When the trailers for the film The Matrix came out in 1999, no one knew how much their minds were going to be blown by this one single movie. In the cinema halls, there was so much screaming and cheering in scenes that people couldn't believe the were watching. Be it Trinity's opening slo-mo kick, Morpheus' gravity defying jump, the brilliant hand-to-hand combats, or the dodging of those bullets. The film wasn't only a visual treat, the concept it put forward made everyone leave the cinema hall wondering the one thing - "How do I know if I'm not living in a computer generated simulation at this very moment?". No movie had done this to its audience before. Everyone needed to watch this film a dozen times to really understand everything that was thrown in by the Wachowskis.
In 2003, they decided to release two sequels back to back. Obviously, the fans were overjoyed. Looking at the trailer, it looked more magnificent than even the first movie. Come summer 2003, everyone watched The Matrix: Reloaded and once again came out scratching their heads even more than when they walked out of the 1999 film. The film universe brought in so many characters and the concept of the Matrix went from being a mere simulation to being a virtual world that evolves where programs hack programs. Part 2 and Part 3 were planned as one long story and so when The Matrix: Reloaded ended, it left people with so many questions. Questions that audiences were waiting to be answered in just three months when the third part of the Matrix would release.
Then came the November of 2003, same anticipation, same excitement, theatres filled up with eager audiences to watch The Matrix: Revolutions. Audiences waiting for those answers to the amazing questions the previous film had left us with. But the answers never came. The production value of the film was as brilliant as always, but they simply offered Neo so many powers that never came with an explanation. There was a lot more focus on Zion which the audiences never really cared for. As the film came to a close, audiences walked out upset that something as awesome as The Matrix which was further leveled up by the second part, came crashing down like that as the trilogy ended.
When the studio announced The Matrix Part 4 in 2021, most fans were already scared because the concern was that the new movie would bring more questions and leave the audiences feeling even more empty. In all honesty The Matrix: Resurrections wasn't all that bad compared to the hate it has been receiving. Elements around fear and desire were well thought of and the concept of the new version of the Matrix were very well thought out. But here's what didn't work out:
It would have helped to close out some of those questions from Part 3, like why did Neo have that kind of power in the real-world? So what if he went to the Source, this is still the real world! While Resurrections connected well to the trilogy, it could have taken a quick moment to explain Neo's powers. Instead it ignored it altogether and this time around, he didn't have any special capabilities in the Real World.
The fight choreography was so beautiful in the previous parts - nice long shots. In Part 4, the fights felt abrupt and messy. Even the epic sparring between Neo and Young-Morpheus was a set of short fight moves with very aggressive camera work. Nothing satisfying. I believe there was a pending rematch between Smith and Morpheus, but that never came.
Smith's character was so questionable in this film. His angle was left completely unexplored. While he was critical to the balance of the Matrix, the 2021 film just ignored him, especially in the end where we have no clue what he's up to. Of course we all missed the amazing Hugo Weaving, that wasn't really the problem with the character. It felt like he was there only because it would be a plot-hole if he weren't.
Part 4 did leave a bunch of questions not so well answered and this article will help summarize the meaning of The Matrix: Resurrections. But the biggest let down was how they managed to get a versatile actor like Neil Patrick Harris and make him Barney Stinson in the film. We went from the cold and calculating Architect to The Analyst who was just short of using "bro" in one of his monologues.
All things considered, The Matrix: Resurrections was still better thought out and executed as compared to The Matrix: Revolutions. But I guess too much time had passed and people's expectations shot up. The film landed on its face because it was destined to. This isn't where it ends, given how open-ended the film was left; it appears that there are going to be more films to follow. But something tells me this is the last time we have seen this cast and crew in a Matrix movie.
Comments / 59