The Matrix Resurrections (2021) - Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Neil Patrick Harris, Daniel Bernhardt

[starschwar]

I'll type up a spoiler-tagged review some time, but I can't say I liked it.  It's not bad, just very underwhelming.  The quality of action and special effects are significantly less than they were in the original trilogy.  Dialogue has a kind of modern Marvel-y quippieness to  it that didn't sit well with me.  Some other creative decisions let me down that I can't get in to.  Maybe more casual fans will get more out of it than I did, but right now I'm kind of numb on the future of the franchise. 

[Cognoscente]

1 hour ago, starschwar said:

The quality of action and special effects are significantly less than they were in the original trilogy.

I miss Yuen Woo-Ping.

Did he get a call?

Edited December 23, 2021 by Cognoscente

[starschwar]

2 hours ago, Cognoscente said:

I miss Yuen Woo-Ping.

Did he get a call?

Probably not.  Fishburne infamously pointed out that he himself was not asked back.  I know Tiger Chen was involved in some limited capacity, but is not credited as fight choreographer.  Chad Stahelski mentioned in an interview that Lana was doing almost all the action design herself this time.  And I have to say, that was a big mistake.  It's not terrible, but it lacks so much of the style and impact of the original trilogy.  The punches lack punch.  Bullets hit unceremoniously.  And - overly rapid editing has struck this franchise!  It's not full on Quantum of Solace (a movie I have a soft spot for in other regards), but it's an ugly technique that I had hoped to have gone away by now.  They invented Bullet Time to make some of the slickest action Hollywood had ever produced, and now they've resorted to quick cuts to hide subpar choreography.

 

I have to say, when this got announced, I figured, my worst possible review would still contain the phrases, "But the action is still awesome," and "it's better paced than Revolutions."   I was too optimistic.  Again, I don't think it's a train wreck.  There are aspects that were quite good.  There is some art to it.  Keanu's performance is the best in the saga.  But for one of my favorite fictional universes to return in such an unexceptional manner, it stings.

[DrNgor]

8 hours ago, starschwar said:

but is not credited as fight choreographer.  Chad Stahelski mentioned in an interview that Lana was doing almost all the action design herself this time.  And I have to say, that was a big mistake. 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the action directors were Joshua Grothe (Gunpowder Milkshake); Ulrik Bruchholz (a bunch of German productions); Shane Yan (Mulan); Don Theerathada (The Expendables 2 and Haywire); and Lee Huang (Gunpowder Milkshake). Their careers might be considered "solid", but Yuen Woo-Ping was way past "solid" in 1999--he was the guy who did Fist of Legend; Drunken Master; Iron Monkey; and the Tiger Cage movies.

 

8 hours ago, starschwar said:

They invented Bullet Time to make some of the slickest action Hollywood had ever produced, and now they've resorted to quick cuts to hide subpar choreography.

That's not really true. Hong Kong was using bullet time in films like The Heroic Trio (1993); Full Contact (1992); and even a bit in Iceman Cometh (1989). Hollywood had already done in it in Tom Berenger's Sniper (1993). Italian horror meister Dario Argento had done it in Opera (1987) and even as early as Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971).

 

Edited December 23, 2021 by DrNgor

[laagi]

@DrNgor Pretty much anything that John Woo did in his HK years had some sort of "Bullet Time" in it. Think The Killer, Hard Boiled and so on.

The Matrix at least to most western audiences introduced this kind of action though. Also I'd argue that Max Payne did the same for videogames two years later. 

Since then it's just been overused in entertainment until it lost all its excitment; that's how I feel.

@starschwar From your thoughts and the couple of reviews I read online my worst fears seem to have been confirmed. Needless to say I'll still check it out to weigh in my own thought.

[starschwar]

@laagi - Keep in mind I'm coming at this thing as a super-fan.  And some of my fellow MXO-playing friends enjoyed the movie immensely.  It is not devoid of merit, and I hope you get more out of it than I did.  I envy everyone in such a position.  I'm going to try and finish my second viewing tonight or tomorrow, and hopefully I'll get more enjoyment out of it.  I want so badly to be wrong.  

