The Matrix 4!

My wife and I watched it yesterday…and I don’t know what to think…

The first part of the movie was slow and definitely has you questioning whether the previous 3 movies actually happened… I did like the blatant jab at Warner Bros.

Then they get into it, and I would say I really enjoyed the second act, except for the constant throwbacks to the original trilogy. They literally show you shots from the previous films in case you forgot. I like Groff (although I kept waiting for him to drop a Sven impression) but would have liked his character even more if he hadn’t been Smith. And while I generally enjoy NPH, I did not like his character. He seemed so far outside of everything and everybody else (maybe that was the point?)… Not a dig on NPH, just the Analyst seemed very over the top.

Third act…eh? Some cool stunt sequences, but not clear on how they concluded it. Neo and Trinity are just going to rebuild the Matrix and the Analyst is just going to sit back and let it happen? If the Analyst reprogrammed the Matrix different than the Architect, is The One even needed any more? Why don’t they purge the code and be done…?

What I liked:
  • The constant questioning of what was real vs what had been made up to keep Neo under control
  • Groff / Smith
  • The explanation of what happened between 3 and 4
  • Some of the nods to the previous 3 movies - Merv was great!
  • Some of Neo’s new powers
  • The swarm concept
  • Humans partnering with the Machines
What I didn’t like:
  • Slow exposition
  • The Analyst
  • Constantly being shown flashbacks to the previous movies. Yeah, I’ve seen them. Thanks!
  • The ending - I was definitely hoping for a “suit up and kick ass” conclusion like in the first movie. Yes, there was a huge battle, but just didn’t feel like Neo and Trinity were “back” wearing regular clothes. Would have been cool to see Neo throw on a long black coat and shades instead of that semi-trench or whatever it was he was wearing. (On a collectors’ note, I‘m a little miffed as I bought a pair of the Davies Neo shades, which were on screen for a whole… 5 min?)
  • And fundamentally, my issue with the sequels is they still haven’t resolved the primary conflict they established in the first movie. “As long as the Matrix exists, the human race will never be free.” - Morpheus. So in Revolutions, we cut a deal for some temporary peace. In Resurrections, we’re back at it, content to let the Matrix exist as long as we can have some input into it...? Humans are still enslaved by the Machines.
I definitely need to watch it again as I’m sure there’s a lot I missed.

Seems like they are setting up for more sequels, and I’m not sure how I feel about that…

Sean
 
Similar thoughts to a lot of others here. Just felt opportunistic and unnecessary. So they've reopened the door for more Matrix movies, but does anyone want to watch 50+ (almost 60!) Keanu and Carrie-Anne doing this for another round of movies? What would even be the conflict? Humans still have the choice to stay or go. Some machines still have to figure out how to survive without human batteries to power their world whereas others have figured out how to co-exist just fine.

While it was kind of sweet to do a standalone movie that's really just about their love story and giving Neo and Trinity another chance to be together, it all felt very 'apocrypha'-like. A "Tales of the Matrix" story. It also kind of robs the original trilogy of the impact of their original sacrifice. Having read an interview with Lana about how this came out of a reaction to losing both her parents, I can 100% see that in this story. She wanted to bring back to life a couple she loved, and this was the only way she could.
 
Anakin Starkiller said:
It very much felt like the sort of fan story you dream up when your favorite character gets killed off in a series, and you try to envision some way they could come back. Like the Shatner-verse
Click to expand...
Like Optimus Prime in the Transformers the Movie 1986? They killed him off and were like...oops, ummm this is really going to hurt our pocketbook now...what do we do? "I don't know...anything...just bring him back!!!
 
I very much wanted to like this movie. I watched the trilogy again recently and found I enjoyed them more now than before. Turns out it wasn't necessary to review them due to the incredible number of flashbacks and revisiting every single memorable line ever uttered before in the new movie. It was very much a "Do you remember this?" ad infinitum. I appreciated the love story aspect and Carrie Ann's performance. However, the fight choreography, the thing I was really looking forward to, was very poor, especially since most fights consisted of hundreds (or thousands) of people attacking a few (and the resolution to the fights was the same move used again and again). The cinematography wasn't good and you didn't feel that emotionally involved in the characters. Halliwax , the train man wasn't there but one character did show up for a truly nonsensical and useless cameo.
 
