Happy New Year all! In keeping with tradition, I've got a list of my favourite films of the last year on its way, but I've still got a few things I'd like to see before publishing it, so it'll probably be ready by the end of this week. As for now, here's another review of something I saw recently.
I'm not a massive fan of the Matrix movies. I really like the first one - from it's bold, philosophical themes to its distinct, stylised action, it's just awesome. As for the sequels, not so much. The Matrix Reloaded is alright, but it's overloaded with boring action and has little thematic intrigue, and the The Matrix Revolutions is just a headache in the form of a film. I cannot recall a single thing that happened, except for the cool final fight, and I was so bored throughout. So, you may be wondering why I'd want to see the next entry in the franchise. The truth is, I don't really know either, but I thought it looked decent and I'm always open to movies winning me over even when previous outings haven't. So, I thought I may as well give it a go.
In the film, Thomas Anderson (also known as Neo) is living a supposedly normal life as a game designer. But, after a series of strange visions, he realises that reality is, once again, not what it seems.
I realised shortly into the film that my optimism was almost definitely misplaced, as this is just another Matrix sequel in the same league as the previous two. The biggest problem with it is a problem faced by all sequels made over a decade after their predecessors - repetition. This movie retreads so much familiar ground, both in terms of plot and themes. Most of the time it just feels like we're going through the motions and it's kind of boring to be honest. What makes The Matrix so great is its themes; the fact that one leaves the cinema with food for thought and ponders questions they perhaps never thought of before. So, when you simply rehash that original film as they have here, you instantly lose that aspect because nothing being said is new or intriguing, it's all familiar and thus kind of dull. Additionally, it feels far less subtle than the original in how it conveys these ideas, which makes it even worse.
What's also problematic are the new elements of the film. There are obviously some differences from the original as it is a sequel, but everything that's new does little to benefit the film. There's a lot of complicated reasoning behind why things are the way they are which means that almost every scene that isn't an action scene is an arduous exposition dump. You can tell that the filmmakers likely didn't know exactly how to excuse making another sequel after how the last film ended, as much of what is said feels like waffle and doesn't make a ton of sense. I mean, I'm sure someone somewhere could explain it all to me, but the film couldn't. It's also really long, and it definitely feels that way. So, I often found myself really unengaged and unable to follow along with the film.
Okay, so the film is a bit flimsy in its themes / plot, but the other defining aspect of The Matrix is its action, so how's that in this movie? Not much better. It's all fine and perfectly serviceable, but nothing special. Again, when you finish watching The Matrix, you can pinpoint almost every action scene because it's all so distinct. Whether it be the iconic dodging the bullets, the opening chase, the subway fight, or the hotel lobby shootout, all of it is so well-crafted and memorable. Here, as is the case with the other sequels, the action all feels very homogenous and is rather forgettable. Not terrible by any means, but just nothing noteworthy. This may be due to the fact that The Matrix was a pivotal point in movie history as much of what it brought to the table was so new and refreshing, but nowadays we've naturally come to expect this sort of stuff, so it all just seems highly workmanlike.
One thing I will praise about the movie is the visuals. While the original Matrix has aged rather well, the second and third films haven't because of their extreme overreliance on CGI that wasn't really ready to pull off the desired effects at the time. But, because of how far technology has evolved in the last two decades or so, this universe feels like it has finally been given justice from a visual standpoint - it's all very arresting. Additionally, it's all well acted. Keanu Reeves is mostly the same as Neo, and he's still very likeable, but some performances I very much enjoyed were Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as a new interpretation of Morpheus, Jonathan Groff giving a new take on Smith, and Jessica Henwick as a new character called Bugs, all of whom made the most of what they were given and were very enjoyable, keeping the movie afloat.
All things considered, I'm not so keen on The Matrix Resurrections. I don't think it's a bad film at all as it looks great and parts of it are enjoyable, but its repetitive nature and continued absence of thematic intrigue and memorable action weakens it quite severely. I'm glad I saw it and I do think it's better than the last two sequels, but that isn't really saying much. If anything, it's more proof that the original should've just been left as it was, because it was perfectly satisfactory and complete on its own.
I'm going to give The Matrix Resurrections a 6.0/10
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