[Karlos]

Sorry to hear you didn't love it, @starschwar

 I definitely need to see it again as there is a lot in there to process.

I tempered my expectations beforehand and that may have helped me appreciate it more.

For sure this one does not hit the kung fu sweet spot the trilogy did, but overall I kinda loved this.

It seems fitting that this has proved to be so polarising, and I do see where some of the criticisms are coming from, but not once was I bored throughout.

It's nowhere near perfect but damn it, it's braver, bolder and deeper than any fourth installment of a franchise has any right to be.

(Speaking of fourth installments, John Wick 4 postponed another year? Damn it!!)

 

 

[KUNG FU BOB]

15 hours ago, starschwar said:

Probably not.  Fishburne infamously pointed out that he himself was not asked back.  I know Tiger Chen was involved in some limited capacity, but is not credited as fight choreographer.  Chad Stahelski mentioned in an interview that Lana was doing almost all the action design herself this time.  And I have to say, that was a big mistake.  It's not terrible, but it lacks so much of the style and impact of the original trilogy.  The punches lack punch.  Bullets hit unceremoniously.  And - overly rapid editing has struck this franchise!  It's not full on Quantum of Solace (a movie I have a soft spot for in other regards), but it's an ugly technique that I had hoped to have gone away by now.  They invented Bullet Time to make some of the slickest action Hollywood had ever produced, and now they've resorted to quick cuts to hide subpar choreography.

 

I have to say, when this got announced, I figured, my worst possible review would still contain the phrases, "But the action is still awesome," and "it's better paced than Revolutions."   I was too optimistic.  Again, I don't think it's a train wreck.  There are aspects that were quite good.  There is some art to it.  Keanu's performance is the best in the saga.  But for one of my favorite fictional universes to return in such an unexceptional manner, it stings.

I am sad to report that I did not think THE MATRIX: RESURRECTIONS was very good. It started off strong with intriguing ideas and an interesting first act, but the entire thing is marred by terribly constructed fight scenes. They're the exact opposite of what made all the fights from the originals excellent. These are framed too tightly, with copious shaky-cam, and hideously over-edited. I can hardly believe I just wrote that sentence, but it's true. I felt no impact from the fights; neither delivering a visceral feel nor any emotional punch either. The 2nd and 3rd acts of the story really go awry, and I was bored by some of the dialogue. I even found most of the action scenes boring, with the movie really feeling its considerable length (2:28). It seemed to have good intentions, but ultimately (for me anyway) it was a big misfire. I would only give it a 5.5 out of 10 . My son felt the same way.

Oh, and they bring back a character (no spoilers)- one that I found to be irritating and a huge time waster in one of the sequels- and not only do they bring him back, but they keep cutting away to him yelling incoherent nonsense in the middle of what "should" have been an amazing battle.

As @starschwar states above, Keanu gives a very strong performance. But he can't make a lot of what's happening any more entertaining.

I think the first film in the trilogy is a perfect film- a 10 for me. Though the sequels are flawed, unlike a lot of other fans, I still enjoy them a lot and think they each have moments of sci-fi action brilliance. But this new one... no moments of brilliance. Lots of very empty, weightless-feeling CGI nonsense though.

A very sad experience with only a handful of cool moments.

I did see Tiger Chen's name among the list of stunt players.

If you want a good time at the movies go see SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME instead.

[KUNG FU BOB]

4 minutes ago, Karlos said:

Sorry to hear you didn't love it, @starschwar

 I definitely need to see it again as there is a lot in there to process.

I tempered my expectations beforehand and that may have helped me appreciate it more.

For sure this one does not hit the kung fu sweet spot the trilogy did, but overall I kinda loved this.

It seems fitting that this has proved to be so polarising, and I do see where some of the criticisms are coming from, but not once was I bored throughout.

