🐱 ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ First Reactions: Bold Hollywood Sequel or Meta Headache? - How embarrassing

‘The Matrix Resurrections’ First Reactions: Bold Hollywood Sequel or Meta Headache?

The latest entry in the “Matrix” franchise has finally screened, and here’s what people have to say.

www.indiewire.com

“The Matrix Resurrections” has finally screened for press, industry, and other lucky viewers, and first reactions to the sequel from director Lana Wachowski are pouring in. This is not only the last major movie premiere to round out this year’s winter season, it’s also the first “Matrix” film since 2003’s “The Matrix Revolutions,” and the fourth film in the franchise. Check out a roundup of social media reactions — which are divided, but sway toward the positive — below.

“The Matrix 4” features Keanu Reeves(consummate game stuntman of all time) and Carrie-Anne Moss reprising their roles as Neo and Trinity, respectively, as well as Jada Pinkett-Smith as Niobe, Lambert Wilson as The Merovingian, and Daniel Bernhardt as Agent Johnson. They’re joined by a wave of high-profile co-stars including Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Neil Patrick Harris, Jonathan Groff, Toby Unwumere, Priyanka Chopra, and more.

As the last trailer revealed, the franchise’s main characters no longer remember each other following the events of the original “Matrix” trilogy. Franchise newcomer Abdul-Mateen II is Morpheus, but he’s not Lawrence Fishburne’s version of the character that fans love.

“I think what the script provided was a new narrative and some new opportunities that did make room within the Matrix universe for a new Morpheus,” Abdul-Mateen II teased to Entertainment Weekly in October. “I play a character who’s definitely aware of the history of the Matrix [and] the history of Morpheus. This character is on a journey of self-discovery. There’s a lot in our story that’s about growth, defining your own path. Morpheus isn’t exempt from that. This is definitely a different iteration of the character.”

The film, written by Wachowski with authors David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon, has been in development since 2017. Top-secret filming began February 4, 2020, in San Francisco under the code name “Project Ice Cream,” with filming also taking place in Germany and Chicago. Production was halted on March 16, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but then resumed in August. Filming wrapped in November 2021.

The film opens from Warner Bros. in theaters and day-and-date on HBO Max December 22.

The Matrix Resurrections, despite (and because of) its infinite goofiness, is the boldest & most vividly personal Hollywood sequel since The Last Jedi. a silly/sincere galaxy brain take on reboot culture that makes peace with how modern blockbusters are now only about themselves.
— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) December 17, 2021

#TheMatrixResurrections is more fun than I remember the sequels ever being. Yes it’s bogged down in exposition like the previous two, but there’s a knowing wink to it all now. Newcomers Neil Patrick Harris and Jonathan Groff are key to that. Oh and the climax ROCKS. pic.twitter.com/2aWXYI7YAi
— Nigel Smith (@nigelmfs) December 17, 2021

It’s not perfect. There are some moments that might be complete and utter nonsense. But while THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS broke my heart, #TheMatrixResurrections… did the other thing. And I’m just so happy about that.
Full review to come at @consequence next Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/nXX9sSevb1
— Liz Shannon Miller (@lizlet) December 17, 2021

THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS is a grandiose palate cleanser for the era of clinical nostalgia bait and sexless tentpoles: a totally earnest sci-fi romance with some of the most exuberant set pieces this side of Fury Road, empathetic and incisive in equal measure. Astonishing stuff. pic.twitter.com/tXgNubeF8g
— Dimitri Kraus (@simplykraus) December 16, 2021

The first act of #TheMatrixResurrections is STELLAR. Smart, funny, weird, self-referential & unexpected. Add to it wildly inventive action sequences, lofty storytelling decisions & a TON of big ideas that will fuel lots of questions. Trust me, multiple viewings will be required pic.twitter.com/q4jt0KQqft
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) December 17, 2021

THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS is a total blast. Weird, romantic, *extremely.* meta, and consistently funny. I kind of loved it. (Also, everyone in this movie is ridiculously hot.) #TheMatrixResurrections
— Chris Evangelista (@cevangelista413) December 17, 2021

So far I have personally spoken with half a dozen friends who’ve seen MATRIX 4 and no two reactions were identical. Excited to see where this takes us.
— Scott Wampler™ (@ScottWamplerBMD) December 17, 2021

You’ll probably see it on the Oscars shortlist for Visual Effects but it might 50/50 for something like sound.
Franchise rankings:
The Matrix
Reloaded
Resurrections
Revolutions
All this needed to do was be better than the last one. Mission accomplished? #Matrix #Oscarspic.twitter.com/fj6UwiAxhO
— Clayton Davis (@ByClaytonDavis) December 17, 2021

I’d definitely recommend watching the first three #Matrix movies if you can as the new film references them A LOT. Longtime fans w/ dig this film & the ways it twists the mythology. It also lays groundwork for not just more sequels, but also prequels. WB could go Matrix wild! pic.twitter.com/tk6zgy5hx9
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) December 17, 2021

