Matrix Resurrection 4k

[Robinette Ith]

Im not going to go all the way down the hole on how much of a fuck factory I found this movie to be, people should form their own opinions, I'll just say I don't think I've been this dismayed by a piece of cinema in quite a while. Ultimately I'm the idiot, knowing exactly where the original Matrix sequels went and expecting something different out of this one (yes Vaas, I know, thanks).

Ultimately, I think crap like this is a product of our own laziness. Until people collectively demand better and stop dumping money on these streaming services then this is going to continue to be the output. Actual cinema movies were (occasionally) good because they were cash on delivery, if they were good then word got around, people would go see them and they made money, conversely if they weren't then people didn't and they bombed. These asinine productions that get extruded by streaming services are payed for before they even hit the screen, and shmucks subscribing to the service will begrudgingly watch them because the cost to them is already sunk.

This is only on HBO Max because Warner committed to launching all their movies on HBO Max in 2021 due to the fact that going to cinemas is still not a great idea. When this project was conceived it certainly wasn't intended to be a streaming film, and Warner has said this will be the last movie that launches day and date on HBO Max as we move into 2022 and people seem, for better or worse, more willing to go cinemas.

Also, I thought it was fine. It wasn't the mess movies two and three were and while the meta commentary on Hollywood reboot/sequel culture can certainly come across as hypocritical coming from the 4th movie in a blockbuster franchise almost 20 years since the last film, the self-awareness is as at least somewhat interesting in a "30 Rock Snapple ad" sort of way.

@csl316: I think that's where i'm at with it too, I liked the first half and the ideas it had going for it, but the action parts where kind of weak, not particularly bad or anything but they weren't as interestingly shot as the old movies and they just went on for way to long, like I feel like you could cut a good 20-25 minutes out of that back half and have a better overall movie.

I ain't mad at it, and it certainly looks and feels like they had a great time making it- but speaking personally I don't think I needed that movie. It doesn't ruin anything- but the winky/noddy meta stuff kinda lands with a thud for me (when characters explicitly name drop Warner Bros., bullet-time, and say things like "guns...lots of guns..." I can't help but groan a little).

Truthfully I think the part I was most disappointed in was the aesthetic- there was a uniformity of visual design to that first movie- everything from the cold color palette to the neo-film noir shot composition that was outstanding. It's like it emerged from the ether in the late 90s wholly realized with a sense of style that people have been aping ever since.

This new one has so much more vibrant color and mixed visual effects that occasionally I found it distracting. I think the tonal shift also extends to the dialogue- which also appears to be more lighthearted and less hard-boiled...which is totally fine, but just isn't my cup of tea (at least for a Matrix move).

I think any property like the Matrix (Star Wars, LotR, MCU, etc) will be defined by what each audnces member actully wanted to see after the first one.

I never gave two shit about the last human city. I never gave two shit about the human culture the would have devloped there. I never gave two shit abut that because I some of the world building they did was illogical. So, when the sequal went headed into those questions, I was so much less interested. Such is teh way of art, stories have breachs, so when the branch you wnated to see is not the route - not much that will save it for you.

I haven't seen this. But from the trailer it looks like some kind of soft reboot. ...Eh? Not an interesting way to approach this. Neo is gone, done, why bring him back? I really like the Matrix mythology and there's a lot more places they can go. Watch the Animatrix for some ideas. I want to see something weird and more interesting than Neo fighting Agent Smith once again.

My Letterboxd thoughts. Summary: It's a fun, breezy watch, but deeply flawed in many ways and arguably not much of a Matrix movie, not really. There's nothing specific about the story other than some characters you might not have expected to see in here if you're spoiler-averse, though it does assume you've seen the movie of course:

At times a viciously angry indictment of modern video game production and at others a saccharinely sincere ode to love and destiny, it's clear Lana Wachowski had something to say when she finally agreed to return to the Matrix IP. Unfortunately, she possibly has too much to say, and without her sister's collaboration (or merely due to the passage of time) she no longer has her fastball visually. The end result is a movie that often feels like a fan film, or a CW show on steroids, every clever shot or bit of dialogue undercut by a clumsy edit or terrible line delivery.