It's nowhere near perfect but damn it, it's braver, bolder and deeper than any fourth installment of a franchise has any right to be.

(Speaking of fourth installments, John Wick 4 postponed another year? Damn it!!)

 

 

I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed it so much @Karlos. The audience reaction afterward was very mixed too, with people shaking their heads and grumbling and others excitedly discussing it.

Of course I'll still buy it on Blu-ray because of my "collecting problem"...

[starschwar]

Speaking of the Blu-Ray - I hope we get deleted scenes for once.  Unless I missed him somehow, they cut Daniel Bernhardt out of the movie entirely.  Christina Ricci's character is named in the end credits, but it is never said in the film and I think she's in maybe two scenes?  I think there's a lot on the cutting-room floor this time around. 

Edited December 23, 2021 by starschwar

[starschwar]

Regarding Bernhardt's Agent Johnson:

 

Spoiler

In the battle with the Merovingian's Exiles while Neo and Smith fight, there's a part where new-Morpheus falls down a level.  Next time we see him, he's back up fighting alongside the rest of Bugs's crew.  From what I've heard, a test screening included an encounter with Johnson in between those scenes, complete with a flashback to real-Moprheus's battle atop the truck in Reloaded.  This would have been such a great opportunity to contrast the re-created program Morpheus with the original.  Considering how sloppy the factory fight was executed, I can only assume something went exceptionally wrong with what was excised.  I'd still like to see it though.

 

[Takuma]

I had myself a bit of a Matrix week with the new film and re-watches.

The Matrix (USA, 1999) [VoD] – 4.5/5
The action has lost some of its edge, but the storyline and the neo-noir visual approach are still pure dynamite.

The Matrix Reloaded (USA, 2003) [VoD] – 1.5/5
An embarrassing mess without a single good scene in it.

The Matrix Revolutions (USA, 2003) [VoD] – 3/5
Contrary to the popular opinion, I’d say this is notably more watchable than Reloaded. Not a great film, but the action seems more meaningful because this is the decisive battle, unlike Reloaded where there is no reason to care about anything that happens in the film.

The Matrix Resurrections (USA, 2021) [DCP] – 2/5
A frustrating pseudo-intelligent deconstruction of The Matrix with constant self-commentary and breaking the 4th wall combined with cheap nostalgia in form of recycled scenes from the originals. It comes out as a desperate attempt to appear clever, likely to appeal to viewers who don’t know the trick has been done to death in cinema for decades already. The film even fails to repeat old strengths: the action scenes for instance are now Jason Bourne style chaos with bad camerawork and 100 cuts a minute. There is some bullet time as well, seemingly filmed with extra frames as these bits have the same non-cinematic look that TV’s motion interpolation produces. Some have called the film a woke mess, but I wouldn’t necessarily go that far though there are certainly some bits in that alley, including a verbal joke at the end that made me laugh out loud. The new cast is awful, however. What’s good here is Reeves, Moss, and the interaction between them. It’s great, they are great, and that should’ve been the sole focus of the film. One gets the impression that the core storyline here could have produced something worthwhile had it been stripped of the embarrassing junior high school level meta cleverness and clumsy nostalgia, and executed straight.

[laagi]

Just hearing

Spoiler

the cover of "Wake Up" during the End Credits

had me shake my head in disbelief. I mean c'mon!?

Edited December 26, 2021 by laagi

[starschwar]

^  That might be considered a spoiler, @laagi ?  But as for that...

 

Spoiler

It actually fits in an ironic way.  I hate it, but I get it.  It took a song filled with meaningful social commentary and regurgitated it in an obnoxious manner.  Isn't that what this movie is?  It's a cover of the trilogy, but much worse.

 

That said, all things being equal - the ending song should have been Miracles by Jefferson Starship.  We get White Rabbit by Airplane when Neo's at his lowest.   Starship, on a meta level, had some but not all members of the original band.   This move had a mix of old and new cast and crew.   Miracles is a song about love and belief leading to flight.  That's Neo and Trinity's entire arc in this movie!