The Matrix Resurrections — good stuff is unfathomably great, missteps mostly means to a lovely end. Nice movie about getting old. So swooningly romantic I sometimes couldn’t take it.
— Nick Newman (@Nick_Newman) December 17, 2021

lots to discuss in matrix resurrections but also i think there is a shot of keanu taking a shit or at least peeing sitting down
— Esther Zuckerman (@ezwrites) December 17, 2021

The past two weeks I’ve been talking to a ton of people who all, with the exception of one, have been like ‘Matrix Resurrections is going to be so so divisive, but I think I loved it?’
— Aaron Stewart-Ahn (@somebadideas) December 17, 2021

There was a point in the middle of The Matrix Resurrections where I briefly thought it was the best movie ever made, and, like, I haven’t convinced myself it’s NOT?
I lovvvvvvved it. A lotta people are gonna haaaaaaaate. My favorite kind of movie!!
— Emily VanDerWerff (@emilyvdw) December 17, 2021

The Matrix Resurrections: best movie of the year? So angry, so joyous, so fun.
— Matt Patches (@misterpatches) December 17, 2021

#TheMatrixResurrections is a terrific, awe-inducing, meta mind-bender completely in line with the franchise’s legacy. Finds an innovative, high-concept way to frame the new story. Keanu Reeves & Carrie-Anne Moss’ chemistry burns. Jessica Henwick is a revelation! @TheMatrixMovie pic.twitter.com/xRawqiOcuu
— Courtney Howard (@Lulamaybelle) December 17, 2021

#TheMatrixResurrections is an almost 2.5-hour exposition dump with choppy action scenes reminiscent of the Bourne movies. It reuses far too much footage from previous installments and is meta to a fault.
— Jeff Nelson (@SirJeffNelson) December 17, 2021

I am deeply happy for those who will enjoy #TheMatrixResurrections. I am, regrettably, not among them. It’s leagues better than Reloaded and Revolutions – which let’s be clear are really not good – but has bad stakes. Nothing matters, and not in a cool nihilistic way. pic.twitter.com/RnbQutdkKR
— Alison Foreman (@alfaforeman) December 17, 2021

#TheMatrixResurrections is a comedy. The action is disappointing and the new characters are thin. But the metatextual commentary is biting. It wrestles with its own legacy in that JURASSIC WORLD/BAD BOYS 3/RP1 fashion. I prefer the first three, but this is a wild swing. pic.twitter.com/7i3n5qUvOq
— Scott Mendelson (@ScottMendelson) December 17, 2021

MATRIX RESURRECTIONS is much more meta than you’re expecting, locking on to the original film like a Sonic & Knuckles cartridge so it can remix and riff to Lana W’s delight. Loved all that, loved the love story, loved gay actors throwing punches. But action is surprisingly blah!
— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) December 17, 2021

 

[Getting tard comed]

Fishburne didn't want to work with trannies. Based blacks aren't exactly fans of Alphabet Soup.

Is Fishbourne based?

 

[Smug Cat]

The Wachowskis haven't done anything approaching "good" in over a decade.

The only good thing the Wachowskis ever did was the first Matrix movie. Clearly it was a fluke. And this isn't even "the Wachowski brothers," this is one of the Wachowski brothers, and post-psychotic-break. Imagine how shit a movie has to be that only one of the crazed pair of troons could be convinced to work on it. I don't even want to think about the amount of money thrown at the absent brother to be able to say it was made by the Wachowski siblings instead of a single Wachowski, and it was turned down.

 

[Tanner Glass]

So they just couldn't get Lawrence Fishburne back?

IIRC - that Morpheus died in the Matrix Online game, which is apparently canonized in the lore.

 

[Sweet and Savoury]

It will bomb

Not just because its probably the wokest, shittiest movie to be made to date due to the directors political views but more because you can't top The Matrix.

Plus all the actors are old a shit now and probably 50% of the budget is going to de-aging the stars.

 

[W00K #17]

There is absolutely no way anyone could review this honestly if they didn't enjoy it, and I think we all know why.

 

[CatParty]

It will bomb

Not just because its probably the wokest, shittiest movie to be made to date due to the directors political views but more because you can't top The Matrix.

Plus all the actors are old a shit now and probably 50% of the budget is going to de-aging the stars.

They’ll get the opening weekend bump but it’s all downhill from there

 

[WhatInTheActualFuck]

boldest & most vividly personal Hollywood sequel since The Last Jedi

And in one sentence fragment, I've been convinced to avoid this steaming pile like the plague.

 

[MirrorNoir]

Neo and Trinity are both dead. How are they back? Is this like the new Halloween where they threw out everything but the original?

I have a feeling this movie will spend more time explaining its premise than actually advancing the story.

Rumor has it that them being alive again ties into the whole "multiple Matrixes" cycle that the second film's climax reveals.

