The Matrix Resurrections

[MessiahDecoy123]

Ever since The Matrix Revolutions, I have always complained that the Wachowski's made movies for themselves rather than the audience and I agree with the general audience that the results are mostly mixed at best but here I totally respect Lana's personal 200 million dollar movie.

She actually got WB to agree to letting her pre-emptively sabotage any future, corporate extensions or reboots of The Matrix franchise. That's the sole purpose of the movie and totally a legitimate form of artistic warfare as the co-creator of The Matrix franchise.

This alone moves this film up a couple pegs above the other Matrix sequels. So while it's less iconic and less impressive in terms of action than other Matrix films, it succeeds as an artistic statement against the corporate machine of Hollywood in a way few big budgeted films have ever attempted.

And making it a love story primarily is probably the most earnest and least cynical way to tie all the films together.

So while there were pacing problems and re-casting issues that made the film somewhat a chore to sit through I absolutely respect what Lana achieves here.

My rankings...

The Matrix
The Animatrix

Resurrections

Reloaded/Revolutions (tie)

 

[BatLobster]

I totally agree. They make movies for themselves with big budgets. You're either going to love this or hate this about them and I get it. But it's a breath of fresh air as the corporate demand for "content" based on IP has never been higher.

I continue to feel like this has all the makings of a cult classic.

 

[Filmfan93]

I am honestly amazed how some people rank Resurrections above Reloaded/Revolutions.

Say what you want about them, but at least the sequels felt like films set within the same universe, with the characters still being true to their selves in the original and also the visuals, action and production design all being on point.

These alone are reasons enough to place Resurrections at the very bottom.

 

[KaijuDude1992]

I am honestly amazed how some people rank Resurrections above Reloaded/Revolutions.

Say what you want about them, but at least the sequels felt like films set within the same universe, with the characters still being true to their selves in the original and also the visuals, action and production design all being on point.

These alone are reasons enough to place Resurrections at the very bottom.

I mean it's all subjective, but it sounds like those who enjoyed this more really liked the meta stuff and the fact that it was a smaller more personal story for Neo and Trinity aswell as the romance between those two.

I can kind of understand where they are coming from too, but I just found this movie lacking on so many levels and when you can't even deliver on the action sequences in a franchise that set the bar when it comes to awesome, groundbreaking action sequences than that's a huge problem for me.

I guess I just expected a lot more from a new Matrix movie or had too high of expectations because I was really disappointed that not one action scene in this movie was as memorable as the Highway chase from Reloaded or the DBZ/Superman fight between Neo and Agent Smith in Revolutions

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I am honestly amazed how some people rank Resurrections above Reloaded/Revolutions.

Say what you want about them, but at least the sequels felt like films set within the same universe, with the characters still being true to their selves in the original and also the visuals, action and production design all being on point.

These alone are reasons enough to place Resurrections at the very bottom.

I think it comes down to adjusted expectations and expanding the mythos.

Most people remember the crushing disappointment of Reloaded and Revolutions. With the mixed reviews of Resurrections most of us already expected something subpar.

Also those low expectations impacted how much people embraced the expanded universe. People were annoyed by the Zion orgy/dancing and the tedious exposition in Reloaded/Revolutions. You just wanted to fast foward to the action.

Resurrections is the opposite. You want to fast foward the action to figure out what exactly is going on.

The first one of course was superior in all areas: action, exposition, pacing, storytelling, etc.

But with the sequels it just comes down to which films disappointed more and which had better mythos expansion.

 

[BatLobster]

I'm a big fan of the sequels and the trilogy as a whole. But I actually appreciated that this movie has an entirely different aesthetic and approach to the material. Because it keeps the trilogy as its own self-contained thing, and this is almost more like metatextual epilogue to those 3. Also from a mythology standpoint, the whole point of the ending of Revolutions is that Neo's sacrifice was going to give birth to a new paradigm, both inside and outside The Matrix. So it feels right that anything coming after that has a different creative approach.