 

Edited December 26, 2021 by starschwar

[Drunken Monk]

I enjoyed The Matrix: Resurrections for what it was: a sci fi love story. But it would have worked, with a little tweaking, as a stand-alone film and didn’t necessarily need to be a Matrix movie.

With that said, it was nice to see the characters again and continue their journey. For me, the meta stuff really worked and, for the most part, I wasn’t too angered by this one being totally different from the others. However, I was shocked at how poorly executed the action was. I mean, I was fine with the action sequences but Yuen Woo Ping was sorely missed. Considering the first three films had landmark action sequences, this one was very drab in comparison. Shockingly drab. That was easily the film’s biggest crime.

All in all, it was a fun film. I can understand why some people utterly despise this outing. I get it. I’m ok with it though.

[One Armed Boxer]

Considering 'The Matrix' was the movie responsible for getting me into HK action cinema, and by extension, Asian cinema more broadly, I had high hopes for this one. Those hopes included avoiding this thread, any teasers or trailers, and generally attempting to live under a rock until it got released! I checked it out in the cinema yesterday and have to concur with fellow forum members @starschwar, @KUNG FU BOB, @Takuma, and @Drunken Monk.

Having now weighed in with my own review Drunken Monk we actually make the same point - I think it would have been much better as a stand-alone movie, and not one that attempts to fit itself within the narrative of 'The Matrix' along with all the lore that comes with it. However I'm also aware that based on Lana Wachowski's comments, if that was the case then the movie simply wouldn't exist. The action though is what really kills this one, leaving Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss to carry the weight of almost 2:30 hours on their shoulders, which they do an admirable job of, but it's not enough. Link to my full review over at COF below - 

https://cityonfire.com/the-matrix-resurrections-2021-review-4-iv-part/

[starschwar]

Having had time to think about it more - this movie's biggest problem is that it is an action movie.  Which, for The Matrix is an odd statement to make.  But the universe lends itself to all kinds of storytelling possibilities.  The Animatrix short Beyond, for instance, features no combat of any sort, and is a very powerful, borderline horror experience that resonates strongly with me.  Some of my best memories of Matrix Online were encounters that consisted only of dialogue.  The love story is the only part of this movie Lana seemed to have her heart in, and it's great.  It's a moving ~40 minutes.  But it's trapped inside a lackluster 2 hours of underwhelming blockbuster stuff.  There's so many images from the original trilogy that are frozen in my mind forever, and not just the cool action beats.  The rain dripping down the building where Neo meets Morpheus.  Trinity, Morpheus, and Seraph proceed down the stairs to Club Hel.  The kitchen door opening to reveal the Chateau.  The sequels may have had some faults (I'm more forgiving than most) - but they were still well-crafted works, made with love and dedication.  So much of Resurrections is sloppy.  Here's one for you.

 

Spoiler

A lot of people are bummed out by a lack of Agents in this one, beyond the ones that exist inside the Modal (which I'm still unsure about whether that's a piece of the Matrix that Neo accidentally created, or just something inside his computer that Bugs could jack into somehow?).  Did you know that there were two traditional Agents present in the cafe at the end?  You can briefly see them behind Analyst acting as his bodyguards (they suck at their job, evidently).  Are they involved in the fight?  Not much, since most people I've spoken to didn't even notice their presence.  Agents were previously a source of dread, of impending freight-train punch, fifty caliber packing death machines.  That they can be missed entirely in the messy action is so damn weird.

 

[masterofoneinchpunch]

The Matrix Resurrections (2021: Lana Wachowski):

First theater watch of the year.  How bad is this?  I have been avoiding the new Spider-Man No Way Home specifically because it has been packed for each showing.  A lot of kids are back to school this week, yet it still has been busy.  However, The Matrix Resurrections had one person who bought tickets (this is why I love Fandango to see what seats are available).  I expect more to come, though none came.  And this one person left one-third of the way through, not half, but a third.  A harbinger of things to come.

