The Matrix Resurrections (with Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and Lana Wachowski)

Funnily enough I actually just finished Revolutions like an hour ago, and pretty much felt the same. It's a bit over long but I actually enjoyed it a lot more this time around. Still nothing on the original Matrix movie, but that was such a new thing at the time, and honestly I think a lot of people (including myself) had no real clue about just how far that movie would go.

However, each time I watch Reloaded I always remember that skit from the MTV awards years ago with Justin Timberlake and Sean William Scott.

The MTV Movie Awards Reloaded - YouTube

So maybe he's been put back in to the Matrix to live the life of an actor á la Cypher's wishes in the first film. The flashbacks in the trailer that look like reshot scenes from the first movie are actually memories of the films he thinks he has been in. And when he starts confusing his real life with that of the roles he has played, he goes to see NPH. Or something even more meta that I can't even...

I could totally buy that the machines kept both Neo and Trinity alive and in stasis after TM3, and even that they were inserted back into the Matrix as a sort of 'break glass in case of emergency' that they kept control over in case another 'Smith' type bug cropped up. Like an external superuser in case the machines themselves lost control. As said with that flash of 'old Keanu', I could believe that this is even 100 or so years later, with the machines keeping them alive that long. And the next rotation of cloned characters can be the trigger for things starting back up, as the new iteration of Morpheus comes through.

Speaking of which, it does make sense to me that the machines would use cloning rather than going through the hassle of artificial insemination to create new unique humans. From the point of view of using them as batteries, you don't care if they're unique, you just need the bodies, and cloning seems the simpler way to achieve this. Every time someone dies, a baby version of them just takes their own place again. This kind of feeds into the existing mythos of the whole cycle running through over and over again too.

As an aside, I rewatched 2 and 3 a few weeks back, and enjoyed them a lot more than I had on first viewing. Certain things in particular stood out as quite clever and innovative for the time, especially in the second one - everything that takes place in-matrix is written as if our gang are conscious players in a game. Same as when we ourselves play computer games, we know the whole thing is already written, but we have to go through it without knowing the outcome - but we know there IS a scripted outcome. The narrative feels just like that, that the characters are pushing through the in-world challenges against the programs from the perspective of 'players' (which of course they are, being humans against programs). All the challenges feel like scripted in-game puzzles, like just when they hit a dead end, Neo is given the challenge to kiss Monica Bellucci like he loves her. 3 is more annoying alright though, with so little fun-time Matrix stuff and far too much Zion, but I still enjoyed it more than I had previously.

Was a huge fan of the first Matrix movie.

The sequels are what stopped it being a Sci-fi cult classic.

For example, I can watch the first two Alien or Terminator movies and separate them from the dross that came next.

I don't feel the same way about the Matrix. In my mind the sequels harmed the whole thing in a way they didn't for other franchises. I'm not sure why. Maybe it is simply they are so god damn awful, messing up and confusing the whole premise, in every possible way? 🥴

So I have no expectations here as the franchise is ruined. I'll give it a try though.

Just watched the first again today… and it really holds up.. the pacing is relentless… just non stop tension and action…. Plot constantly moving forward…edited perfect… all killer no filler

currently watching the second…. And jaysus… they really blew it… this whole 40 minute trip to Zion can be cut or at least cut in half….

Also they all look noticeably older.. must have been a 5 year gap between filming

the Matrix Rethread?

I think another issue with the sequels was they went the wrong way with Agent Smith. Rather than have him becoming more powerful in a way that complimented the fight scenes, they just made a whole lot more of him. The fight scenes then had to go from well choreographed fights to CGI-fests. By the time the final fight in Revelations comes around, they're gone so far past fights that it's just two Supermen bouncing off each other (and doing the "impact from flying at each other causes strong force which dispels rainwater" about three times).

The best fights in the sequels were Trinity's, and maybe Neo's fight in the Merovingian's mansion.

The trouble with comparing the new trailer/film with the original is that the original was an unknown, whereas now going into the new movie, we know so much about the world already. I think the mirroring of elements of the first film is just how the movie will start off, then it'll become its own thing in a somewhat new direction since it is following the events of a previous trilogy (and possibly the extended universe in terms of the games too).

