Here’s what the critics are saying about ‚The Matrix: Resurrections‘ and how it compares to the original films.
Despite being a big fan of Keanu Reeves and his latest projects, like John Wick, I’m a little nervous about The Matrix: Resurrections. I loved the original film, thought the second one was okay, and can’t really remember much about the third other than viscerally disliking it. It sounds like Resurrections will fall somewhere in the middle. As it stands, Resurrections and Reloaded are neck-and-neck on Rotten Tomatoes. The fourth film has a 71% “Fresh” score (which could easily change by a few points up or down in the coming days) while the second film has a 73% “Fresh” score. The original Matrix has an 88% “Fresh” score —which frankly seems low given how groundbreaking and awesome the movie was—while Revolutions sits in a league of its own, with a Rotten 35%. It’s kind of cute that the Wachowskis went with an “R” word for each of the three sequels. I’m just not sure that The Matrix needed sequels in the first place. As a stand-alone film, it’s a pretty perfection action/sci-fi outing. It has a mysterious and exciting story arc, lots of great characters, the innovative “bullet time” effect and a perfectly fine resolution at the end (perhaps someday we’ll get The Matrix: Resolutions). Instead, we had to go deeper into the AI network and its bizarre lore that I still don’t think makes a lick of sense. This computer simulation designed to trap and feed on humans has no need for Oracles or other NPCs. It’s just weird and half-baked, though I prefer the heady half-assed philosophy of Reloaded to the dud of a revolution we got in #3. Some critics are coming out swinging with deeply negative reviews and tweets. But most of the negative reviews are quite mild, noting that Resurrections doesn’t have much to offer. That far from resurrecting the Matrix franchise, it feels more like a tribute to something that’s already over. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times writes: ““Matrix Resurrections” is a great-looking film and Reeves and Moss remind us of what an iconic team they made in the trilogy, but the themes of finding one’s identity, free will, taking leaps of faith in order to serve the greater good, humans against machines — we already hashed all that out back in the day, and ultimately this feels more like a warmed-over tribute to the past than a bold and fresh new chapter.
