Early social media reactions to The Matrix Resurrections point to a bold and divisive studio tentpole. Eighteen years after the original Matrix trilogy ended with The Matrix Revolutions, audiences are set to return to the intriguing sci-fi world with a new installment from director Lana Wachowski. The film sees Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss return as their iconic characters Neo and Trinity, joined by a slew of newcomers including Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as a new version of Morpheus, Jonathan Groff as a new Agent Smith, Jessica Henwick as Bugs, and more.
The Matrix Resurrections trailers have hinted at an intriguing storyline in which Neo and Trinity find themselves having to rediscover the truth of the Matrix. Marketing materials have leaned heavily on iconography and callbacks from the previous films, giving The Matrix Resurrections a meta slant as it looks to bring the property back in 2021. Even with the teases, there's still much being kept under wraps about the movie's story, and viewers are curious to see how it all comes together. At long last, The Matrix Resurrections has screened and the initial reactions suggest it will be a divisive blockbuster.
Following the first Matrix Resurrections screenings. A number of critics took to social media to share their response to the film. Check out tweets below:
One of the more surprising takeaways in these reactions is the criticism lobbied against the action sequences. The Matrix films are renowned for their innovative set pieces, and it looked like The Matrix Resurrections would have more visually-stunning spectacle to wow audiences. It's disappointing to see words like "blah" and "choppy" used to describe the action, and it will be interesting to see how general audiences respond. The meta narrative also seems to be a source of contention, with some praising the way The Matrix Resurrections deals with the franchise's legacy, and others feeling the approach is too self-referential for its own good. Wachowski's story choices didn't work for everyone, though meta storylines are a tricky thing to pull off.
That The Matrix Resurrections is shaping up to be polarizing isn't all that surprising. Dating back to the original Matrix over 20 years ago, Wachowski has always been an ambitious filmmaker who likes to play with bold ideas and themes (see: Cloud Atlas, Sense8). The Matrix, of course, is known for its overt ties to religion, philosophy, and other heady concepts that help it stand apart from other genre blockbusters. The Matrix Resurrections looks to bring more of those topics to the big screen, while also balancing a meta layer that provides commentary on reboots and the previous films in the series. By all accounts, Wachowski didn't compromise her vision, and it will be fascinating to see how the consensus evolves after the film comes out.
Source: Various (see tweets)
