Spoiler Warning: You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in wonderland, and I show you a lot of spoilers.
The Road to Resurrections
I love The Matrix. I first saw it around December 1999, when it came out on VHS, and - like everyone else who saw it - I was blown away by the original ideas, the artistry, the martial arts, the clear storytelling and the technical wizardry. Most people don't look as fondly upon the less-polished sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Resurrections, which I remember seeing at the cinema in 2003, and spending a lot of that year trying to understand what they were all about. I watched spin-off series The Animatrix, and played the video games Enter The Matrix (2003) and The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005).
20 years on, I look back on all of these with a great deal of affection, and I watch The Matrix Trilogy on an annual basis (and these days I fully understand them and will therefore happily wax lyrical about their various minutiae and complexities, with barely any prompting).
So when I found out in 2019 that Lana Wachowski was reuniting with Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss for a belated fourth instalment, I once more felt like Alice, tumbling down the rabbit hole. After what felt like 100 years of fighting these machines, in September 2021, the first teasers arrived on The Matrix website. These short, tantalising clips, narrated dramatically by Yahya Abdul Mateen II and Neil Patrick Harris, were followed the next day by the best trailer of 2021:
It tells you almost nothing, whilst promising everything. Though overused in the movies, that Jefferson Airplane track is perfect for this. At the end, when Jonathan Groff says, 'After all these years, to be going back to where it all started. Back to The Matrix!' and we get a blast of the main Matrix theme, I get chills every time. Je-sus! What a mind-job.
Such was my anticipation, that I posted 26 pieces of my Matrix artwork to social media, counting down the days until the film's release. You can find them here on Twitter and here on Instagram. When the film landed, several social media accounts I respect delivered glowing reviews. The only people who seemed upset by the film were those wankers who make angry videos with big, inflammatory headlines and constantly use the word, 'woke.' It stood to reason that if they hated the film, I would probably love it. But fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony.
'I have dreamed a dream, but now that dream is gone from me'
Unlike the aforementioned wankers, or the losers who spend their days tearing down anyone who doesn't share their opinions on Star Wars, I don't intend to deliver my review as if it is a matter of fact. Although I didn't enjoy The Matrix Resurrections, I'm really pleased for those who have. I really wanted to like the film, and I was willing it to be good throughout. Hope- it is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of our greatest strength and our greatest weakness.
When writing a review, any self-respecting professional is unlikely to tell you the story; its widely considered better to leave the details out. However, we all well know that the reason that most of us are here is because of our affinity for disobedience, so let's start at the beginning.
We're introduced to Bugs (Jessica Henwick) spying on a familiar scene. Agents and police have come to arrest Trinity. Not for the last time in this film, we are shown a replay of events from The Matrix. Meanwhile, Bugs (a likeable, plucky, kickass hero, who looks really cool combining a goth dress with a trench coat, blue hair, and big blue shades) meets Morpheus 2.0 (Yahya Abdul Mateen II, also looking awesome in brightly coloured suits, and having a ball reinventing Morpheus).
Possibly to bring something fresh to the series and possibly for the sake of making the film more convoluted (see Westworld season 2 for the best example of making a simple story over-complicated), Morpheus 2.0 is an amalgamation of both Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Smith (Hugo Weaving) living in an isolated modal of the Matrix, which is controlled by video game developer Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves), who is living in a new version of the Matrix. The fact that Morpheus 2.0 behaves like other programmes in the Matrix does fit the internal logic of the series, but that is one messy origin, seemingly designed to explain the re-casting of a central character (which remains a mystery here in the 'real' world- Fishburne has reported that he was never invited to be in The Matrix Resurrections).
Next we get to know Thomas Anderson. A much underrated actor, Keanu is a sympathetic presence here, capably playing a lost soul who is successful but miserable. He politely puts up with irritating co-workers, has an awkward and endearing encounter with supposed stranger Tiffany (Carrie-Anne Moss), and undergoes therapy because he remembers his previous life (The Matrix Trilogy) in flashbacks and dreams. I found this really promising- what better way to acknowledge the history of the franchise, whilst also setting our protagonist up for a dramatic resurgence (the washed-up hero returning to their former glory is a trope used well in The Dark Knight Rises, Hook, Logan, Skyfall, Watchmen, The Mask of Zorro and many more).
