Few films have left such an indelible mark on the sci-fi landscape as The Matrix. For all of the parodies and rip-offs that it spawned, The Wachowski’s seminal work has stood the test of time. Its sequels, however, are not as fondly remembered, even if there are some breathtaking concepts and sequences contained within both. But when The Matrix Revolutions concluded, few would have expected the story to continue, or at least for the story of Neo/Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) to continue. And yet The Matrix Resurrections has arrived some 20 years after the original to prove, at the very least, that there are some clever ways to make a sequel to a trilogy.
The most surprising element of The Matrix Resurrections is how much the film doesn’t want to fit into the same box as its predecessors. Director Lana Wachowski, who is flying solo on this fourth installment, could not care less about fan service and yet she still provides a story that will engage fans that have invested in the series thus far. Resurrections embraces the challenges of continuing a story after such a finite conclusion while acknowledging, quite literally, that Warner Bros. would love to see more films.
There is a lot of mystery surrounding the story of Matrix Resurrections so it isn’t worth getting into specifics. Three movies in, viewers are likely either willing to give this latest one a chance or they jumped off the train somewhere between Agent Smith's interrogation scene and Neo's Christ-like sacrifice. What is worth discussing is how carefully the first half of the film is structured and how it comments on the idea of sequels and reboots. From the casting (re-casting?) of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Morpheus to the fact that Neo and Trinity (Carrie Ann Moss) seem to know each other but can’t remember why, there is a lot about Matrix Resurrections’ first half that is a joy to unpack. The film doesn’t retcon anything that happened in the first three films either; it even embraces some of its wackier elements.
Once that mystery starts to become clear, though, the film takes a more straightforward turn and suffers a little as a result. That isn’t to say past Matrix films haven’t followed a traditional hero’s journey, but the connection between the ideas Resurrections explores and the eventual narrative it follows don't totally mesh. That initial meta commentary on sequels, for example, is pushed to the side in favor of something that feels more in line with The Matrix proper and not Resurrections.
Some of the touchstones of past Matrix films are also not as sharp in the fourth film. The action is not nearly as dynamic and the set pieces are hardly memorable, even if there is enough fisticuffs to satisfy a blockbuster audience. The movie seems more concerned with unpacking its more complex ideas than offering mindless action.
Characters in The Matrix Resurrections are not nearly as memorable as in some of the earlier films. Most of the existing characters are merely vessels to whom the key plot points are explained and the new characters represent concepts more so than anything else. Bugs (Jessica Henwick) has the most to do in the story from both an action and an exposition standpoint but we don't really learn enough about them. Even at 2-and-a-half hours long, there is so much left unexplored.
That being said, it's clear that Lana Wachowski is telling a very personal story with Matrix 4 and in a way that makes each character a part of the same whole. We don’t learn too much about any one character, but each depiction tells us loads about Lana. Much like The Wachowski's personal journeys informed how we look at The Matrix now, The Matrix Resurrections feels like a personal statement about everything from the politics of movie-making to taking agency in one's own story.
The Matrix Resurrections is an unexpected fourth entry that is divisive in almost all of its elements. It challenges its audience to shun pre-conceived notions before going in and then asks them to truly think about the concept of The Matrix 4 and what that could be. In some ways, it is utterly brilliant and in others, it feels like it is just trying to get from point A to point B. But in a genre overwrought with formulaic blockbusters, it’s nice to have something that feels so personal and thoughtful. The world didn’t need another Matrix movie but the one Lana Wachowski delivered more than justifies its existence.
The Matrix Resurrections is in theaters and on HBO Max now.