Review of The Matrix Resurrections (2021) by Alchemik — 22 Dec 2021

Cringe-worthy pastiche of the original, capturing none of its climate and impact. Retreads the same general plot, but with confusing caricatures of the familiar characters and plain parodies of the best scenes from the series. It shows no respect for the material (as absurd as it seems from one of the original creators) or the viewers that hoped for a meaningful expansion of the Matrix universe. The returning actors definitely try their best, but could only do that much with the atrocious material they were given.

Shockingly enough, watching it on a dual screening together with the first movie, Resurrections doesn't even look or sound particularly well – the editing feels chaotic, CGI is mediocre and the soundtrack forgettable. The only way I can explain to myself how this movie happened the way it did is going along with the meta-narrative – maybe WB really forced Lana Wachowski to make this sequel and it's an act of industrial sabotage. If it was meant to make a laughing stock out of Warner Brothers and make sure to kill off the whole series for the future, that'd be the one thing it very much succeeded with.