Anderson's business partner (Jonathan Groff) informs him that Warner Bros have demanded a fourth Matrix. In the world of the story, that means a new computer game, but in our world they really did demand another movie, saying there would be one whether the Wachowskis got involved or not. That's delightfully meta, and a moment I've seen many positive reviewers view as the key to understanding the film. Is The Matrix Resurrections an anti-sequel sequel? It seems so, but that doesn't just detriment the studio- its also unfortunate for the audience, as we shall soon see.
Bugs & Co trace Neo's signal to Thomas Anderson and attempt to free his mind from the Matrix, just as Morpheus did in the 1999 original. Apparently, they've been searching for him since the end of the Machine War, sixty years ago, but haven't found him because he looks different! The fact that he's still called Thomas Anderson and that he created a popular video game series based on his old life somehow didn't help them.
Anyway, there's another spanner in the works- it turns out that Anderson's business partner is a reincarnation of Smith, the rogue agent and virus whose destruction ended the last war. How is he back? Why is he back? That's never explained. Groff is great in the role, but it feels like the character was forced into the film, and he doesn't make much impact.
Thomas/Neo escapes Smith and takes the red pill again. Its around this point in the film that Bugs and Morpheus repeatedly make call-backs to the first movie. A few nods are fun, but this many is just irritating. It takes you out of the film- you can't be absorbed in a new story if it constantly references an old one. We also meet the rest of Bugs' crew, but they're completely one-dimensional and superfluous so I have no idea why we need to know their names.
Next, Neo enters the Construct with Morpheus. On the television nearby, we can see the first time he entered the Construct with Morpheus. I'm sure you can guess why I was feeling a bit cheated by this point.
In The Matrix (1999), a tech company employee called Neo is freed from the Matrix by a ragtag band who live aboard a futuristic hovercraft. A character called Morpheus delivers essential exposition in a white space called the Construct, then fights Neo in a dojo. Neo slowly comes to believe in himself and must use his abilities to save a loved one in a finale featuring a helicopter (from which bullets fall in slow motion), a skyscraper, and a kiss. Meanwhile, in The Matrix Resurrections (2021), Neo works for a tech company before he is freed from the Matrix by a ragtag band who live aboard a futuristic hovercraft. A character called Morpheus delivers exposition in a white space known as the Construct, then fights Neo in a dojo. Neo slowly comes to believe in himself and must use his abilities to save a loved one in a finale featuring a helicopter (from which bullets fall in slow motion), a skyscraper, and a kiss.
Its not impossible to make a fun film that borrows story beats from its predecessors (e.g. Ghostbusters 2 or Star Wars: The Force Awakens) but The Matrix Resurrections really beats you over the head with it and -thanks to the knowing winks and nods from the characters - won't let you forget it. Furthermore, it mostly fails to offer new ideas.
For example, the next place we visit is the new human city, Io. Is it drastically different from Zion? No. Does it feature any exciting innovations? No. We discover that one of the main outcomes of Neo's previous sacrifice is that humans living in the real world can now grow strawberries. Also, there was a civil war between the machines (which gets glossed over in the film's second frustratingly swift montage) so the humans now have machine allies.
This is a cool idea previously touched upon in The Matrix Revolutions and The Animatrix. I like the way programmes can now exist in the real world as a collection of ball-bearings (though the effect looked a bit cheap on an Imax cinema screen) but hated the unimaginative appearance of the benign machines. One looked like a tiny Transformer and another looked like a poorly-rendered cross between a bird and a manta ray, a far cry from the awesome, utilitarian design of the Sentinels.
In Io, we're also reunited with Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith), who is initially warm and friendly, then antagonistic towards Bugs and Neo because their plan risks the exposure of Io, then suddenly agrees to the risk to save Tiffany/Trinity, even offering them additional aid. Why so changeable? I kept feeling like I'd missed something. Hopefully, by the time I'm finished eating this cookie, I'll feel right as rain.
