The Matrix: Resurrections (2021)

[Eric Duncan]

Discuss

[CoolioD1]

i guess lilly was the brains of the operation.

[jb007]

The Matrix Resurrections is closer to the original in tone compared to the sequels. The action sequences are good. Neo and Trinity story/connection is sweet and makes thr movie more personal. The score is decent. I liked it.

 

A-

[lilmac]

I kept asking myself what is this movie about? What’s the end goal here (beyond reuniting Trinity and Neo)? What’s at stake? It felt very much like a stage setter for a trilogy. The film had little weight on its own. Also, the script relied too heavily on the mythos and grandeur of the original. Not to mention the greatest hits cameos, flashbacks, and slow-mo action scenes. It was way too meta (even controlling for the fact they purposely went meta). The first trilogy was used as a crutch time and time again. Unfortunately most Wachowski movies are subpar. They hit paydirt with The Matrix. I’m not optimistic about the sequels. I give it a B- but I’ll give it another chance after rewatching the earlier films. 

[Cmasterclay]

Well-done enough but not the revelation or inventive sequel some reviews made it out to be, kind of just a remake of the first one except with the most boring element of the trilogy front and center.

[Menor the Destroyer]

3 hours ago, Cmasterclay said:

Well-done enough but not the revelation or inventive sequel some reviews made it out to be, kind of just a remake of the first one except with the most boring element of the trilogy front and center.

My exact thoughts basically, will give it a B.

[Omario]

Its just a love story. Action was underwhelming. I wouldn't say its bad bad but its nothing wow. It gave the fans an ending that the characters needed in revolutions. If the action had been more Matrix like and had some actual stakes this would have been better received. Pity. Hope it makes some money but HBO Max has killed it.

 

C-

[Alpha]

6 hours ago, Omario said:

Its just a love story.

And that's why it's great.

 

A

[Omario]

18 hours ago, Alpha said:

And that's why it's great.

 

A

yeah not saying its bad a thing. I'm happy with the ending. I just wanted the stakes to be higher and the action to be more slick. Basically how Trinity at the end manhandled the analyst. that was the type of fighting that was needed. Boundaries were not pushed. Choreography seemed lazy. Instead we had Neo in his PJs for the whole film. 

Edited December 25, 2021 by Omario

[Webslinger]

Lana Wachowski returns to the world she co-created with her sister in The Matrix Resurrections, and it is exactly what one would probably expect from a Wachowski film at this point: it’s a big, goofy, and unabashedly sincere film that takes big swings and is enough standard deviations from the cinematic norm that it’s bound to alienate a decent chunk of the audience that will show up for it expecting something more conventional. For my money, it’s her best, most fascinating film since Speed Racer, and the most enjoyable of the franchise’s sequels. Though the film engages in plenty of meta, biting-the-hand-that-feeds humor with its fourth wall-breaking commentary on franchise reboots and the long-standing social and philosophical discourse surrounding the first Matrix, it is ultimately a deeply exciting and affecting new adventure for its characters, and Wachowski’s love for these characters (as discussed in interviews explaining why she wanted to do the film in the first place) shines through and provides the film with meaningful emotional stakes. As one would also expect from a Matrix film, the action sequences are dynamic and highly entertaining (even if they understandably don’t have the same groundbreaking wow factor of the original), the philosophical concepts the narrative pauses to explore are intriguing and lend greater weight to the film’s themes and metacommentary, and there is a genuine sense throughout the running time that we are watching the work of filmmakers who are investing all the passion they have into crafting a unique experience. I don’t want to say too much about the performances nor the narrative that is not already present in the trailers – as one might imagine from this franchise’s history, it works best if viewers are not privy to certain information heading in – but Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss step back into their old roles so gracefully that they practically make it look effortless (and provide viewers who have been waiting for this reunion with some very rewarding payoff), Jonathan Groff and Neil Patrick Harris are tons of fun as new characters who clearly seem to have some connection to this new iteration of the Matrix, and Jessica Henwick and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II successfully channel the vibe of Laurence Fishburne’s Morpheus in the preceding films in interesting new ways here (with the latter actually playing Morpheus, as shown in trailers and listed on IMDB). In a year where we have seen franchise nostalgia yield underwhelming returns in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and half-hearted metacommentary backfire in fellow Warner Bros property Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Matrix Resurrections feels like a near-miracle of franchise legacy storytelling. It admittedly doesn’t hold up quite as strongly as it did when I exited the theater on an immediate post-viewing high (it is a Wachowski movie after all, so it’s pretty messy), but it’s a lovingly crafted sequel that certainly has the power to please viewers on Wachowski’s wavelength. Like Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas before it, I suspect that time will ultimately be kind to this film, even if the box office grosses and initial audience scores are not. 

 

B+

[clockwork]

I just finished watching it, I thought it was fine and not too special. I wouldn't call myself a Matrix fan, just someone who's been on the internets for a while and thus became aware of the cultural significance of it, especially the first one which I saw years ago on TV and agree that it's a fascinating watch/experience. Never saw the sequels, not because I actively avoided them it's likely cause the series was never really on my radar.

 

In regards to this particular movie I think it needed a tighter and shorter script/story, did not need to be over 2 hours (like most movies these days tbh). One major complaint I have is the heavy handed meta commentary on franchises, reboots, sequels and the like. Several times I found myself going "alright I get it", should've focused more of crafting a better story/script than a bunch of meta jokes. Another issue is the bringing back some old characters but with different actors, just make new characters instead of these weird rebooted versions.

