The Matrix Resurrections: A disappointing mess

For all we knew, we were never going to get another installment in the Matrix series. The chance to see more from the world of The Matrix is a gift — however, not all gifts are well received. Unfortunately, decent ideas, striking visuals, and good performances still weren’t enough to salvage what is ultimately a confusing and messy film.

*minor spoilers for The Matrix Resurrections follow*

It may have been foolish to think the next installment in the Matrix series, 18 years later, could have ever come close to the masterpiece that was the original, but I went in wanting to love this film. I had hope that Director Lana Wachowski would bring this series to a satisfying conclusion.

Watching the original Matrix for the first time blew my 11-year-old mind and remains one of my favorite films of all time. While the two subsequent films have their fair share of flaws, they are still enjoyable in their own right.

While The Matrix Resurrections avoids many of the pitfalls of Reloaded and Revolutions, it drags in a litany of new issues, many very difficult to overlook.

The film opens strong, a captivating 35 mins that are new and strange despite being incredibly blunt with its meta elements. Those meta and self-referential elements will certainly turn many off, but for me, it was an intriguing enough surprise to hold out for how the rest of the story would unfold.

There is still a lot to like about this film: namely the performances. Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss are some of the heart and soul of this movie. They jump back into their characters like they never left, believably reigniting a love that was strong enough to save the world. So much of what there is to enjoy about this film is simply seeing more from these characters.

The rest of the cast does a beautiful job. Jessica Henwick’s Bugs is an excellent addition and stands out among the new characters introduced. The new Morpheus (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Agent Smith (Jonathan Groff), as well as the villainous Analyst (Neil Patrick Harris), perform brilliantly. They are only ever held back by their characters’ writing.

While Jonathan Groff cannot come close to the slimy twisted-ness of Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith, it’s clear that was never the goal. Groff is able to do something new with the character with just enough spirit of the old to make him a welcome addition. The Agent Smith reveal is one of the best sequences in the entire film — carried almost entirely by Groff Performance.

Groff's character, unfortunately, is not given enough screen time to have proper agency and place in the story, like the filmmakers didn’t quite know what they wanted to do with him. While I enjoyed seeing his character, the film made me question whether it could have been stronger without his inclusion.

Groff, Harris and Abdul-Mateen II have their moments but are all plagued with a severe amount of quipiness in their dialogue. To the point that it’s repetitive and distracting and does little to adequately add to the film.

It slowly begins to crumble under its own weight. The self-referential meta-narrative introduced only goes as far as the opening act and leaves the film with an unshakable aftertaste questioning the necessity of its insertion.

The meta-ness of the narrative can lead to circular arguments about authorial intent and theories of self-sabotage out of spite for Warner Bros forcing Lana to make a sequel she didn’t want to make. I think getting too wrapped up in theories outside the confines of the film itself is a waste of time.

Having to explain the bad choices in a film as actually being a more profound, purposefully self-referential reflection of what plagues modern blockbusters doesn’t make it any better. It just makes it a bad film that’s also pretentious. Pointing out problems by repeating them solves nothing.

The story of The Matrix Resurrections fails to conjure a compelling villain — Neil Patrick Harris as the Analyst, while excellent performance, lacks proper motivation in the story and clear goals other than being an obstacle for the protagonists.

The Matrix Resurrections severely lacks the high stakes of the previous installments. What helped make the original Matrix so compelling was the way in which characters could die at any moment, and it made the matrix feel dangerous and subsequently made it real. The Agents were lethal; the crew was expendable. Without a single named character death, this new iteration removes nearly all stakes from the action: all flash and no substance.

The action overall is a mixed bag. While it has its moments but lacks a certain amount of kineticism and lethality, it so desperately needs. Many sequences reek of stunt choreography and lack such a sense of impact. The final act is little more than a race through what is basically a zombie horde; it’s dull and uninspired.

Where the original Matrix changed action movies forever, this film brings nothing new to the table in terms of action. Nothing is inspiring about The Matrix Resurrections.

It feels as if The Matrix Resurrections deserves to be remembered for all the bold choices it makes, which is all the more disheartening at how ultimately forgettable of a film it is.

Unfortunately, I likely won’t remember Resurrections as the conclusion to the stories of Neo and Trinity — but rather a film I wanted to love, which left me disappointed.

The Matrix Resurrections is out now in theaters and available to stream on HBO Max.