TAGGED AS: Action, blockbuster, Film, films, movie, movies, Sci-Fi, science fiction
Whoa! Neo is back in the first Matrix movie in 18 years, and it just might be the best sequel yet. The first reviews of The Matrix Resurrections are mostly favorable, acknowledging that it’s less interested in innovation than emphasizing what truly works in the franchise: the romance.
Yes, Trinity (Carrie Anne-Moss) is back as well, and her chemistry with Keanu Reeves as Neo is said to be one of the highlights of this meta-nostalgic revival. Whether he rest — from its philosophical themes to its action scenes — is serviceable or satisfying is still up for debate.
Here’s what critics are saying about The Matrix Resurrections:
It’s constantly engaging, thoughtful, and challenging in all of the best ways the original Matrix ever was. – Sean Mulvihill, FanboyNation
As excitingly fresh and ambitious as The Matrix was in its approach to cyberpunk cinema in 1999, The Matrix Resurrections is just as devoted to its bold and disruptive vision in 2021. – Jacob Oller, Paste Magazine
The Matrix Resurrections goes back to the integral source code that made the original so captivating. – Julian Roman, MovieWeb
This is a resurrection of the excitement and sense of wonder we felt when we watched the first Matrix. – Sherin Nicole, idobi.com
Where the original film was explosively innovatory, this is just another piece of IP, an algorithm of unoriginality. – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian
It’s better than the sequels. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
Resurrections is easily better than the last two installments. – Kirsten Acuna, Insider
Will satisfy fans and critics in a way Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions didn’t. – Patricia Puentes, Ask
If you’re in the much smaller club that believes the sequels were under-appreciated examples of brainy myth-making, it’s possible Resurrections will break your heart. – John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter
(Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)
It’s great to see this new film establish a visual fluency all its own amidst the wafts of nostalgia. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
What you get that’s new this time around is the overall look of the movie… Resurrections feels much warmer, with plenty of oranges and reds interspersed, that make the eventual heart of the film beat that much stronger. – Germain Lussier, io9.com
Through its clever flashbacks and callbacks, The Matrix Resurrections takes moments that are very familiar and makes them entirely new. – Sean Mulvihill, FanboyNation
It’s not servicing fans. It’s in service of itself… There is value in looking back as long as that experience moves you forward. – Jacob Oller, Paste Magazine
Even though The Matrix Resurrections is a nostalgia-filled homage that wouldn’t work without the franchise’s three previous movies, this new installment still manages to be fresh and original in its own way. – Patricia Puentes, Ask
The movie is in love with the previous movies, but in a sort of defiant way. Lana seems to be saying, “Oh, you liked the previous movies? HERE THEN, HAVE THEM!” – Tom Santilli, Movie Show Plus
This one largely eschews innovation. Rather, Resurrections takes comfort in the familiar. – Peter Debruge, Variety
Without being dogmatic or contrived, the writers pack a lot into their characters’ conversations… about free will, how a story never ends, the limits of reality. – Patricia Puentes, Ask
The plot, slight as it is, creates a frame on which Wachowski can hang a lot of indignation. – Hope Madden, MaddWolf
You get a real sense that Lana has something very important to say, and she’s pissed off about it. – Tom Santilli, Movie Show Plus
You begin to wonder if this movie is about anything or if it’ll just be two-plus hours of Wachowski trolling. – Robert Daniels, The Playlist
(Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)
The Matrix Resurrections is well-aware that it has a lot to prove and its level of meta might be too much for some. I dug it, though. – Germain Lussier, io9.com
This tongue-in-cheek approach adds a dose of levity to a franchise that had previously been consumed by darkness. – Julian Roman, MovieWeb
Not since Mary Martin’s Peter Pan implored a generation of young Americans to clap for a near-death Tinkerbell has there been a production with quite this level of fourth-wall-breaking earnestness. – Keith Uhlich, Slant Magazine
To some, the over-referencing and meta nature will be seen as a double-edged sword… The Matrix Resurrections forces the audience to question the entire purpose of the franchise. – Sheraz Farooqi, Cinema Debate
