I love The Matrix. More than that, I highly respect how influential it proved to be on the wider movie landscape, influencing many movies across all genres for many years after. When asked what I’d do if given an opportunity to travel by time machine, many people wrestle with the dilemma of killing a baby Hitler, but I’d go back to 1999 at see The Matrix on opening night. I think the subsequent two movies provide an action epic through thought-provoking lore and visuals, akin to Star Wars, even if the mythology can get a little wonky. And so it goes with movies these days, if there is money to be made by ‘reloading’ a recognisable franchise, it’s hardly a ‘revelation’ that it will occur 😉 The Matrix Resurrections was in cinemas at the turn of 2022, and I’m catching up on it just before my imposed yearly deadline.
Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) works for a computer-gaming manufacturer, responsible for authoring ‘The Matrix’, a revolutionary and engrossing game from a few decades ago. The manufacturer’s parent company, Warner Bros., demands a sequel to the game even though the company knows that the story is complete. And yes, they’re really doing this. Sliced in with flashbacks to the old ‘Matrix movies, Anderson rejoins the other side once again when one of his programs, Morpheus (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), makes contact, with the help of Bugs (Jessica Henwick), and informs Thomas that he is in fact Neo – the One, lost over sixty years ago after confronting the Machines in a successful bid to save the oppressed human city of Zion. But if Neo is to accept this reality, he will insist that Trinity (Carey-Ann Moss) be removed from the new Matrix as well, who is currently sporting the skin of Tiffany, and thinking she has two children – that is, only if she wants to, as the Matrix’s new architect, The Analyst (Neil Patrick Harris), has put many obstacles in the way.
Tragedy or farce? I did some research on how this movie came to be and found conflicting information – it seems Warner Bros. has wanted a fourth installment of The Matrix for years, and director Lana Wachowski did have an idea, but I’m not sure if her desire to make the new movie outweighed the freedom and financial burden if she didn’t. Not knowing exactly where the truth lies, I’m always repelled by projects where it’s known that the creator’s heart isn’t in it, ever since Family Guy told us to lower our expectations in the opening crawl of It’s a Trap. But one thing’s for certain – Lana Wachowski knows her stuff. It’s interesting to see how this movie incorporates its own cultural impact, legacy, and discourse surrounding current movies in general; it made me realise that I wish I’d seen more of the Wachowski’s work. And I suppose if you’re going to make one of those abundant ‘legacy sequel’ these days, after your story is complete, then a meta-commentary could stand out from the pack, with a look back at Wes Craven’s acclaimed New Nightmare as an example. But who would’ve thought a Matrix movie would be so boring? The best comparison I can make, actually, is to Pacific Rim: Uprising – a movie that when trying to maintain or capture the same energy of the original just made me tired. Joe Rogan has talked about being a young comedian watching other comics bomb, and psyching himself out into thinking nothing could ever be funny again, and there are scenes in The Matrix Resurrections where I felt like no movie could entertain me again, watching something so iconic be so flaccid. I don’t think the movie ever justifies having Trinity or Neo return, considering they died in the previous movie – the movie compares to the God-awful Alien Resurrection by bringing them back, and nobody wants that. I don’t mind the technology that allows programs to crossover into the real world, but those cutesy companion machines better be a dig at the implanted merchandising opportunities in movies like Star Wars: The Last Jedi, or I don’t know how much to puke. The best meta-commentary of the movie is that Trinity and Neo have been resurrected for the benefit of everyone else – at least Trinity and Neo had the right meta-attitude at the end of the movie when they just thank ‘the Analyst’ for letting them play again. I’m not even sure if I understand the plot, really – are there still humans in this new matrix? The characters call the everyday people ‘bots’, so is the Analyst only running a simulation to harness Neo and Trinity’s love? If so, then it seems like a pretty good trade-off – peace for humanity in exchange for two corpses. I mean, Trinity and Neo died for everyone else to be free, right? And the machines still need an energy source, of course, so I don’t understand. I remember thinking the Analyst plan was legit (for a bad guy, that is), and his inverted bullet-time was pretty OP.
I’m glad Jessica Henwick gets a go as the new chief protagonist in this movie, since I admire her a great deal from Iron Fist and Love and Monsters, but she doesn’t pop unfortunately. Yahya Abdul Mateen II only reminded me that he played another watered-down brain in TV’s Watchmen as Dr. Manhattan, although not many people may’ve seen that. The new characters are fine, and may’ve been better if they weren’t always serving the original duo. The Animatrix proved that there is tremendous potential for stories to be told inside the world of the Matrix, didn’t it? I’m certain that we didn’t need another Matrix movie, but if it had to happen, looking with the hindsight of The Matrix Resurrections of course, I would’ve gone in a new direction – and if it had’ve flopped, it could’ve been condemned to dust and swept under the rug quicker than you can say The Bourne Legacy. I was kind’ve okay with being cheated into spending more time with Trinity though, because I’m not sure Carrie-Ann Moss gets enough credit for being awesome, while Keanu Reeves, was certainly more interesting returning to an old character in Bill & Ted Face the Music, and he has other current projects to keep him relevant. But anyway, his One is now the Two it seems, and sometimes in this movie Trinity is even a more powerful than Neo. And it’s just like, why? Because female heroes have to be bigger and better than all male heroes now? Is it just to niggle at those who invested in the original concept? It’s dismissible.
Disney’s Star Wars, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Alien Resurrection – these are not examples of sequels you want to be compared to when it comes to your new movie. But I’m only scraping the surface of the sentiment that I think is already out there, that The Matrix Resurrections is a movie that shouldn’t have been made. It’s not horrendous, luckily, although that’s not really the goal of a big budget movie like this. Where’s Jeremy Jahns when you need him? Because I’m not going to remember this movie in T-minus one day… yep, already forgot. It’s a clear afterthought when the original enthusiasm is done.
2.0
Leave a Reply