The main reason I saw this was that a Starbucks Girl I know had wanted me to watch this because she disliked it so much. I loved the conversation where she says you will hate it, but I want to talk about it later. And I like to finish off series when I can.  I’m regretting this more and more (Black Mask 2, Crank 2 and I like both of these more than this film).

I was not expecting much.  Each Matrix film got worse.  I am fan of the first movie, saw it a decent amount of times.  I thought the second was decent, but did not like the third.  A long running joke with my brother was that we were always waiting for the Matrix sequel.  But this was bad, very bad.  How do I hate thee?  Let me count the ways.

I did not like the plot.  This film felt like a cash grab and an unnecessary sequel.  But going a bit too much meta without being clever was annoying.  I’ll try to avoid spoilers.  Him being the creator of the Matrix Trilogy as software game releases was obnoxious.  They addressed this point in the film, but it felt like they were addressing it just to try to cover up how illogical it was.  But can you add any more annoying characters?  Yes, you can.

If actors like Hugo Weaving and Lawrence Fishburne are not in the new movie, do not drag old footage of them.  It felt tacky.  But it also had the problem of showing two major characters that really needed to be there if this film had a remote chance of succeeding.  The younger actors who usurped these roles just did not work anywhere near as well (though Yahya Abdul-Mateen II can dress well).

The fighting and stunt choreography were nowhere near as good. Seriously missing Yuen Woo-ping here, but even he could not help the mistakes in filmmaking.  The overuse of shaky cam.  The Greengrass editing.  The actors who cannot fight.  The overuse of step-printing for special effects.  It looked like a poor use in a Wong Kar-wai movie (basically TV special effects.)

Now the city looked nice as well as the various locales.  So not all the CGI was wasted.

The obvious political references like the overuse of the word binary and hey there is a guy named Chad.  Ugh.  It felt like it had to subvert what the previous three films did.  Oh, and that ending.  Let us emasculate Neo – so incredibly stupid.  You do not have to do that to bring other characters up.  And there is even a Deux Machina (missing the ex though I think someone did say this in the film).

I was fidgety 45 minutes through. An hour-and-a-half I just wanted it to end.  The type of film where you are shifting back and forth trying to get comfortable and thinking too much on other things.  Maybe I really should have seen the latest Spider-Man.

[starschwar]

4 hours ago, masterofoneinchpunch said:

 hey there is a guy named Chad.  Ugh.

And there is even a Deux Machina (missing the ex though I think someone did say this in the film).

 

Chad is played by Chad Stahelski - he was Keanu's stunt double back in the day, and directs the John Wick movies.  The name may also be a reference to Paul Chadwick, who wrote some Matrix comics and the first few years of the Online game.  That was a multi-purpose meta reference that actually works well for me - they weren't all duds.

 

Deus Ex Machina - besides the literary device, was the name of the machine Neo made his deal with at the end of Revolutions.

[laagi]

I was positively surprised with the self-aware beginning of the movie. I've had a lot of fun with it!

Unfortunately from that point on I just didn't care about what was happening anymore on screen. Probably largely due to a pretty boring story as well as unmemorable characters new and old.

The ending at least did deliver some good action not great but still worthwhile. I'm actually astonished on how the movie varied in quality. Sometimes it looked and felt like one of those big budget blockbusters and at the same time like a poor B-movie.

Bugs (Bunny) was one of the more intriguing and interesting characters. I'd probably like to see more of. Also I thought it was sweet that after all these years (20!) the chemistry between Neo and Trinity or Reeves and Moss respectively is still there.

Overall a very mixed bag for me. Not a total trainwreck as some make it out to be but also at the same time a difficult recommendation for fans of the original or anybody else for that matter.

Last but not least what is it with the runtime these days!? This movie was another one that could have easily done with 30 minutes less.