As to how I'd rank them, eh, I'm not sure. I think this movie struck a balance between the self-contained simplicity of the original film and the weird worldbuilding of the sequels that was satisfying for me. And I think the way this movie is able to frame our current day as the new Matrix while giving the movie a meta-spin is just more straight up "clever" than anything in the sequels. The way I see it is kind of like 1-3 is a full meal. This 4th film is kind of like a desert course. Interestingly enough the code name for the production was "Project Ice Cream".

I also thought this movie made Neo and Trinity's love story feel the most relatable, which was unexpected and cool. In the original films, they're in such heightened circumstances- they are soldiers in a war. The love story was crucial to the narrative, but it always felt more mythological and grandiose. Fast forward to this film, and you get a scene of them in a coffee shop just talking about life. It was really refreshing and it really made me root for them to wake up and remember who they were.

It's just such a different beast from the other films at the end of the day. And if people hate this film and gain a new appreciation for Reloaded/Revolutions, that's not such a bad outcome in my opinion as those films are criminally underrated.

 

[Marvolo]

I am honestly amazed how some people rank Resurrections above Reloaded/Revolutions.

Say what you want about them, but at least the sequels felt like films set within the same universe, with the characters still being true to their selves in the original and also the visuals, action and production design all being on point.

These alone are reasons enough to place Resurrections at the very bottom.

I dont see any difference in behavior. Neo still loves and will die for Trinity. She still loves him. They both want to fight the Analyst and Smith by the end of the film. Niobe is as stubborn and strong willed as ever but is willing to bend when it makes sense, and has to lead an entire city. Smith has had a bit of a reboot but he changed some after his first resurrection so this isnt really out of character for him.

 

[cabel]

Highly recommend the Blank Check podcast episode on this. Really in depth interesting discussion.

 

[henzINNIT]

After a second viewing, I'd rank Resurrections over the other sequels. It's not a huge gap, but it's a better individual film than a story split over two uneven films. If a couple of those action sequences had more care and attention I would like it more, it's definitely lesser in that regard. It's not the only factor for me though. Resurrections is much better at exploring the psychology of living inside the Matrix, something the first did so well and something the other sequels largely dropped in favour of plot.

 

[Mysteryman]

1.The Matrix.
2. Matrix Reloaded.
3.Matrix Resurrections.(It might indeed be the final entry of the franchise. But,I am glad that this film was made.)
4.Matrix Revolutions.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

This film is rubbish. You were right @Chip Chipperson, and you are lucky this was not theater exclusive

1. Revenant Neo Anderson in his fourth movie makes me wish I was watching revenant John Wick in his fourth movie already instead.
2. Colleen Wing named Bugs needed a simulated carrot and to ask "What's up doc?" instead of a hairstyle and dye that makes me think she was cosplaying as Sonic the Hedgehog.
3. Rubbish editing, rubbish montage of the one on the toilet jumping to taking a shower like a mix between Johnny English bathroom training and Martin Sheen's breakdown that was filmed for Apocalypse Now that bounces back and forth between it and the board meeting room.
4. ..................$@#&*&^#U^#&*^$&*@#^(*)@&*(#^@^$&*@%(&*$^@(
5. Pardon my language
6. Trinity took her last breath after getting stabbed by steel bars used for concrete reinforcement, she shouldn't be alive here.
7. Who healed Neo's eyes? Why return to the pod?
8. This has slow motion for the sake of slow motion and they overdid it, while it was a nice stylistic choice in the previous trilogy that made some shots properly viewed and ingrained in memory.
9. ^&*$^#&*^%#&*^&$#^&$^#&^*&#^&*$^#&*^$&*#^&*$^#&*^@&$^&*@#^&*$^@&*^$&*@#
10. I think I'm done cussing for now, maybe
11. This is without a single shred of doubt the worst Matrix movie out there, anyone telling me it's better than either one or both the 2003 sequels -or even as good- is someone with an opinion I won't agree with when it comes to this series of films.
12. This was almost the worst of 2021 films that I've seen, it's lucky Reminiscence exists, and that I watched that pile of poop.

 

[BatLobster]

Highly recommend the Blank Check podcast episode on this. Really in depth interesting discussion.