The action sequences are reliably captivating and despite the film’s meandering plot, combination of tones, and heady sci-fi, it clips along as an entertaining spectacle. – Drew Gregory, Autostraddle
The Matrix Resurrections sticks with slick wirework, wicked martial arts choreography, and ferocious gunplay. Action junkies will get a fix and a half here. – Julian Roman, MovieWeb
The action doesn’t entirely live up to the originals, but how could it? – Hope Madden, MaddWolf
The choreography is still strong overall, but can’t help but miss that original feel. – Sheraz Farooqi, Cinema Debate
There’s probably more action here than in the original film. But many of the scenes, though large in scale and scope, feel redundant. – Kirsten Acuna, Insider
The absence of fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping is deeply felt whenever Resurrections goes in for close hand-to-hand combat — moments that recall the cut-to-shreds chaos cinema of Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Scott. – Keith Uhlich, Slant Magazine
The filmmaking isn’t as clear or exciting, not as innovative as it once was; too many cuts mired in a darkness. – Jacob Oller, Paste Magazine
(Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)
Resurrections is a love story at its core… This time you feel two old lovers and friends reuniting after years apart, and it just works. – Hannah Lodge, Screen Rex
Compared to the relatively sexless blockbusters we’re used to, it’s refreshing to see [Neo and Trinity’s] romance front and center. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
The Matrix Resurrections is primarily focused on the bond between Neo and Trinity, which serves as the emotional core of the film and forces the audience to reexamine the original trilogy in that same light. – Sheraz Farooqi, Cinema Debate
Its emphasis on the romance between Neo and Trinity allows Resurrections to become a devastatingly sincere movie about how love is the best weapon we have to make sense of a world that fills our heads with the white noise of war and conflict on a forever loop. – David Ehrlich, IndieWire
When Reeves and Moss are on screen together their unmistakable chemistry rekindles hot enough to warm a city. – Robert Daniels, The Playlist
Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss are electric together on screen… Spectacular. – Julian Roman, MovieWeb
The audience can’t help but swoon anytime they’re on screen together. – Germain Lussier, io9.com
There’s never a moment where you doubt their starry-eyed fondness for each other. – Keith Uhlich, Slant Magazine
(Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)
Carrie-Anne Moss is still a force of nature. – Hope Madden, MaddWolf
She’s excellent. Badass, striking and with an underlying yearning she’s able to nearly beam at you. – Jacob Oller, Paste Magazine
It’s a pleasure to see Moss return, but a shame to see her given so little interesting to do. – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian
Carrie-Ann Moss’ screen time is comparable to Zendaya’s in WB’s Dune… which is a shame because the duo’s scenes are easily the film’s best. – Kirsten Acuna, Insider
As much as we’d have loved to see Laurence Fishburne back as Morpheus, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is a superb replacement. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
It’s Jessica Henwick who threatens to run away with the entire show. She is a revelation, imbuing her character with warmth, strength and assured intelligence. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
Jessica Henwick’s Bugs is the single most electric addition to the franchise since the original. – David Ehrlich, IndieWire
The film’s pacing makes sense because it mirrors the first film like poetry… It feels like the movie wraps just as it finally ramps up and gets going. – Kirsten Acuna, Insider
It’s too long, but all of them are. – Hope Madden, MaddWolf
(Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)
This is, even more than the first three movies, a film built for repeat viewing. – Germain Lussier, io9.com
I’m excited to see what unfolds in second and third viewings of Resurrections. – Hannah Lodge, Screen Rex
As much as the movie is self-aware of its status as a legacyquel, it definitely sets the pieces on the board for this to act as a soft reboot for further movies. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
If this is the start of a new trilogy, you can count me in. – Sean Mulvihill, FanboyNation
There’s nothing here to inspire hope that, should Warners or whomever insist on more sequels, they’d be worth seeing. – John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter
The Matrix Resurrections is in theaters on December 24, 2021.
