A quick SPOILER WARNING before we begin. I’ve tried to keep this review as spoiler-free as possible. That’s not always easy, as it’s practically impossible to talk about a film like The Matrix Resurrections in any depth without a few spoilers slipping in. But I’ve tried to keep them as few and as vague as possible. With that out of the way, let’s get started.
The Matrix Resurrections could easily have been The Force Awakens. That is to say a sequel/reboot that coasts on nostalgia and relaunches a franchise by recapitulating the first movie. And to be sure, the movie toys with that very possibility, practically from the first frame. But almost immediately, the familiar trappings (and make no mistake, they are very familiar) are not quite right. Like watching a TV show where one of the leads has been quietly recast between seasons. And in a way, that sums up the movie as a whole. It reinvents The Matrix while remaining, fundamentally and unmistakably, The Matrix.
Beyond the surface narrative, The Matrix has always been “about” a lot of things. It’s an allegory for the trans experience. It’s a philosophical examination of causality and the nature of reality. Call it Plato’s allegory of the cave, but with a lot more punching. But on top of all that (and then some), it has always been about humanity’s relationship with technology. And what has changed more in the last twenty-odd years than our relationship with technology? It’s that fact on which the film’s reinvention hinges.
If you’re familiar with the original trilogy, you probably remember the series’ central war between man and machine ending as the credits rolled on The Matrix Revolutions. Now, predictably, there’s a new war. But this time the lines are blurred. The conflict is, to borrow a phrase that the movie repeatedly and pointedly uses, “less binary,” with machines now working alongside the human rebels – a state of affairs that would have been unthinkable in the prior films. Resurrections also acknowledges the real world omnipresence of smartphones and social media both literally and metaphorically within the Matrix itself.
As I’ve alluded to, Resurrections is an exceptionally self-aware film. Sometimes it’s out and out meta, as in the case of the first act, which is inescapably a commentary on both the lasting influence of The Matrix and the circumstances of its own production. It’s about as far from subtle as a frequently unsubtle film gets. Less “hammer meet nail” is the way Resurrections weaves in the franchise’s prior continuity. Going in, I expected the movie to be mostly standalone, perhaps leaning on The Matrix for continuity and nostalgia. And to be sure, there is some of that, mostly early on. But as the film progresses, there are more and more nods to the wider franchise, with characters and concepts from the sequels cropping up. I won’t say what it is, but there was even one thing that you will never convince me was not on some level a deep-cut nod to The Animatrix. The result of all this is a pleasantly holistic view of the series in a film that frankly could have gotten away with downplaying its more divisive installments.
But once you move past the continuity and franchise’s signature melange of action and philosophy, the beating heart of the film is the relationship between Neo and Trinity. It was important before, of course, with all three prior installments seeing major plot points hinge on this central romance, but it’s never been the focal point of the story until now. It should go without saying that Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss are up to the task, but it’s my job to say it, so I will. Reeves in particular gives a remarkable – and unexpectedly vulnerable – performance as Neo.
And then there are the newcomers, most of whom are a mixed bag. It’s not that any of them are particularly bad. More that only a few of the new characters are given the chance to make much of an impression. Foremost among them is Jessica Henwick, who is delightful as always as Bugs, who fills a very similar role to Morpheus in the original film. And speaking of Morpheus, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is an absolute scene-stealer in the role. It’s at once glib and accurate in every sense to say that he is “not your father’s Morpheus,” and his performance is a thing to behold.
As you can probably tell, a lot is going on in this movie. And that’s fine, I can hear you say, but is the movie any good? That’s the most important thing. And I’m happy to report that it is good. Very much so. In fact, as an avowed member of the “Reloaded and Revolutions are actually good” club, I loved it. Resurrections isn’t just a worthy successor to the original trilogy. It’s a fascinating piece of work in its own right.
All of this leads to the inevitable question, “what’s next?” Of course, you’ll get a better answer from box office receipts than from me, but it almost doesn’t matter. You see, the brilliance of The Matrix Resurrections is that it’s not out to lay the groundwork for a new trilogy or a ten-film saga or what have you. It’s just trying to be the best movie it can and as such, it’s written in a way that it can just as easily serve as an epilogue to the trilogy or a prelude to a revived franchise of Matrix films. Or potentially, a bit of both. Time will tell.
The Matrix Resurrections is now playing in theaters and will be available to stream on HBO Max until 1/21/22.