I get that I'm supposed to hate Jude, the handler program who oscillates wildly between assistant, stranger, wingman and horse collar, but it's been a long time since a performance made me hate a performer as much as I'm now repulsed by the name Andrew Lewis Caldwell.

I dunno, man. It's not as outright corny as Revolutions, nor does it wade too deeply into the "real world superheroes" motif that nearly strangled that effort to death, but Resurrections also spends so much time arguing that it's endeavor is effectively ruthless nostalgia bait (which often reminds me of another Warner Bros. IP revivification, Space Jam) before getting around to a movie that looks and feels like a weary, old rock band playing all the hits that none of it feels particularly special or weighty.

The biggest disappointment being that this movie has a lot of ideas, bunches of sincerity and some real anger to get off its chest. You can see it like tiny traces of source code all throughout this movie, begging for a clearer vision and stronger purpose. You could even go galaxy brained and argue this is the subtext of the film, that weaponizing nostalgia to deaden present trauma can be useful in small doses but ultimately not nearly as powerful as accepting life will never be like it used to be.

Alas, there's this whole ass interlude about how humans grow strawberries now. The humans vs. A.I. conflict was only ever interesting insomuch as it added another layer of stakes to their goings on inside the Matrix; I think we can universally agree that the Machine War inside Zion is the nadir of this franchise, yeah? Wachowski refuses to let dead dogs lie, as is her wont, but I find her solution for Morpheus confusing and her need to embarrass Jada Pinkett-Smith in front of the world admirable and misguided.

Whatever, it's fine. I watched this at home in 4K UHD with Klipsch THX-certified speakers and sat about three feet away from the TV so I could really feel it and figured if it was dope, I'd check it out in theaters later today. It's not, it's a mid-ass movie with big ideas and plenty for viewers to take from and add to on their own as they see fit, but what's actually on the screen and on the page is a bit of a mess. I give a bit of leniency to this only because you can see and feel the reasons Wachowski agreed to make Resurrections at many points throughout its runtime, and those reasons are valid and even emotionally stirring.

But, I have to say that the fight choreography was probably the most disappointing to me. The original trilogy had a distinct style and was entertaining to watch. They definitely did not get the same person to do it again. I feel like it can be summed up by comparing Morpheus fighting Neo. In the original, everyone wants to see the fight; In this no one wants to come and watch.

I went to see two movies this week at the cinema (a super rare occurrence with young children and eh.. a pandemic) Spiderman Far from Home and The Matrix Resurrection, oddly enough both lean heavily on nostalgia and the nature of distant memory.

Spiderman is effortlessly joyful and sincere, with not a single misstep in execution, you leave that movie feeling good about where you were then and where you are now. The Matrix conversely makes you actively question what you ever saw and eradicates any goodwill the property may get in the future.

1 - Because it felt like this was there for people who hadn't seen the original.. And it felt and looked lazy to me. And you should trust that people who are smart enough or genuinely interested enough will watch the original before or after this movie.

2 - Because it just kept reminding me of how much better the original was. I don't think I ever quite thought the original cast was like.. perfect? Until I saw this and I was just like.. wooooow this Morpheus is so bad or the Agent Smith role is so bad or wtf is Neil even doing with this etc etc.

The whole thing just made me appreciate how amazing and important the original is even more so than I already thought it was. Now it's like.. One of the greatest, most important movies of all time. The new one just felt like a new disney pirates of the caribbean movie. Just another entry into the franchise.

Okay okay one more thing: Disliked how the first whole chunk of the movie was just remaking the original. Again, because its like they didn't think people would watch the original. Or they didn't trust themselves to make something new that people would like so they try to copy what they know people already did like. Same thing as the new Star Wars movie.. whatever the hell the first new one was.. ugh I can't even remember the stupid sub title. Its just a remake of A New Hope.

Edit: You got me. One more. Remember how the agents moved and behaved in the original? It was like they were robots. And you didn't initially know that. Their movements were perfectly synced and their appearance was so generic, unremarkable quarterback meat head etc. that they looked like copies. It's still freaky to watch today. The new movie opening? Meh. It's like some people wanted to cosplay as agents. I didn't get any of those sorts of details off them. They didn't seem threatening or alien.

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