Most every fan of sci-fi and action movies loves The Matrix. Significant proportions, however, hate the sequels. Though Reloaded and Revolutions have had their reputations rehabilitated slightly over the years, it’s hard to find a lot of fans who extol The Matrix movies as an iconic trilogy, rather than one classic with lesser follow-ups. And with the fourth movie, Resurrections, opening in theaters and on HBO Max tomorrow, it appears the debate will continue. Once again, Lana Wachowski has not taken the safe route, but like Neo, opted for her own more challenging truth. At least, that’s what the first wave of The Matrix Resurrections reviews suggest.
Scott Mendelson at Forbes writes, “I wish it were a better (or less of an) action movie, but the scenes where folks talk to each other and detail the aftershocks of what came before are as fascinating as hoped. It’s less a continuation and more of an epilogue, and it’s a weirdly light and jolly movie about a hopeless future.”
Johnny Oleksinski at The New York Post offers up the same critique many had of the prior sequels: “The new movie shoves in yet more people who blather on about metaphysics and philosophy and attempt to advance plenty of underdeveloped plot lines.”
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David Ehrlich at Indiewire suggests the divisiveness to come by saying “It’s the boldest and most vividly human franchise sequel since The Last Jedi (if also messier and more postmodern than Rian Johnson’s miraculous addition to the “Star Wars” canon).”
Variety‘s Peter Debruge finds it safer rather than riskier, concluding that “Wachowski doesn’t add much to the rich mythology she and sister Lilly have established, but she’s careful not to mess it up either…this far-from-radical add-on seems distractingly preoccupied with justifying its own existence, rather than seeking a way to take fans to the next level.”
And it’s not a predictable mainstream critrics-vs-fans dynamic, either. Amelia Emberwing at IGN finds it “not a good movie. It’s a bunch of individually neat ideas stacked in a trench coat like a bunch of kids trying to buy a ticket to an R-rated film. Cleverness is met with laughably bad execution at nearly every turn here.” On the other hand, The Hollywood Reporter‘s John Fore says, up front, “If you loved The Matrix and hated the sequels (or simply found them unsatisfying), go see this one. Have a blast.”
As of this writing, the movie scores 67% on Rotten Tomatoes, or about 2/3 positive. But overall, even the negative reviews find some positives, while many of the positives have significant nitpicks. Like with everything Wachowski, it seems the reactions will be complicated. Look for Superhero Hype’s review to post later.
What do you make of the reviews thus far? Let us know in comments.
Recommended Reading: The Matrix Comics, Vol. 2
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