Checking it out. A few minutes into it and enjoying the convo so far. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Filmfan93]

This film is rubbish. You were right @Chip Chipperson, and you are lucky this was not theater exclusive

1. Revenant Neo Anderson in his fourth movie makes me wish I was watching revenant John Wick in his fourth movie already instead.
2. Colleen Wing named Bugs needed a simulated carrot and to ask "What's up doc?" instead of a hairstyle and dye that makes me think she was cosplaying as Sonic the Hedgehog.
3. Rubbish editing, rubbish montage of the one on the toilet jumping to taking a shower like a mix between Johnny English bathroom training and Martin Sheen's breakdown that was filmed for Apocalypse Now that bounces back and forth between it and the board meeting room.
4. ..................$@#&*&^#U^#&*^$&*@#^(*)@&*(#^@^$&*@%(&*$^@(
5. Pardon my language
6. Trinity took her last breath after getting stabbed by steel bars used for concrete reinforcement, she shouldn't be alive here.
7. Who healed Neo's eyes? Why return to the pod?
8. This has slow motion for the sake of slow motion and they overdid it, while it was a nice stylistic choice in the previous trilogy that made some shots properly viewed and ingrained in memory.
9. ^&*$^#&*^%#&*^&$#^&$^#&^*&#^&*$^#&*^$&*#^&*$^#&*^@&$^&*@#^&*$^@&*^$&*@#
10. I think I'm done cussing for now, maybe
11. This is without a single shred of doubt the worst Matrix movie out there, anyone telling me it's better than either one or both the 2003 sequels -or even as good- is someone with an opinion I won't agree with when it comes to this series of films.
12. This was almost the worst of 2021 films that I've seen, it's lucky Reminiscence exists, and that I watched that pile of poop.

Yep, sums up my thoughts pretty well.

The more i think about this film, the worse it gets.

 

[BatLobster]

After some reflection, I think the White Rabbit montage is probably my favorite thing I saw in motion picture in the year 2021.

Yup. Chef's kiss.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I don’t agree with the notion that Lana intentionally made this to end the series and kill the potential for future sequels. Both she and WB might be saying now that this is intended as a conclusion but I think if they are, it’s just because the film is bombing hard and they know Matrix 5 isn’t happening. But I believe they were setting up for another installment (or multiple films) with the way this ended. There’s no real resolution with Smith; he’s still out there, ready to mess with Neo again after he got his revenge on the analyst. And the Analyst wasn’t taken out either so he would likely be looking for new ways to keep Neo and Trinity contained. Because there really isn’t a resolution with the Matrix itself; Neo and Trinity are going to rewrite stuff or something but in the real world they still have to go about freeing minds covertly and there’s no clear path to doing that. And Trinity was barely in this (they really couldn’t have shown some scenes of her discovering her reality was a simulation instead of just having her show up in a coffee shop and tell Neo about it?) so that leads me to think that they wanted to showcase “One Trinity” in a new sequel.

I know Lana isn’t your typical play-ball-with-the-studio director but I wholeheartedly believe she was planning to continue the story if this was successful. Seeds were certainly planted. But she probably also knew that the interest might not be there and so this film is also written in such a way that it could be seen as a conclusion.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I don’t agree with the notion that Lana intentionally made this to end the series and kill the potential for future sequels. Both she and WB might be saying now that this is intended as a conclusion but I think if they are, it’s just because the film is bombing hard and they know Matrix 5 isn’t happening. But I believe they were setting up for another installment (or multiple films) with the way this ended. There’s no real resolution with Smith; he’s still out there, ready to mess with Neo again after he got his revenge on the analyst. And the Analyst wasn’t taken out either so he would likely be looking for new ways to keep Neo and Trinity contained. Because there really isn’t a resolution with the Matrix itself; Neo and Trinity are going to rewrite stuff or something but in the real world they still have to go about freeing minds covertly and there’s no clear path to doing that. And Trinity was barely in this (they really couldn’t have shown some scenes of her discovering her reality was a simulation instead of just having her show up in a coffee shop and tell Neo about it?) so that leads me to think that they wanted to showcase “One Trinity” in a new sequel.

I know Lana isn’t your typical play-ball-with-the-studio director but I wholeheartedly believe she was planning to continue the story if this was successful. Seeds were certainly planted. But she probably also knew that the interest might not be there and so this film is also written in such a way that it could be seen as a conclusion.