 

The stuff that did work for me was mainly Neo and Trinity, even as someone who didn't see the last two Matrixes I found myself invested in their story and liked how their whole situation ended up. I also liked the new dynamics introduced with the inhabitants of the real world, wish that got fleshed out a bit more. Overall I thought this was alright, wont be for everyone but it will be for some and they were definitely right to put this on HBO Max.  Just a solid C from me.

[Ozymandias]

I laughed pretty hard when the Merovingian shows up in a shitty warehouse bitching about shitty sequels and reboots while actually dressed in trash and then says hes gonna get his own franchise spinoff after his henchmen are defeated. 

[filmlover]

This was a disappointment, especially for an "almost two decades later" sequel. Lana Wachowski has some intriguing ideas here, but the movie fails to explore any of them especially well and the whole thing just comes across as a glorified original for HBO Max (which is how I watched it). And while some of the meta humor works, calling itself out as an unnecessary sequel with no real reason to exist (that would've happened with or without its original creators) early on feels like an attempt to absolve the movie of criticism for actually being an unnecessary sequel with no real reason to exist. The actors do the best they can: Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss have no difficulty slipping back into their roles, but Neil Patrick Harris' villain character isn't nearly as much fun as one would expect while Jonathan Groff and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (two actors I always like) can't make up for the very-much-felt absence of Hugo Weaving and Laurence Fishburne in their parts. There are a couple of cool action moments, and at least the 2.5 hour length moves by quickly enough, but this just ends up yet another piece of evidence that the original remains a classic whose legacy would've been better served had it remained a one-off that never spawned a franchise. C

[ZeeSoh]

The movie was a big disappointment. The VFX was nothing special and the action was just bad. How do you not have cool action sequences in a matrix movie? And the fight choreography was just a huge let down. None of the fights were any good. 
 

They even made Neo’s powers boring. All he seemed to be able to do now is force push people and things. 
 

AND PEOPLE IN THE MATRIX HAS WORSE AIM THAN STORMTROOPERS!! I dont think any one actually gets hit even once despite getting shot at by multiple people at close range. 
 

There is also zero stakes. No one at any point seemed to be in much danger whatsoever. Not a single person died or even got severely injured.

 

Agent Smith is absolutely pointless. He could have been entirely left out without it making any difference. His only meaningful contribution to the story, the deux ex machina like savior act in the cafe, could have been easily done other way. 
 

The beginning 1/3rd was good. It was meta and trippy and they had few good ideas but its all downhill from that. After that it just becomes a boring old action movie. 
 

The good robots and programs crossing over in to the real world were good concepts. If they had combined these with the robot civil war and made a movie about that war, it would have been so much better. 

[titanic2187]

Actually the first half was pretty good, but the movie left zero spark for the 2nd half. The once pioneering concept and action style just isn't as magical as it was once in 1999. This movie is reflecting the general struggle of the sci-fi genre, less people care about science nowadays.   

[hasanahmad]

The movie is a struggle and a terrible one 

. when you see the scenes from the first matrix played as this one plays you can tell wow that looks way more interesting. 
 

the matrix trilogy took itself seriously so it had to be really good to be worth that . This ? Maybe the film makers knew it would be worse so they made it meta and non serious 

 

I mean the first scene that pops out is the Morpheus dizzy scene and he jokes about Bug’s glasses . If that doesn’t take you completely out of a matrix movie , nothing will 

 

The movie is also a cynical hypocrisy. In the first half when the movie is supremely meta it mocks the concept of sequels, it mocks the philosophy of the original trilogy and what they stood for. Then suddenly h the second half it completely embrace what it mocked . 
 

the action was shot by someone who wouldn’t be chosen by Netflix themselves for a streaming movie . The action was zoomed in as if they wanted to hide how bad it was and yet it was so bad that a zoomed out look might have made it look like a behind the scenes capture not the movie itself 

 

I’m done . F 

[Daxtreme]

I wish the movie embraced its deconstruction of itself more. Right now it's half a great, thought-provoking movie, half a mindless sci-fi blockbuster love story. I wish they went all-in on the meta deconstruction or dumped it entirely, not this half-assed effort at it.

 

Smith had ZERO of Hugo Weaving's demeanor, a complete failure of casting on all levels. He doesn't even say his signature "Mr. Anderson!", he calls him "Tom" instead. What a fail. He's also completely useless to the narrative and he was fully destroyed in Revolutions and they didn't even attempt to explain his presence here. Also why anyone would let him in this new Matrix to begin with.

 

The absence of legendary fight choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping is sorely missed as the action is mostly uninspired. 

 

Decent enough (Neo and Trinity are that great together), but a huge wasted opportunity.

 

C+

Edited January 7, 2022 by Daxtreme

[lorddemaxus]

2 hours ago, Daxtreme said:

Smith had ZERO of Hugo Weaving's demeanor, a complete failure of casting on all levels. He doesn't even say his signature "Mr. Anderson!", he calls him "Tom" instead. What a fail. He's also completely useless to the narrative and he was fully destroyed in Revolutions and they didn't even attempt to explain his presence here. Also why anyone would let him in this new Matrix to begin with.

He's not trying to have Weaving's demeanor. His whole point here is being pretty, petty asshole. Groff was perfect for they were going here.

Edited January 7, 2022 by lorddemaxus