So things like the Alice in Wonderland stuff (which seems more obvious in this trailer than the first movie which still had similar references in terms of follow the white rabbit etc) or the blue pills are designed to show familiarity, but also allows them to create a jumping-off point as to how the new movies are going to be different. For me the most interesting shot of the trailer is Trinity screaming and the kind of reverberations coming out of her. It strongly signifies it's not just "old character returns", but significantly differently.

The new Stars Wars trilogy ultimately failed because The Force Awakens emulated A New Hope too closely and didn't deviate enough from it, but did leave the potential to do so in the following films. The Last Jedi went in a brand new direction (and was the best of the three imo but let's not start that debate), and when there was backlash to it, the studio decided to then just erase the changes and emulate Return of the Jedi for the third film. So long as Matrix Resurrections uses the framework of the first Matrix movie but to then take things in a brand new direction, I don't mind rethreading some old ground.

They can justify a lot of fan service with the meta angle they seem to be going for anyway, imho, without that necessarily restricting whatever new story they're trying to tell overall.

I can foresee little more than cameo roles from Keanu Reeves and Trinity with 95% of the film featuring the oracle and morpheus

They'll definitely lead into the new one. They both have a lot of great scenes and moments, and a lot of the more practical-looking fight scenes are amazing. Some great new characters too. But there's also a lot of big expositional scenes talking about the concept of the Matrix, free will etc etc, and a lot more of the real world/Zion side of things which doesn't always work.

I'd say if you're interested in watching the new one, best off just watching 2&3 to be on the safe side. If anything, trying to just read a Wikipedia synopsis or short video recap of them to try and catch up would probably leave you more confused.

That so much of it ( matrix 1) isn’t cgi is what makes it special and still hold up and unique…. The 2nd has way too much cgi… all those cgi agents and and cgi flying Keanu reeves/superman… cgi does not age well

Yeah. M1's budget limitations made for some tricks that made for a more visually creative movie in a lot of ways too.

Shots of people morphing into Agents are far less interesting imho than clever little set ups where the camera work alone has to make it clear that a random person in a cardigan who was there a second ago is a suited and booted Agent now, eg the old lady in the last foot chase.

Agreed, it was the Zion stuff that weakened the sequels especially the third.

Is the reason Matrix 4 is being made because basically everything else the Wachowskis made flopped ? It’s unlikely any studio would give them money anymore other then for a matrix sequel

Long post warning!

Imo, it feels like matrix 2 and 3 were written and created by different people compared to the first. That much of a shift.

But you can see where the Wachowski's where coming from. Sure we don't know what came first - Warner Brothers saying that they want to make 2 and 3 together now go off and write it or the Wachowski's wrote 2 and 3 and that's what kicked off doing both. But in any case 2 sequels were made to one of the greatest movies of all time. So how do you write such a thing?

Do you play it safe and just rehash the first or offer something new like they did? The first matrix ends pretty closed. Sure enough room to make a sequel but what would the story be about to span 2 and 3?

The most obvious road to go down is to have the machines attack Zion given it's build up in the first. Also means we have to get alot of Zion scenes tho (which weren't great) as theres no threat without seeing Zion in a movie. But it's a matrix movie, how do you create a need for people to go in the matrix if the real threat is outside in the real world? So que all this key maker guff etc. You can see where the Wachowski's where going.

You almost had to bring back Hugo Weaving as he was amazing as Smith so having him go rouge and cloning himself was a nice element.

But the biggest thing is how do you end the story of 2 and 3. I always felt having peace between the machines was an easy cop out to end the series. Its more clean. Because if the humans won more questions would be raised. Suddenly a few billion people wake up from their pods? Can't move because of their muscles. How would zion cope with billions needing shelter etc. It wouldn't be a clean ending and explaining all that would be a borning LONG ending.

So you can see the challenge the Wachowski's faced. How do you write two more movies. Rehash the first movie two more times some how or try to expand. Sadly imo I think they made some wrong choices.

Do not click on this spoiler unless you want this certain aspects of movie to be spoiled for you. I just watched this trailer for the 10th time and spotted something. But it's not a little "oh hey, I seen that" - It's a bit more than that.