After nearly two decades, Neo and Trinity are back in the fourth installment of the mind-altering sci-fi action Matrix series with The Matrix Resurrections. The film will be released both in theaters and on HBO Max on Wednesday, December 22, and the reviews are in to help you decide if, when and how you want to check out this latest sequel. It is, as they say, the most wonderful time of the year to question your reality.
Despite dying in the third film, The Matrix Revolutions, Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) are alive and living ordinary lives until a new Morpheus (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) reopens their minds to a more dangerous Matrix than they previously knew. Along with Reeves and Moss, the film sees the return of director Lana Wachowski and co-stars Jada Pinkett Smith and Lambert Wilson.
Let’s dive in and see what the critics have to say about The Matrix Resurrections, starting with our own CinemaBlend review. Eric Eisenberg rated the new sequel 3.5 stars out of 5, saying the beginning of The Matrix Resurrections is so good it raises viewers’ expectations to a level that the rest of the movie can’t meet. Overall enjoyment of the film will likely be determined by which section sticks out most prominently to the viewer.
The new blockbuster is mostly successful, as it builds on the established canon, has its own raison d'etre for bringing back the world and characters, and unleashes a series of explosive set pieces – but it’s also a production that stands out as being exceptionally uneven. The first act of The Matrix Resurrections is an absolutely blissful cinematic experience; the second act is a slog burdened with the over-familiar and heavy doses of plot; and the conclusion is fortunately solid enough to make up for the missteps that precede it.
Amelia Emberwing of IGN gave The Matrix Resurrection a 4 out of 10, saying it is “jaw-droppingly misguided,” but still has good and nostalgic aspects. The reunion of Neo and Trinity is delightful, and the additions of Jonathan Groff and Jessica Henwick to the Matrix franchise are possibly the best part. But its attempts at being meta — telling the audience that reboots are silly — miss the mark and only strengthen the argument of those who say remakes and sequels are blatant corporate cash grabs.
I’d go so far as to say that The Matrix Resurrections is made up almost entirely of good ideas. The problem is that it’s 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.
Riley Silverman of Nerdist gave the film a 3 out of 5, saying it certainly feels like it belongs in the Matrix franchise, and while it brings a surprising number of comedic moments and a “skin-crawling” final action sequence, how much viewers enjoy the previous sequels may play a part in their impression of this one.
Similar to the previous sequels, when it hits its highs, it delivers. The ambition of it is obvious, the pacing rarely stalls out, and Keanu has a lot more fun with the role than he did in the trilogy. He brings a lot of his relaxed vibe from more recent years. Though Lana Wachowski directs solo this time, fans of the sisters’ trademark visual styles will be happy to know there’s plenty on display here. We have no modern equivalent to the groundbreaking bullet-time moment of the first film. However, a series of visuals in the final climactic action sequence that is skin-crawling, visceral, and horrifying.
Joshua Rothkopf of EW graded the movie a B+, and while he says it’s not without its faults, he makes specific note about the romance between Keanu Reeves’ Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss’ Trinity — an aspect that is lauded in a number of critics’ reviews.
Resurrections does eclipse its predecessors for full-on, kick-you-in-the-heart romance: Reeves and Moss, comfortable with silences, lean into an adult intimacy, so rare in blockbusters, that's more thrilling than any roof jump (though those are pretty terrific too). Their motorbiking through an exploding city, one of them clutching the other, could be the most defiantly sexy scene of a young year.
William Bibbiani of The Wrap agreed that the depth given to Neo and Trinity’s relationship actually makes the previous three movies retroactively better. And overall, the self-awareness of the movie begs audiences to ask if the reboot culture of Hollywood is another Matrix itself.
But if we absolutely must have another 'Matrix' movie, if we can’t just let it be, then let it be this weird one. Let it be a film with an existential crisis. Let it be a film that’s half a nostalgia cash-in and half a biopic about a filmmaker who’s forced to make a nostalgia cash-in. Let 'The Matrix Resurrections' leave fans half-satisfied and wondering if maybe the fan-service system in which Hollywood has invested for so many decades is itself just another Matrix — keeping the throngs content with low-risk throwbacks and preventing audiences from getting brand-new and truly ambitious stories that push the medium and the culture forward.
As expected with this franchise, the critics are split over whether or not the meta reboot angle of The Matrix Resurrections landed with its audiences. What seems to be pretty universally agreed on is the prevalent chemistry between its stars and welcome addition of new villains to the universe. If the red pill is your choice, you can catch The Matrix Resurrections in theaters and HBO Max starting Wednesday, December 21. Be sure to check out our 2022 Movie Release Schedule to see what’s coming up in the new year.
