The Matrix trilogy was a core part of the late 90s and early 2000s. They were the Star Wars of their time. Well, at least the first one was. The second and third films weren’t exactly revolutionary. The original Matrix portrayed a solid, well-made movie that didn’t need a sequel. Yet, here were are two movies, and now a reboot later, and I’m talking about the Matrix Resurrections, aka the Matrix 4.
The previous movies were made by both Wachowskis, and this new movie is made by Lana Wachowski only. I’m not sure what difference it made, but Matrix Resurrections is something a little different.
Is The Matrix Resurrections good?
Uhm, kind of. The Matrix Resurrections is not a bad movie, but it’s not a good Matrix movie. Kinda like the last Star Wars movie. It’s tough to write this without spoiling the film, but I will try. In the first act, there is a very meta-narrative about reboots, sequels, and how they aren’t needed.
Seeing as how The Matrix is about a false reality, it’s even more meta and more interesting. I really enjoyed the movie before it dived into the Matrix-y parts of the film. With the flurry of reboots, remakes, and reimaginings that are coming out, this was a refreshing studio.
In one scene, two important characters name-check Warner Brothers and say something along the lines of, “Warner Brothers will do it with or without you.” While quoted in the film, Warner Brothers did say that they will make the Matrix 4 with or without the Wachowskis, so you can feel the sting of those words in the film.
Why is it a bad Matrix movie?
Well, first, the story remains as silly as always. The idea of humans as batteries has always been silly, and they double down on that concept in the movie. They mention lots and lots about profits and power generation, and it is still silly. The new Matrix has some surprising add ons, and the agents of yesteryear aren’t the biggest threat anymore.
If you are a Matrix fan, you’re fine with the bad story and convoluted plot. What you won’t be used to is the slow and crappy action. The Matrix is all about crazy and intense action that’s over the top and kind of crazy. Yet, here we are. The Matrix Resurrections features painfully slow and uninventive action scenes. They made better action scenes in the 1999 film.
There is no inspiration. In all fairness, you can point out that Keanu is pushing 60! True, but that doesn’t slow him or the filmmakers down in the John Wick series. It’s just super uninspired and doesn’t excite or capture you into the scene.
They also use a lot of old footage from the first Matrix. I feel like Lana Wachowski is screaming at the audience, “Do you remember this!” Only once did they use old footage in an inventive and creative way. Other than that one scene, the old footage featured in The Matrix Resurrections was ham-fisted.
The One
Only a few characters from the old movies return. As the trailers portrayed, we have a new Morpheus, a new crew, and even a new Agent Smith. I actually didn’t mind the new characters, including the new Morpheus and Smith. The new Morpheus and Smith aren’t just actors doing impressions of the old characters. They are their own thing.
Both are interesting and do a great job. There is a twist at the end that surprised me, and I did welcome it. The Matrix is all about making choices and asks if free will is a question or not, is destiny real, etc. The new Smith gets the opportunity to be a part of that question, and unlike the human characters, he excels at having free will.
Neo and Trinity make their return, and both actors do well. Color me impressed that Carrie-Anne Moss can still do that famous Scorpion kick. One of the more annoying things in the movie is shoving in old characters for no reason.
The Frenchman pops back in with his weirdos, and there is a fight scene, and it’s just a shoved-in cameo that’s not needed. There are a few different things like that in the film that annoy me.
What About the Guns?
The Matrix has always had lots of guns. There is a literal scene where Neo asks for guns, lots of guns in the first film. The Matrix Resurrections has plenty of guns but seemingly limited gunplay. This is a minor spoiler, but Neo doesn’t wield a firearm at all in this film. He doesn’t even seem to look longingly at one.
I don’t expect realistic gun handling in The Matrix Resurrections. The film’s all about out-of-this-world gunfights, and I won’t knock silly things like that in this film. The Matrix films didn’t necessarily have character guns. Well, except for the Agent’s use of the Desert Eagle XIX in 50 AE.
We get the famed Desert Eagle once more in The Matrix Resurrections. On top of that, we get to see the return of the M134 Minigun, still mounted to helicopters. We even get a remake of the famed brass falling shot.
The characters around him wield some guns. Morpheus comes in like a demon wielding an MP5K with very low-profile sights. The original Morpheus also wielded a pair of MP5Ks as well. He wields it akimbo with the IWI Masada handgun in one of the gun’s few feature films.
I Still Know Kung Fu
We see lots of nice new guns too, including several handguns equipped with red dot sights. I spotted a Glock with an Aimpoint Acro as well as a Leupold DPP-equipped handgun. One character dual-wields a pair of VP9SK pistols.
We also see the Sig MPX Copperhead in play with one of the new crew. Oddly enough, it’s a pistol brace-equipped version, not a real SMG or even SBR variant. Speaking of which, I don’t remember the brace ever being deployed ever while the gun’s in use.
Along the way, we see random goons and Matrix police officers equipped with HK 416s, a wide variety of AR15s, shotguns, and even a Milkor multiple grenade launcher.
Spotting Them All
I watched The Matrix Resurrections as part of my HBO Max subscription. Since I had already paid for it, I enjoyed my watch. If I spent fifty or so dollars to see it in theatres with my wife, I’d feel disappointed. It’s an okay film, but I enjoyed the parts where they discussed the nature of remakes and reboots. I also enjoyed seeing the world in a post-Matrix trilogy and seeing an epilogue to the human and machine war. I even liked the new characters.
I didn’t like the clunky story and the boring action. In terms of gunplay, I have to ask, what guns did you see that I missed? Let me know below.
