Honestly, what more can I really say about The Matrix Resurrections other than it’s a Wachowski film, a style and approach in which everything that may seem like a fault to some (many, if we’re being honest) is a part of the charm and appeal to others (myself included). It’s ambitious, takes some wild creative swings, it’s clunky, dorky, often hokey in its earnestness, and is all but guaranteed to earn a divided response. That goes double for the latest from the now solo Lana Wachowski, who returns to the world of The Matrix without her sister, Lilly, after nearly two decades since they ended their iconic, if somewhat notorious, trilogy.
Without giving too much away, The Matrix Resurrections throws us in a new Matrix, where Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is back, working as a successful video game designer, and every now and then he experiences these moments where the world around him seems just a bit off. Things that have been pushed as fiction and pure imagination begin to feel more like past memories. And he finds himself going on a somewhat familiar journey when he is found by Bugs (Jessica Henwick), a woman who offers him a chance to find out the truth about the world and truth behind Anderson and the person known as Neo.
Obviously, I’m skirting around a lot of details, and that’s cause there’s a lot of fun surprises to be had here that might seem off-putting, if not downright ridiculous, if simply read about. Many have noticed potential meta elements through the marketing for this film, and even with those expectations, it’s astonishing and bold to see just how far Wachowski and her co-writers, David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon, push this meta exploration of not only the original trilogy, but also the responses to the original trilogy, its lasting cultural legacies, both good and bad, and the franchise’s space in a moment in Hollywood dominated by regurgitating old intellectual property for a quick buck. Like a cross between Wes Craven’s New Nightmare and The Last Jedi. It’s basically the anti-Spider-Man: No Way Home, philosophically speaking.
But as the film goes on, it begins to reveal the true core of the film’s interest, which is the love story between Neo and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), who appears as Tiffany in this new Matrix, a married mother of three with a fondness for repairing motorcycles and stopping by a coffee shop that Thomas frequents. While the romance between these two characters has been a huge element of the original trilogy, it takes on a whole new dimension here, making it more focused and much more human, adding a deeply resonating layer that I was profoundly moved by.
On the surface, this doesn’t feel like a typical Matrix film. Admittedly, there were moments where I was missing Bill Pope’s cinematography, Zach Staenberg’s editing, Don Davis’ score, and Yuen Woo-Ping’s fight choreography. This time around, we have Daniele Massaccesi and John Toll teaming up on the cinematography, Joseph Jett Sally as the editor, Johnny Klimek collaborating with Tom Tykwer on the music, and Joshua Grothe leading as the main fight choreographer. This is very much a post-Cloud Atlas/Sense8 Wachowski project, and the folks she’s bringing on to work with here reflects that, not only in the technical aspect, but also in spirit.
There’s plenty of classic Matrix in here as well, mostly in some of the technical mumbo-jumbo that even I often struggled with in the previous three films. Certain plot details can be convoluted, and there can be one too many times when the film stops to let a character explain something for an extended period of time. The action is quite notable as not being quite as elegantly staged as they were previously. The camera can be a bit close at times, making the terrific choreography feeling more cramped and claustrophobic than they may have intended for a couple sequences. However, the emotional throughline is so strong that these issues never bothered me as I was watching the film, and they became even less of a bother upon further reflection.
Naturally, it’s great seeing Reeves and Moss back in their roles, especially in a context like this that really challenges and contrasts with what they did before. But it should be said that the newcomers make a strong impression. Henwick is fantastic, effortlessly compelling, and could have easily been the lead in a more straightforward reboot of the series. Not only does she have a cool look, but she’s got presence and handles the action well. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II brings a playful energy to the proceedings. And Jonathan Groff, who I was initially skeptical of proves to be quite a force, and I was surprised by his skills in the action scenes. Also, it’s nice to see Sense8 alumni, Eréndira Ibarra, Max Riemelt, Brian J. Smith, and Toby Onwumere pop up here.
If we’re talking purely in terms of Hollywood blockbusters, The Matrix Resurrections is the best big budget film I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing in 2021. Sure, there are others that are arguably more tightly constructed, more efficiently expressed, and featuring more impressive action sequences. And yes, this film clearly can’t top the lightning-in-a-bottle experience that was the very first Matrix. However, out of all the big movies I’ve seen, none have felt more intimate, more human, and more personal than this one. It does the best thing a movie like this can do, and that is not giving me what I want, but giving me something I didn’t know I wanted. It’s romantic, funny, thrilling, weird, and so many other things that I adore in films that hit me the hardest. I love seeing artists get the increasingly rare opportunity to explore their interests, curiosities, and emotions on a massive scale like this, with all their idiosyncrasies fully intact. As far as I’m concerned, Resurrections offers the definitive and most satisfying payoff to all the big ideas that the trilogy had been building on, and it’s one I can’t wait to revisit. I honestly can’t imagine there possibly being a better conclusion to the series. But then again, I’ve been pleasantly surprised before.
The Matrix Resurrections is now out in theaters and on HBO Max for 31 days.