The Matrix Resurrections (2021) Warner Bros./Sci-Fi-Action RT: 148 minutes Rated R (violence, some language) Director: Lana Wachowski Screenplay: Lana Wachowski, David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon Music: Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer Cinematography: Daniele Massaccesi and John Toll Release date: December 22, 2021 (US) Cast: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Jada Pinkett Smith, Christina Ricci, Lambert Wilson, Erendira Ibarra, Max Riemelt, Brian J. Smith, Toby Onwumere, Telma Hopkins, Chad Stahelski. Box Office: $40.5M (US)/$159.2M (World)
Rating: * ½
Sometimes it’s best to leave sleeping dogs lie. Such is the case with The Matrix Resurrections, a disappointing sequel that miraculously manages to make the previous installment Revelations look good (by comparison ONLY). What is it with Warner Bros. and reviving old properties? Earlier this year, they subjected us to Space Jam: A New Legacy, a sequel to one of the last movies that required a follow-up. Now we get The Matrix Resurrections. Why? In the 18 years since the last one, I have NEVER heard anybody say they wanted another Matrix movie. I have a theory as to why both films exist, but I’ll hold off for now. There are more pressing matters to discuss first.
Directed by Lana Wachowski (formerly Larry), The Matrix Resurrections is a long, dull, convoluted mess that confounds right out of the gate. Well, close to it anyway. It starts with the rebirth of Morpheus in a new, updated version of the Matrix, a simulated reality created by a new creator whose identity isn’t the most closely guarded secret in the universe. It’s fairly easy to pick out this person. In any event, Morpheus has apparently been updated as well. He’s no longer played by Laurence Fishburne. He’s now played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II from this year’s Candyman reboot. His purpose in the plot isn’t clear, but neither is much else in this muddle of a movie.
Neo (Reeves, John Wick) has somehow come back to life and returned to the Matrix as his previous self Thomas Anderson, now a successful video game designer who works for a company owned by Warner Bros. His business partner Smith (Groff, Glee), speaking on behalf of the company execs, wants him to make a sequel to his popular trilogy of games based on his experiences inside the Matrix. He’s convinced that everything that happened to him in the past/future was a psychotic episode. He still has brief flashbacks. He regularly sees an analyst (Harris, Doogie Howser MD) who keeps him grounded in “reality” with a combination of psychobabble and an unlimited supply of blue pills. He frequents a coffee shop where he encounters Trinity (Moss, Memento), now a soccer mom named Tiffany. She has no recollection of the events of the past/future.
Just when Anderson thought he was out, they pull him back in…. so to speak. He’s first contacted by Bugs (Henwick, Iron Fist), a blue-haired bad ass with a tattoo of a white rabbit. She’s the one that explains it all to him again for the first time. He doesn’t want to believe her at first, but he eventually takes the red pill and returns to the real reality in which sixty years have passed since Neo was last seen. Now everybody lives in a place called Io overseen by an aged Niobe (Smith, Gotham) who isn’t exactly thrilled to see Neo. His goal now is to reunite with his one true love, Trinity. To do that, he’ll need to get her out of the Matrix. Of course, it’s in the creator’s best interest to keep them apart as they make too-powerful a couple.
I knew going in that The Matrix Resurrections wouldn’t even come close to equaling the first movie. The original 1999 was an original, intelligent sci-fi actioner with innovative special effects (e.g. bullet-time) and weighty philosophical themes. It was the perfect blend of intellectualism and kick-ass action. The series went downhill from there. The latest movie is recycled material wrapped in shiny paper. It has some decent visuals, but there’s nothing in it we haven’t seen before. If anything, it lacks what made The Matrix so special. Remember the great martial arts scenes orchestrated by Yuen Wo Ping (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)? GONE! Wachowski tries to recreate the dojo scene with Neo and Morpheus to no avail. The action scenes are okay, but none of them stand out like the freeway scene in Reloaded. If had to pick out the best ones, I’d say the scene on the train and the motorcycle finale which brings to mind the popular Weather Girls song “It’s Raining Men”.
As for the intellectual aspect, The Matrix Resurrections is about as deep as a puddle. Any and all attempts at intellectualism come off as pseudo-philosophical mumbo-jumbo. A middle schooler could see right through it. In addition to being shallow, it’s also TOO DAMN LONG at two-and-a-half hours. The first hour or so drags. It takes a while for something to happen. The acting isn’t all that noteworthy except for Henwick whose character is the only one that shows any enthusiasm. Actually, NPH isn’t too bad either. I can’t say any more than that without dropping a major spoiler. Moss gets too little screen time. Mateen does a decent imitation of his predecessor, but his character is pixelated for most of the movie. As for Reeves, he looks like he doesn’t give a crap because he still has John Wick to fall back on. BTW, what’s with the rubber ducky on Anderson’s head while he takes a bath?
Now for my theory regarding the mere existence of The Matrix Resurrections. It’s my guess that the studio execs that green-lighted it grew up with the original movie. Think about it, if they were 18 in ’99, they’d be about forty now. It’s a piece of their youth they want to relive. That could also explain Space Jam 2. The problem is the writers didn’t come up with anything fresh or interesting. They basically copied every action movie from the past 20 years and packaged it as the next step in Matrix evolution. That’s a blatant case of false advertising. There’s really no need to see The Matrix Resurrections. This is why what’s dead should stay dead.
