of The Matrix - a point that the Wachowski's doubled-down on in the sequels.

One of the criticisms The Matrix Resurrections tries to make is that "bullet-time" and the frenetic Kung Fu fights of the originals should not have been the audience's main takeaway, though sadly, it seems that they were. This subtext is fascinating and while I definitely enjoyed seeing it explored within Resurrections' narrative, the movie admittedly tries to have its cake and eat it too. For all of its metatextual talk, Resurrections feels entirely unsure of itself - not confident enough to let its dialogue and theming do the work. No, it's a movie that decries mindless spectacle, but then includes plenty of mindless spectacle. Even worse, outside of the final set-piece (which is equal parts inventive and horrifying), none of the action on display is noteworthy, with most of the choreography seemingly lost in the overly edited and perfunctory fight scenes.

Finally, I found the inclusion of the standard "blockbuster humor" to be jarring and brazenly unfunny. This specific type of humor is used sparingly enough throughout The Matrix Resurrections that it never becomes outright annoying or ruins the experience, but I would be lying if I said that these jokes felt like anything other than unnecessary inclusions on behest of the studio.



Standout Scene

I'm going to be vague in order to avoid spoilers because I believe that The Matrix Resurrections will work better going in knowing as little as possible. The moment that completely sold me on this sequel (and honestly I felt it needed to sell me) was the very metatextual boardroom scene involving a group of "creative" types arguing amongst themselves about what a specific piece of art means to not just them, but to everyone.

Standout Performance

The standout performance in The Matrix Resurrections goes to Jessica Henwick's Bug - an audience surrogate in the same way that Tom Anderson/Neo was in the original. Henwick avoids simply recreating or repurposing that performance, offering a character that is at once witty, badass, and effortlessly cool - Bugs is everything you could want or expect from a character living within the Matrix universe.



Behind-the-Scenes Trivia

  • The original idea for the fourth Matrix entry initially centered around Clayton Watson's character Kid, from The Matrix Revolutions, sidelining Neo altogether.
  • Although Chad Stahelski (former stunt double for Keanu Reeves in the original The Matrix, stunt coordinator on The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions, and director of the John Wick series) is no longer helping out behind-the-scenes, he does make a cameo in The Matrix Resurrections as, you guessed it - Chad.
  • The basic story idea of "resurrecting" characters who had a clear ending in The Matrix Revolutions came from Lana Wachowski in response to the grief from losing her parents. In turn, Lilly Wachowski cited the loss of their parents as the reason she didn't want to go back to The Matrix.

Pairs Well With...


Film-FTW Rating  ||  7 Stars
"Very Good / Compelling"




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