By: Kimberly Grant
In the Age of the Reboot & Sequels, it appears that Lana Wachowski thought: “Eh, why not?” Back in the early 2000s, the Matrix films ushered in an era of science fiction films that lasted for a few decades until comic book movies took over. Stories with correlations to The Matrix movies include:
Finding Neo
These stories took us to a world where machines were so life-like it was surreal. Much like the previous Matrix movies (which ran from 1999 to 2003). The Matrix Resurrections (playing in theaters and on HBO MAX) has what you would expect from the movie. Neo (played by Keanu Reeves) is in a reality in which Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) is now Tiffany and the Matrix is a series of interactive video games he created with his partner Smith (Jonathan Groff). Their company, Deux Machina, has been churning out video games for decades with the latest game being called Binary.
Things seem normal, but not quite right. Tiffany is a mother and wife to another man. Neo (nè Thomas Anderson) is in therapy for his hallucinations. To make matters worse, Deux Machina’s parent company, Warner Brothers, wants to make a new Matrix game. Meanwhile, the world of the living is trying to reach out to Neo to help him reunite with Trinity. Why this matters, is not readily clear.
Cheap Thrills
In the writing category, this story is a snooze fest. Written by Lana Wachowski, David Mitchell, and Aleksandar Hemon, this story is basically for cheap thrills. “Cheap” being the optimum word here. Despite the wink and the nod to remaking a movie that didn’t need to be remade, this film isn’t worth spending money at the box office to see. Rent it.
Still not convinced that this was not a worthy sequel? There’s a marked absence of some key players which should be a clue. Lilly Wachowski, the other half of the Wachowski siblings, didn’t want to work on the movie because she was done with the trilogy. Hugo Weaving does not reprise his role as Mr. Smith. Laurence Fishburne does not reprise his role as Morpheus, either. Instead, Morpheus is played by the talented Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; whom I love as an actor. He’s done better work, though.
Who’s Who
Some previous (and new) actors did make their way into the latest film, though. Jada Pinkett Smith makes a comeback as an older Niobe. Priyanka Chopra plays a grown up Sati. Her role in the film somewhat makes sense, but feels like ethnic casting. Chopra has more range and was not able to show off her acting prowess in this film.
Neil Patrick Harris camps it up as Thomas’ therapist, The Analyst. His entry into the film feels somewhat fresh. He does get to show range as an actor. Lastly, Christina Ricci makes an appearance as Gwyn de Vere, a marketing manager who uses a lot of buzzwords that don’t make sense.
The One
Lana without Lilly is also a good indication that the movie will not be that great. The stunts in this film were campy at best. The stunts were also pretty lackluster. It’s almost like they wanted the film to have an early 2000s feel; even in the stunts. What would have passed for great stunt work back then does not fly now; literally. I’ve seen better stunts on TikTok.
It also appears that Lana hasn’t learned much since the early 2000s about making a good Matrix film. She made Cloud Atlas and is still phoning in her work. It’s not fair to the moviegoers who love The Matrix films and are eager to see the fourth installment. It’s also not fair to the actors who put their hearts and souls into the films 20 years ago to make them matter. And, it’s not fair to make a sequel to a film franchise that was ahead of its time in the early 2000s; only to get it wrong.
Disagree with this review? Feel free to leave a comment below.
If you’re wondering what kind of movie I did like, you can read my review of A Journal for Jordan here.
You can also follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook: @RealKAGrant
