SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for The Matrix Resurrections. If you have not yet seen the film, continue reading at your own risk!
To the surprise of literally nobody, Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix Resurrections is a film packed end-to-end with all varieties of action – from hand-to-hand combat, to gunplay, to chase sequences – but in practical terms the best is definitely saved for last. The big climax of the movie features a badass skyscraper leap, and what’s especially amazing about it is just how real the scene was for stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss.
For clarification, the production of The Matrix Resurrections didn’t actually have its two actors jump from the top of a real skyscraper, as there was a fair amount of CGI used in the making of the scene – but what audiences are legitimately seeing in the film is the movie’s two principal leads taking a leap together from a height of over 40 feet.
Neo and Trinity’s big jump makes for one of the most awesome moments in the new blockbuster, and as such I felt compelled to ask about it when I interviewed Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss earlier this month during the virtual press day for their new movie. Having learned that the stunt was practical and not done with doubles, I asked the two Matrix Resurrections stars about the preparation and execution, and Reeves explained that the process involved specific training and them gradually working their way up to a rather extreme height. Said the actor,
It was designed by the stunt coordinator, Scott Rogers, but initiated by Lana Wachowski, the director's vision to have these lovers... a lover’s leap. It was a lover's leap! And so he started us in wires and then started levels... Getting up higher and higher to I guess five containers, shipping containers.
The typical shipping container (according to a quick internet search) is eight-and-a-half feet tall, so when you’re talking about stacking five of them on top of each other you’re reaching a height of 42.5 feet. I think it’s safe to say that most of us would balk at the chance to face down half of that, so Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss definitely deserve credit for their commitment to the production and the fortitude to get it done.
All told, The Matrix Resurrections is primarily a romance at its core – Neo and Trinity being the main couple – and the leap at the end of the film is designed to be symbolic of their commitment to one another at all costs. It’s often the case that such lover’s leaps, to use Keanu Reeves’ term, are instances of tragedy in fiction, but Lana Wachowski and stunt coordinator Scott Rogers utilize the moment as an affirmation of the heroes’ faith in each other to build toward the movie’s happy ending.
As you’d imagine, the experience wasn’t just about physically preparing for the stunt and getting used to the wirework used in the sequence, but also getting into a proper mental space that would allow the two actors to reject their instincts and take a jump from a height that under normal circumstances would result in serious injury or death. It was part of the experience on set, but it was also preparation work that Carrie-Anne Moss took home. She explained,
I spent a lot of time in my hotel room in the dark training my mind to do that. It was really, for me, I call it mind training. I had to train my mind to get to that point, which I, which I love doing. The mind's powerful, you know?
It’s a killer cinematic moment, and one that can now be enjoyed at infinitum. The Matrix Resurrections – starring Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Jessica Henwick, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Neil Patrick Harris, and Jada Pinkett Smith – is now playing both in theaters everywhere, and can also be streamed for a limited time with a subscription to HBO Max.
