With the new Matrix movie out, I thought I’d write a few thoughts about the new movie, as well as the series in general:
*** Spoiler, all the important characters live, and there is a happy ending ***
It’s not that the new movie is terrible… but it is bad. Half way through the movie, I was thinking, “What the hell is going on. This is boring.” The fight scenes were ok-ish, and there were some cool characters. But the supporting characters were pretty bland compared to the original movies. The movie had none of the tension and betrayal in the original film, and was fairly predictable once you figured out that Neo was in another matrix.
Back in 1999, The Matrix was new and interesting with a cool style, unique at the time. The use of a slow-motion “Bullet Time” fight scenes gave the action a video-game feel. (Bullet Time has become a standard in many modern action video-games, ever since “Max Payne”) All and all, it was a fun film to watch, especially if you ignore the ridiculous science that justifies why the machines and humans are at war.
On a side note, humans make terrible batteries and require more energy to feed than the heat-energy they produce. Any civilization capable of superconductor technology necessary to make electromagnetic VTOL flight possible would have access to nuclear fusion… which would be a much more logical power source than people in bathtubs.
The initial movie also asked deep questions and made us explore our thoughts about reality. Since then, it has become popular among many intellectuals to discuss “Simulation Theory” which is the idea that we all live in some form of a simulated reality.
The second movie coasted along on the momentum of the first, as does most sequels, and it was ok. The third movie wasn’t great, but brought the series to a tidy conclusion… which was useful since trilogies have been a natural way of telling complex stories since the original Star Wars movies.
The Matrix Resurrections does not do any of this. It’s obviously just using nostalgia as a money grab. I wouldn’t actually spend any money to see this movie, but if you can watch it for free on a streaming service that your friend is already paying for, then it’s worth watching if you have nothing better to do.
Keanu Reeves is still pretty cool, though I preferred him as John Wick. Carrie-Anne Moss does a fine job remaking her old role as Trinity. Laurence Fishburne was way cooler as Morpheus, though the new guy isn’t bad… though Yahya suffers from the drawback of not actually being Laurence Fishburne. It was nice to see Neil Patrick Harris in the movie, but I can’t look at him without seeing Barney from “How I Met Your Mother.” The new Agent Smith sucks, and looks like a frat boy dropout, but that’s because Hugo Weaving IS Agent Smith and cannot be replaced.
So I’d certainly choose to watch Matrix Resurrections over getting a speeding ticket, but I dare say that I would rather have watched The Last Jedi (which also sucked)… and that’s saying a lot since I really didn’t like the Disney sequels. Rogue One wasn’t bad. Final Thoughts: Definitely watch Rogue One over The Matrix Resurrections.
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