The Matrix Resurrections

That “meta” introduction was almost physically painful. Not because I have anything against meta-movies, but because I simply found the self-reflection banal, shallow and unimaginative. There’s nothing there that cheaper movies wouldn’t have made more interesting in the past. And I find it utterly embarrassing of Wachowski to smuggle such gibberish into the sequel of a Hollywood film after twenty years. Did they hold a gun to her head to make it? Fortunately, after a few minutes, it switches from this painful despair to the expected action sci-fi, which I like in concept, but which at the same time toils in many ways and doesn't make use of its potential and the various over-the-top themes that deserve elaboration. It seems that the main driving motive behind the film is a kind of nostalgia and a desire to give its heroes the well-deserved happy ending that they were not afforded in the original trilogy. By the way, the reviews about the weak action did not lie, there was really nothing that could make you jump from your seat. Although I found a couple of scenes to be relatively imaginative, the audiovisual experience of the fourth Matrix is rather sterile in the end, something that stands out especially when compared to the various cuts to the original films – each of those scenes has a more interesting "face" of its own than all the newly shot footage put together. (12/23/2021)

Maybe in a different world or reality, where the previous three films didn't exist, it would be a wow modern and cutting-edge blockbuster with all the hallmarks that are so hot today, or that Hollywood filmmakers want to make hot. However, given the existence of the original trilogy, the fourth film is half a mockery and half a slap in the face to the entire Matrix universe with its storyline. Basically three films rolled into one completely unnecessary reboot 20 years apart – how refreshing. I hope Grandpa and Grandma won't do it again after twenty years – there's always a reason why, it's a love story. (01/09/2022)

The fourth film has a relatively interesting ratio in the cast of old familiar faces with newcomers to the franchise (Christina Ricci or Priyanka Chopra, for example). And this ratio decently represents the development of the entire Matrix film series. In an age of elevated cinematic sagas, Resurrections is a nostalgic genre blend with which it’s nice to experience a little of that viewer comfort. For now, the last film rehabilitated the whole tetralogy in my eyes and the lingering bad aftertaste of the second and third films slowly faded away. (04/23/2022)

In my opinion, this movie is actually like last year's Mortal Kombat as it is such a "guilty pleasure", at least so far this year. As a standalone movie, the fourth Matrix movie does not stand up well, in my opinion, and few people will enjoy it without knowing certain realities and a sense of irony. Still, I was gloating in the cinema and marveled at how the studio could have greenlighted this screenplay. The way the whole thing went reminded me a bit of the third season of Twin Peaks, where David Lynch broke free from the chain and was meta in his own peculiar way. He left popular characters in hibernation for most of the time and managed to piss off half the audience to boot. It could quite possibly be summed up as follows: If you are one of those who wanted and looked forward to the fourth Matrix movie, you are probably going to be as disappointed as ever. If you are one of those who considered the original a borderline masterpiece and did not care for the sequel, you are going to get an entertaining and interesting experiment. I guess that is about all. (02/04/2022)

A smart, entertaining, daring, surprising film that, like Nolan's Tenet, is begging for a second viewing, a more thorough examination, and therefore more audience enjoyment. And I'm happy to oblige because Matrix: Ressurections is not a redundant film at all, but more than an amazing conclusion to a great trilogy. On the one hand, it mocks the audience, on the other, it gives them exactly what they want (even if they didn’t know it). Lana Wachowski teamed up again with David Mitchell, who I think is an absolutely brilliant multi-genre writer, to write the screenplay, and the result is such a joy to watch, not just because of the production design, but because of everything that happens in the film. From the cast, apart from the amazing Keanu Reeves (no, he's not playing John Wick, although he looks it, he's just Neo) and Carrie-Anne Moss, I would like to highlight Jessica Henwick. (12/28/2021)