Neo and the gang then return to the Matrix and are instantly met by Smith, the Merovingian (Lambert Wilson) and his army of exiled programmes. After a lot of empty chit-chat, its finally time for some action! However, there are too many moving parts in the ensuing fight sequence, the music is generic and the editing is choppy (Remember the music from the original trilogy? I can hum tracks from all three but can't remember a single one from this). While we try to focus on the flying limbs, the dishevelled Merovingian shouts from the side-lines in a garbled mixture of English and French. His fall from grace makes sense in this new Matrix, but this rubbish, superfluous new version of the Merovingian is disenchanting when compared to the smug, sophisticated philosopher we met in The Matrix Reloaded. Where's an orgasm cake when you need one?
Smith and Neo are wisely removed from the melee so they can fight one-on-one (like they did in The Matrix and The Matrix Revolutions). However, their fight is brief and wracked with editing problems. Then Smith hammers Neo with punches in a shot copied directly from the first film. Then Neo gets his arse kicked again (we've already watched him get beaten up by Morpheus in the dojo), before gripping his real world armrest (as he did in The Matrix Reloaded) and blasting Smith away with a Hadouken.
Fleeting distraction dealt with, Neo goes to see Trinity but is confronted by his therapist (Neil Patrick Harris) who is actually the Analyst, successor to the Architect (Helmut Bakaitis). Harris is perfect as the gloating villain, but he's overpowered (he can stop time) and his explanation (that keeping Neo and Trinity in close proximity helps other humans accept the simulation) is illogical nonsense. I suppose some rules can be bent, others broken.
The heroes assemble to come up with a Mission: Impossible plan for saving Trinity from the Analyst's clutches. Half of the team have to retrieve her body from the real world. For some reason, Bugs has to be plugged in to Trinity's pod, which causes them both to scream. A lot of emphasis is placed on this totally inconsequential moment. In every heist film, the plan goes wrong and the heroes must improvise. This does not happen in The Matrix Resurrections; even though they are in the heart of machine territory, the plan goes without a hitch, rendering the whole scene boring.
The rest of the team enter the Matrix to confront the Analyst. When Trinity tries to escape with Neo and the gang, the Analyst orders everyone plugged in to attack them. Neo knows Kung Fu. He adopts an awesome martial arts stance...
...And then doesn't fight anyone. Instead, he hops on the back of a motorcycle behind Trinity and uses his Force powers to clear the way and protect them. Its the best action scene in the film, but I couldn't help feeling robbed of an even better fight scene.
The chase takes us to the roof of a skyscraper. Neo and Trinity leap off, but Neo still hasn't regained the ability to fly. So Trinity flies instead. Is it cool seeing Trinity fly? Of course. Does it make any sense? No. Is any explanation offered? No!
In the final scene, Neo and Trinity threaten the Analyst. Trinity finally gets to throw a few punches (Weirdly, she doesn't hold a gun at any point in Resurrections). Then they both fly away and the credits begin. Meanwhile, a song is playing ('Wake Up'). Its the same song that plays at the end of The Matrix as Neo flies away. There's a post-credits scene, but its really not worth our time.
'Every Beginning has an End'
As you can tell from my breakdown above, I left the cinema disappointed (Why, oh why didn't I take the blue pill?). Positive reviews I've seen since have highlighted the romance of The Matrix Resurrections. I agree that the film gets you to care more about Neo, Trinity and their relationship than all the previous instalments (Its heart-wrenching when their real world bodies are reaching out for each other, but they're held apart by the machines).
However, its my view that the film could have featured action too. Oh there's a little, but not very much, especially for a Matrix movie.
I haven't read any reviews discussing deeper meaning in the film yet, but I'm keen to. The original series has a political message and functions as a trans allegory, so The Matrix Resurrections probably does too.
My main assumption about positive reactions to the film (which could be totally wrong) is that some fans crave nostalgia instead of originality. Ghostbusters: Afterlife adopts monsters and story beats from its 1984 forebear, while Spider-Man: No Way Home incorporates characters from old continuities (Spider-Man 2002-2007 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2012-2014). The upcoming Scream movie appears to do both. Times are strange, so maybe familiarity is what the public wants right now.
Let us know what you thought of The Matrix Resurrections. I'm based on a similar predication to my five predecessors: a contingent affirmation that was meant to create a profound attachment to the rest of my species, so I naturally hope you enjoyed it more than I did.
Also, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!