Finally saw Matrix Resurrections and it was decent. The film starts off pretty slow and it does have a strong meta in the self referential material in the beginning of the film. It also tried to channel the nostalgia pretty hard but it never really got me. The other thing that stood out to me is that unlike twenty five years ago, the special effects and especially the action scenes and fight choreography just wasn't as impressive, certainly not as attention grabbing as the original three films. It actually felt legitimately dated.
The movie didn't really stand too much on its own merits, or with the kicks to nostalgia until... I thought the film was over only to realize there was another fifty or so minutes to go (the overall movie is two hours forty three minutes long IIRC) and the film actually had a pretty strong third act which partially redeemed the film.
I really liked the ambitious storytelling and vision that they were trying to set up by advancing the Matrix franchise. There was some really iconic imagery, world building and action scenes which I feel, if done in the hands of a more competent director, would've really sold this movie and made it truly epic. Most of the new characters weren't all that interesting and the same goes for the rebooted/recasted ones. Jessica Henwick's new main character, Bugs, is actually pretty good and interesting though. Keanu Reeves and Carrie Moss as Neo and Trinity... they did a good job. I appreciated their storyline... but the potential romance was weighed down by some melodramatic narm.
Overall above average and I feel worth the watch if you're interested in the franchise. I might even admit I was more interested in the Matrix franchise after watching this film then I was before watching it, which was not much interest at all.
The movie didn't really stand too much on its own merits, or with the kicks to nostalgia until... I thought the film was over only to realize there was another fifty or so minutes to go (the overall movie is two hours forty three minutes long IIRC) and the film actually had a pretty strong third act which partially redeemed the film.
I really liked the ambitious storytelling and vision that they were trying to set up by advancing the Matrix franchise. There was some really iconic imagery, world building and action scenes which I feel, if done in the hands of a more competent director, would've really sold this movie and made it truly epic. Most of the new characters weren't all that interesting and the same goes for the rebooted/recasted ones. Jessica Henwick's new main character, Bugs, is actually pretty good and interesting though. Keanu Reeves and Carrie Moss as Neo and Trinity... they did a good job. I appreciated their storyline... but the potential romance was weighed down by some melodramatic narm.
Overall above average and I feel worth the watch if you're interested in the franchise. I might even admit I was more interested in the Matrix franchise after watching this film then I was before watching it, which was not much interest at all.