My argument is that whatever WB does in the future will basically be pre-emptively criticized by this movie.

The literal depiction of the WB execs, the team's shallow creative process, the analyst's commentary of what people want from The Matrix, and...

Spoiler

And the brutal and crude way Neo and Trinity were brought back to life.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Pretty much. Like the first Matrix. It’s a standalone but the sequel threads are there if you want them.

I think the Wachowski have been burned too many times with their non-franchise starters Speed Racer and Jupiter Ascending which were both intended to start their own trilogies lol

 

[Deck Rickard]

I think the Wachowskis should give TV another shot. They have a lot of great ideas but they struggle when trying to fit them all into a film. So much of this movie felt undercooked (NuMorpheus, Smith, Bugs’ entire crew, the whole machine war) that might have worked better had it been spaced out across a 10-episode season.

 

[BatLobster]

I don’t agree with the notion that Lana intentionally made this to end the series and kill the potential for future sequels. Both she and WB might be saying now that this is intended as a conclusion but I think if they are, it’s just because the film is bombing hard and they know Matrix 5 isn’t happening. But I believe they were setting up for another installment (or multiple films) with the way this ended. There’s no real resolution with Smith; he’s still out there, ready to mess with Neo again after he got his revenge on the analyst. And the Analyst wasn’t taken out either so he would likely be looking for new ways to keep Neo and Trinity contained. Because there really isn’t a resolution with the Matrix itself; Neo and Trinity are going to rewrite stuff or something but in the real world they still have to go about freeing minds covertly and there’s no clear path to doing that. And Trinity was barely in this (they really couldn’t have shown some scenes of her discovering her reality was a simulation instead of just having her show up in a coffee shop and tell Neo about it?) so that leads me to think that they wanted to showcase “One Trinity” in a new sequel.

I know Lana isn’t your typical play-ball-with-the-studio director but I wholeheartedly believe she was planning to continue the story if this was successful. Seeds were certainly planted. But she probably also knew that the interest might not be there and so this film is also written in such a way that it could be seen as a conclusion.

Well she was asked about a sequel at the premiere (before we knew how it would perform) and gave a flat no.

 

[-Arya-]

Count me in as preferring Resurrections over Reloaded and Revolutions. The action is certainly better in the other two, but as a story Resurrections is stronger.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Well she was asked about a sequel at the premiere (before we knew how it would perform) and gave a flat no.

Interesting. I'd like to see more of this new Matrix, but if that's the case, I can respect that.

Now the scene with Jonathan Groff will not happen in real life, they're just gonna take it away from her and turn it into some awful prestige TV Max show or that embarrassing Morpheus spin off that will "give the fans what they want."

 

[henzINNIT]

Honestly this is probably the most I've felt for Neo in any of the movies. He was a great everyman turned messiah in the first, then a little distant in the sequels for me. In Resurrections the poor guy is in absolute hell, and he's so broken once he escapes again. Sad Keanu is always heartbreaking, and used to great effect here.

I don't see a lot of hooks for a sequel. There's a few things you could follow-up on, but nothing particularly unresolved. Progress will continue, the more oppressive new matrix is the threat and it has been taken over by Neo and Trinity. There are new characters but they mostly serve to bring back the familiar faces.

 

[TheVileOne]

While I'm glad Neo and Trinity and back, the machines making a conscious voluntary decision to resurrect them makes no sense and seems like a self-defeating prophecy.

They apparently generate too much energy for them or something? I'm not understanding the reasoning. Is this a byproduct of synthetically grown humans? They acquire strange new extrasensory abilities?

 

[TheVileOne]

Well she was asked about a sequel at the premiere (before we knew how it would perform) and gave a flat no.

Aggressive negotiations.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

While I'm glad Neo and Trinity and back, the machines making a conscious voluntary decision to resurrect them makes no sense and seems like a self-defeating prophecy.

They apparently generate too much energy for them or something? I'm not understanding the reasoning. Is this a byproduct of synthetically grown humans? They acquire strange new extrasensory abilities?

From what I understood, if Neo and Trinity are close enough (but not too close), they boost the electricity plant production. They act like some sort of catalyst for all the other humans because "love".