Last edited:
Is the "meaning" (if you can call it that) that the machines and humanity are too integrated, the real world too desolate, to free all of the enslaved humans? That the majority of humans would not survive unplugged from the Matrix, and therefore humans (and the machines that depend on them) would die?
 
blewis17 said:
Is the "meaning" (if you can call it that) that the machines and humanity are too integrated, the real world too desolate, to free all of the enslaved humans? That the majority of humans would not survive unplugged from the Matrix, and therefore humans (and the machines that depend on them) would die?
Click to expand...
That is my understanding. Morpheus said "We have a rule: we never free a mind once it's reached a certain age. It's dangerous, the mind has trouble letting go". At the end of Revolutions, the Architect also told the Oracle that he would set free the humans who "wanted out".
 
Last edited:
Grievous said:
... the train man wasn't there but one character did show up for a truly nonsensical and useless cameo.
Click to expand...

I actually thought all the cameos were kind of useless. It just seemed like who did show up were people that had nothing else going on, so they did it. I think a part of the reasoning for the numerous flashbacks was to help justify seeing tertiary characters again. I don't think I would've recalled just who the Oracle girl was had they not reminded of who she was. Hell, when Niobe showed up again, I was wondering just who the hell that was.
 
I still don't get why that particular synthient would take on the name of Morpheus. When the trailers came out, I thought Yahya Abdul Mateen's character was a reborn Morpheus. That would have at least made sense. A synthetic being taking up the persona and spouting out the familiar lines felt more like a fanboy cosplaying as his favourite character.
 
-When I saw Merv, I was hoping Persephone was going to make an appearance and make for some sparks with Trinity.
Missed opportunity.
-Would have like to see more of the machine civil war.
-Didn't care for Bugs as a captain, or for the age apparent of the actor portraying her. Would have liked to see a more experienced actor in that role. Michele Yeoh maybe. More developed tension between her and Naiobe needed to be laid out, felt contrived. Bugs seemed like a very green officer, not captain material. BUT...
overall I really enjoyed the movie.
 
I attempted a second viewing with friends who hadn't seen it on HBO this evening. After comments made here and elsewhere I thought maybe I was being too hard on it. Nope. Not critical enough, especially with the effects, filming and action sequences. Others have covered that though so no need. We laughed a lot but shortly after Doogie Howser's
idiotic rant in the cycle shop it was turned off.

I thought for a moment if Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss had said no (or just had cameos) perhaps the original characters and their story would've been left alone. Unlikely though as it seems WB was set on doing what they did with or without them. An entirely new story in the Matrix universe, no matter how bad it was, would've been better than this. Tell the full story of the first or second matrix, why they failed or the inception of the one. The best possible scenario would've been to just leave The Matrix completely alone.
 
ScourgiousJinx said:
I attempted a second viewing with friends who hadn't seen it on HBO this evening. After comments made here and elsewhere I thought maybe I was being too hard on it. Nope. Not critical enough, especially with the effects, filming and action sequences. Others have covered that though so no need. We laughed a lot but shortly after Doogie Howser's
idiotic rant in the cycle shop it was turned off.

I thought for a moment if Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss had said no (or just had cameos) perhaps the original characters and their story would've been left alone. Unlikely though as it seems WB was set on doing what they did with or without them. An entirely new story in the Matrix universe, no matter how bad it was, would've been better than this. Tell the full story of the first or second matrix, why they failed or the inception of the one. The best possible scenario would've been to just leave The Matrix completely alone.
Click to expand...
Now that some have suggested that this is the last Jedi of the matrix, I can’t help but get mad. I turned it on for a second watch but once it cut to keanu tapping on his keyboard, I turned it off and started watching the original.

I have this conspiracy after watching Netflix Cowboy Bebop. I was about halfway through that series and was realizing that it’s almost not worth watching and rewatching the anime would be a better use of my time. And lo and behold, it is a recommended title next to the live action, to which you might say “duh, obviously”. But it sparked a thought, what if the reboot isn’t about making a good end product necessarily, because they don’t care. If the reboot is bad, you’d naturally end up rewatching the original which happens to be on Netflix, they win. If the reboot is good, that might just be a happy accident, they win. As far as streaming goes, if they own streaming right to old material then they can’t lose.
 

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.

Similar threads

JediMichael
The Matrix is 25 years old now
Replies
17
Views
661
JediG60racer
JediG60racer
JPH
Back to the Future 4.
Replies
3
Views
418
JPH
JPH
N
The Mandalorian Season 4
Replies
6
Views
632
NakedMoleRat
NakedMoleRat
Moviefreak
Back to the Future 4. Not really!
Replies
2
Views
555
Funky
Funky
Too Much Garlic
Bring the horror back to the Terminator franchise
2 3
Replies
53
Views
1,463
batguy
B
Back
Top