[One Armed Boxer]

2 hours ago, laagi said:

Also I thought it was sweet that after all these years (20!) the chemistry between Neo and Trinity or Reeves and Moss respectively is still there.

Or Thomas and Tiffany.

[Super Ninja]

What have they done?

I tried to approach the new Matrix as I would approach a movie that doesn't even belong in the same universe as the original trilogy, but it's impossible to see Resurrections that way. Seeing it as the fourth installment to my favorite SF movie of all time on the other hand, makes this a very weird experience. Let's neglect the fact that Resurrections is more of a sci-fi love story than a movie that had so much more layers and depth in its original form. Let's confirm the obvious: Resurrections could never have been as revolutionizing as the original Matrix. And finally let's neglect the fact that Trinity is the new Neo; maybe because Larry is now Lana, or maybe for the same reason there was a female version of Ghostbusters.

I heard a theory that says Lana accepted making Resurrections so somebody else wouldn't do it. And it makes sense, with the proof being in the movie itself. I'm sure you can understand why our beloved parent company, Warner Bros.,  has decided to make a sequel to the trilogy. They informed me they're gonna do it with or without us. So maybe Lana was right to stop the hipster idiots who explain The Matrix is a mind-porn and philosophy in shiny tight PVC, and is about trans-politics and crypto-fascism, and decided to direct Resurrections herself. If Matrix was my movie, I also wouldn't let pseudo-intellectuals get their hands on it. However, what we got in the end is neither somebody else's effort at reinventing or rebooting The Matrix, nor Lana's legitimate sequel made out of love and passion. 

Still there's truth and honesty in her movie, at least that's how I see it. About sheeple and how they prefer being controlled, how they don't want freedom and empowerment and crave the comfort of certainty. I'm not judging and will be the first to admit I've recognized myself in those words as much as I hate to say it. It's in these words however where Resurrections felt like it had some of the old Matrix spirit, and Lana, when not fighting her own bots, had something to say that's perhaps even more significant today than it was twenty years ago. Too bad she didn't focus on that more.

It's needles to comment the action. I'm glad Yuen Woo-ping wasn't a part of this. It also seems that it wasn't Lana who tried to choreograph the action herself as I've read somewhere, but the result is not much better.  On the other hand, I was glad to see Jonathan Eusebio and the 87Eleven guys got to work on the movie, as much as a disappointment it has become. Not that they'd be jobless without The Matrix.

For me, Resurrections felt both very familiar and distantly strange. The nostalgia I felt watching the trailer wasn't there. Even while writing these words, I'm not sure how I felt about it, strange, happy, angry or disappointed. Or maybe all at once. There were parts that moved me. Somewhere underneath all of that mess there's something beautiful and touching. But if the thing that excited me the most about Resurrections was seeing Chad Stahelski appearing as Tiffany's husband and Fist of Legend playing on Thomas' TV in the office, it means Lana must have missed the point. Or she just didn't care enough anymore.

 

 

[starschwar]

I don't think anyone in the focus group is wrong per-se.  The Matrix is a little bit of everything they talk about - the problem is that they seem to think it is *only* about X rather than being a more complicated combination that is greater than the sum of its parts.  I think it's meant to represent a sense of "how dare you tell me you know more about my work than me" sentiment?   And while the movie does flat-out tell us that this was mostly made under duress, it is also very much coming from grief Lana had for the passing of her parents.  While Neo as "creator of the trilogy" is a proxy for her, so is Bugs.  She is shown as a window washer in her bluepill life (which was Lana and Lilly's cameo in the first movie) - seeing Neo with utter adoration.  So I think it might be better described as her making the best of a bad situation.  The closer the narrative is to Trinity, the more heart she seems to have in things - getting her and Neo back together was the heart of the project.  There really is a beautiful 40 minute long Sci-Fi love story in here.  It's just trapped inside 2 hours of underwhelming and incoherent blockbuster stuff where she seems to have just been spinning her wheels.