IE every couple of centuries, the Matrix allows for the creation of "The One" who's true purpose is to remove all of the people in the Matrix who know it's a lie, since their doubt over the real nature of their existence causes computer system instability that could crash it. The One removes everyone that is waking up, puts them into Zion until they start taking away more than they are supposed to (causing system instability in a sort of fait accompli situation). At which point, Zion gets genocided in an all out attack on the city and Neo and a group of hand picked survivors rebuild Zion/start removing people from the Matrix who knows it is fake, and once Neo dies, his soul is recreated in a new body so that later generations of Neo's handpicked survivors can remove him from the Matrix as "The One" to start the cycle all over again.

Also, there is rumors about Trinity being the new "The One"; though it's been ambiguous how they plan on carrying this out, via outright retconning the original trilogy and say that Neo was a fluke, a random guy who managed to become "The One" before Trinity could come into her powers or if there will be some stuff where they reveal that for the newest incarnation of the Matrix, the machines made Trinity "The One" in the latest cycle because they were afraid of Neo messing up things again.

Dark City got its story across in a single movie and was ten times better than this tottering pile of shit that is the Matrix franchise.

Dark City had to receive considerable executive meddling (IE a prologue that explains everything) just to make it watchable.

 

[TurdFondler]

While we're on the subject I'm going to go out and say the first matrix actually sucks. Rewatching it now, it's a movie with painfully boring exposition tying together a few good action scenes. The story blows and the whole Zion thing is retarded.

 

[Billy Beer]

removing fishburne as morpheus and weaving as agent smith is retarded, these two were the best parts of the original movie

This is what I've never understood about remakes or late sequels. They'll remake the film to recapture the magic and then not bother with the some of the best parts. Weaving was perfect for Smith/Agents and fishburne is working with Reeves on Wick, so it's not like he couldn't be in the Matrix.

Plus Trinity died!

 

[Standardized Profile]

I hate "meta" and "wrestling with its own legacy." These are just fancy words for self-indulgent and navel-gazing. You can tell a good meta, self-aware story, but when you do no one will call it that. They'll just call it a good action movie or a good science fiction movie or whatever.

I was really hoping it was a stealth prequel. Getting an older Keanu Reeves to play an earlier iteration of Neo would have dovetailed perfectly with the backstory revealed in Reloaded. I get the feeling this will appeal more to people who like novelty and subversion than people who want to see the existing Matrix universe fleshed out.

Also, there is rumors about Trinity being the new "The One"; though it's been ambiguous how they plan on carrying this out, via outright retconning the original trilogy and say that Neo was a fluke, a random guy who managed to become "The One" before Trinity could come into her powers

But several programs actually recognized Neo, and we saw footage of his predecessors reacting to the Architect in his TV dome. But it would be very current year to dismiss all that because It's Her Turn.

 

[Smug Cat]

and fishburne is working with Reeves on Wick, so it's not like he couldn't be in the Matrix.

That makes it much funnier that he's not in this. I like to think they approached him and he looked at the script and went "nigga not if you bought me an island."

 

[pwnest injun]

Regardless of how well they pull it off, Wachowski has never been bitter or cynically hateful in the way that modern deconstructionist wokeshit is. Focusing on love rather than resentment may not guarantee a good movie, but it won't be awful. I still have hope that it can be good, though. There's enough outside input to prevent the sort of excess that lead to Jupiter Rising or whatever that movie was called.

 

[Comicsgeist]

They’ll get the opening weekend bump but it’s all downhill from there

It won't even get that. It will get steamrollered by the juggernaut that is Spiderman, the only people watching this will the the ones that turned up at the theatre without pre-booked tickets for No Way Home, they might help it limp to a 30 million dollar opening.

 

[murgatroid]

Did none of these so called critics watch the Animatrix compilation? I'd like to know if there was any connection and how it compared. The Wachowski faggots didn't write it so it was actually good.

 

[Maurice Caine]

While we're on the subject I'm going to go out and say the first matrix actually sucks. Rewatching it now, it's a movie with painfully boring exposition tying together a few good action scenes. The story blows and the whole Zion thing is retarded.

I saw the first movie yesterday and jesus it's so 90's it hurts

 

[Diana Moon Glampers]

Neo and Trinity are both dead. How are they back?

Someone never watched Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

Hey @CatParty why not just watch The Animatrix?

Still looks good after 20+ years, in my opinion.

 

[MirrorNoir]

Did none of these so called critics watch the Animatrix compilation? I'd like to know if there was any connection and how it compared. The Wachowski faggots didn't write it so it was actually good.

Animatrix had super mixed reviews due to the fact that it's a hit or miss compilation combined with the fact that a lot of critics complained about it being a glorified ad for the second and third films.

 

[Maurice Caine]

Hey @CatParty why not just watch The Animatrix?

Still looks good after 20+ years, in my opinion.

Animatrix had super mixed reviews due to the fact that it's a hit or miss compilation combined with the fact that a lot of critics complained about it being a glorified ad for the second and third films.

The best episode was that one with the detective. Classic watanabe.