The Matrix Resurrections
Long, long ago I watched a movie that completely blew me away. Bound, The Wachowskis' first movie, is a terrific noir film starring Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly. Beyond great gangster noir with clever color choices and beautiful cinematography, it was queer friendly back when that rarely happened. A couple of years later I was sure to go to the theater to see their next film, The Matrix. I knew they were good, but holy Bullet Time, Batman! It was SO good.
Using an 1878 camera trick, much updated, they showed Keanu Reeves as Neo (actually a too beefy stunt double) dodging bullets that the audience could see in the fancy new slow motion. The genius of that film was creating fresh science fiction imagery without resorting to outlandish story ideas. The inciting incident (the thing that happens that sends the story on its way) is when Neo has to choose between the blue pill and the red pill. One keeps you safely hidden being a person of someone else's choosing. The other is more dangerous but you can become your true self.
So yeah, I totally didn't get that was a trans allegory.
The first Matrix film was a huge hit and made the sibling's reputation. I went to the second film, excited, and left terribly underwhelmed. I realize now they weren't playing with anything, like color and atypical sexuality like Bound, or the trans allegory of The Matrix. It was just a story and it was lame. I didn't bother with the third movie. Years after the fact Lilly Wachowski confirmed the trans narrative, but the newest Matrix makes it even more easily discernable. Either that or I and the world have become more in tune with the idea, making it easier to see in this film.
The story is good again and it is twisty in the first half. The milieu is the same, with our "real" world actually being a computer generated mask. There are a lot of familiar things like settings and actions – oddly exact to the first movie. I noticed right away that, with new actors, this film was totally recreating the first film down to camera angles and lines of dialogue. (Why yes, I thought it was pretty cool I noticed that so quickly, I haven't seen the first one in a minute.) Then you realize there are new characters "watching" the old actions and before you know it, your brain is tied up like a pretzel.
One of my first notes was, "Can they keep up this great messing with my head?" The answer was yes. Because this film is playing with updated ideas instead of just telling a story, it's a very strong entry in the franchise. One of the updates is acknowledging that there is nowhere with a dial-up landline phone anymore, so there are new ways to escape the Matrix. But the story is SO twisty that they have to resort to subtle clues to give the viewer a fighting chance to keep up. My favorite was knowing the blue haired captain is a Matrix skin. Brown hair is the "real" world.
There are some required scenes, like a really excellent Evil Speech Of Evil, and a lot of very well rendered action sequences. Morpheus is played by a new actor, because the original was killed off in the computer game, which is considered canon for the storyline. I didn't mind one bit, though, because the new guy has, "great Morpheus attitude". I was surprised how often and sometimes very cleverly shots from the first film was used. Normally that kind of callback can be dangerous, but I though it was fine here, keeping the viewer grounded in the entire storyline as well as reminding them what happened twenty five years ago.
The first three movies did really well at the box office, but the newest one lost money. There is speculation about why, with one reviewer claiming fakery surrounds us even now and only leaves when you talk about it. I claim bs on that. Sure, talk helps, and so does no fear of using your fists (so to speak) to boost your points. Having a good new idea to run with certainly doesn't hurt. Others claimed losing the original Morpheus made people stay away. Again with the bs. Most film goers won't have any idea about that going in. Never underestimate how shallowly most people watch film. I'm not going to speculate on why so few people saw it in the theater. I thought it was a good looking trailer. One reason I didn't go was because two out of the three previous movies weren't very good.
Just as Bound is a simple story with a huge twist and great look, so is the first Matrix. The next two films are, so far as I'm concerned, not needed to enjoy the franchise now that the newest film is available. If you liked the first movie, you don't have to know anything about the second two beyond reading the google bullet points. I was wowed by this movie and I hope you give it a whirl.
p.s. Thank you, CFR for the yummy Chinese food and a fun day to celebrate my ten years reviewing.*
LINKS:
CFR: In Addition
First: Wait, what?!?!? It's ResurrectionS not Resurrection?!?! I JUST NOW saw the final S. Huh. Ok back to the review.
Hubby and I really enjoyed watching this together when it was released. In fact, I think we were eating delivered Chinese food but that may not be entirely true. We were excited to see it and thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, I wanted more.
Was it like the original Matrix? Of course not!! It was a continuation of the saga. AND if you listened to all of the meta dialogue, it seems The Waschowkis were contractually obligated to make another movie. (Huh.)
As I write this I have just finished a weekend with a wonderful friend who talked about stories and the nature of stories and fandom. I could write from memory his entire treatise on this but I'll give you one of the highlights: Stories change.
Get it? Stories change.
Why? Because writers change. They are either replaced or they grow. The Waschowkis grew up and grew and people and changed and thus we have a new Neo with a new relationship with Trinity. Ok, well in the end the old relationship was just as solid as ever. Yay! Resurrections was still Neo discovering, now finding his way back, to the Matrix and when he finally gets there well, let's just say I think he is a way scarier and more power Neo. (IMHO).
Speaking of IMHO, let's talk about growing and growing up and maturing.
At the time we watched Resurrections, hubby and I had been married for over 20 years. He was and still is the Love of My Life. I loved him more and felt differently about him when we saw Resurrections than when we watched the first Matrix movies. I would say that our love and commitment was much strong and more nuanced. Of course! We both understood the LOYALTY and LOVE that Neo and Trinity had and THAT so made the movie for me. When they face the "Boss" at the end you know they are going to win. Even if all they do is fly off into the sunset together. They have each other and together they are more powerful than alone.
Is that the writing of an old woman? Yup. Because that is how one changes and grows - if you are lucky.
If what you always want out of a movie or movie franchise is the same emotional experience you had when you first SAW it, well probably not going to happen. I have ADHD so I'll talk about dopamine. I can't always get the same dopamine surge watching Avengers like I did when I first saw it. That's ok. I can still enjoy it. Bums me out, but there we are. That's why many people will share with first readers and viewer "Oh I wish I was you right now." That first dopamine rush was amazing! Now when I watch shows over and over again, the feeling is different and that is ok.
So, back to the movie.
I loved seeing these characters age and grow. I loved SEEING them again, like an old friend. I loved the new characters bringing their own agency to the Matrix, ready to figure out their way to survive/live/thrive. Was it slower paced? Yup. And I still have a last fight scene image burned into my mind of Trinity and Neo reaching for each other and knowing that the inevitable would happen: They would reunite.
So if you didn't like it, ok, just try not to spew forth hatred so you can ruin it for others. Go back and watch the original again. Go find joy in it as best you can.
As.Taylor Swift sings "Haters gonna hate, hate, hate hate, hate. I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. Shake it Off! Shake it Off!" Maybe the haters could just zip it and let others enjoy.
Huh. I think I will go watch The Matrix Resurrections now...
Thanks Cranky!@
*Awwwww! It was my pleasure, Cranky! Let's do it again!
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