By
Germain Lussier, Cheryl Eddy, and Rob Bricken.
It feels like a new Matrix movie is almost as realistic as The Matrix itself. The Wachowskis have said many times that they would never do it again. We are still shocked that Lana Wachowski has.
If you are a fan like us, you will most likely have already seen The Matrix Resurrections in the theater or watched it on Max. If that is the case, you want to talk about it. All of it. Which is why we are here. Below is a discussion between Germain Lussier, Cheryl Eddy, and Rob Bricken of io9 about what they liked, what they didn't like, and what it all means in terms of The Matrix Resurrections.
Germain Lussier is here to discuss The Matrix Resurrections. We all watched the new movie last night, so I am curious to know if you and your partner are fans of the original films.
I watched the original films in theaters. I liked the first one but disliked the second one because of the glorification of gun violence in the franchise. I came into this as a new person with little knowledge of the original. Much like Neo!
I've seen them all in the theaters and have watched them many times, but the sequels aren't as good as the original. I am one of those people who like nostalgic movies.
Germain Lussier is glad Cheryl said that. I asked this because I have a feeling that the recent memory of the original Matrix films will have a huge impact on someone's opinion of this one. Is I right? What did you think about this one in general?
Rob Bricken thinks that it is dependent on the original films to mean anything, and that he got almost nothing out of it. I was confused and put off by it. I can't imagine a teen going to see this as their first Matrix film.
I was excited when it was announced, but I am getting tired of all the remakes of movies from the 1990s. I see why The Matrix is still relevant after all this time, even if I was worried that it might have to try harder to feel as fresh and exciting as it did in 1999
Rob Bricken disagrees.
Germain Lussier: Which part?
Rob Bricken said the part was fresh and exciting.
Germain Lussier thinks that is what he liked the most. It was fresh and exciting, but in a new way.
It felt like it was too much. It's a good thing.
It is 80 percent the same movie as The Matrix, which is why the characters mention it all the time.
That is kind of what I mean. It might be a bit of a cheat, but I love that we don't know if it's a sequel or a remake. It feels almost impossible for the characters to survive a sequel set so far ahead in the future. The joy of the first half is figuring out why this movie exists, and at the same time, you have a director who takes that story and twists it with her own feelings of the movie. It gets dense and a little too meta, but by the time we realize that Neo and Trinity want to be together, I was all in.
Rob Bricken understands that, but that doesn't answer the question of why this movie exists.
I think that question has two answers and I would love to hear your thoughts here too. In the movie, it's called "Love triumphs." Neo and Trinity were not able to be together because of their sacrifice. Through the machines, they do. Lana Wachowski lost her parents and couldn't bring them back from the dead, so she brought back another couple that meant a lot to her: Neo and Trinity.
I didn't think the movie would be so meta. I think the script leaned heavily on that.
If you are just watching the movie and don't have context, it doesn't matter.
A movie about love triumphing over actual life doesn't matter to Germain Lussier. By going into the machine city and trying to rescue Trinity, they are putting the lives of this new city at risk. I will admit, that could have been better explained.
Rob Bricken: Yeah, and that is kind of stupid! I have no recollection of what happened at the end of Revolutions, but Neo sacrificed everything so the human race could be better off, and then he wants a redo at the cost of humanity.
The story feels a little bigger than it is, but it also brings up another thing I really, really liked, which is that Neo's victory in Revolutions brought about choice in the machine race and now machines side with human. They have begun to thrive in ways they never imagined thanks to the advanced technology at their side.
Neo is ready to throw it all in the trash.
Germain Lussier is sure. They become Gods of the Matrix after it works out.
I was surprised it took so long to get Carrie-Anne Moss into the movie. It takes two hours for her to be confused and not just the woman in the coffee shop. Good old phrase, "Tiff the MILF." I wish there had been more scenes with the couple, they are great together. I wish her character had been better developed.
Rob Bricken agrees that the two of them were excellent together. When they think they don't know each other, they work, even if they aren't good at romance.
Germain Lussier said that Carrie-Anne and Keanu are great in this. They are the only returning actors. What did we think about the new characters?
I have no idea what Jessica Henwick was trying to accomplish by finding Neo in this movie.
The start of the movie is a little confusing. I can tell you that Bugs and her crew are Neo superfans and spend their time searching for him. They found a weird program that was written by someone who hid Neo's version of Morpheus in order to get out. I think so. I saw it as a woman who isn't happy with the status quo and still believes that "The One" will save everyone who is in the Matrix. She is a fangirl of the original Matrix films.
Those aren't really stakes. Neo wants to get his girlfriend back so he can save the human race.
Germain Lussier said, "Well and then, maybe, save the world as well." We will get to the end in a second. The architect of the new and improved Matrix is the analyst.
The cat had more personality than Neil Patrick Harris did in this. The analyst was obvious and predictable, even though he was supposed to be an evil computer.
Germain Lussier was very angry.
I know Agent Smith was a ham, but was he the epitome of The Matrix? The Big Bad was an asshole, so it cut the tension of the movie.
Jonathan Groff's performance as the "new and improved" Agent Smith is less smarmy than Hugo Weaving was. I think his role in this is a little unclear. He is an enemy, he is a friend, they fight, it is not always clear.
Rob Bricken agrees, but Weaving had three movies to keep that ham. I don't know why Smith 2.0 is in the movie.
What did you think about the fight scenes? I knew it would be hard to top the originals in this movie, but I was wrong. Since The Matrix ripped off The Matrix, it is hard for anything to feel like we haven't seen it before.
Rob Bricken: I watched this film yesterday and I can't remember anything from the fight scenes, but I feel bad about being so negative on the film, which I didn't hate, exactly, but I watched this yesterday and I can't remember anything from the fight scenes The introduction of "Bullet Time" by the analyst was clever, but I don't know if Neo is paralyzed because a smarmy computer walks around and gloats.
Jonathan Groff ripped a sink out of a wall, which felt very Fight Club.
Germain Lussier: Yes. Yes, he did. I think we are all on the same page. The narrative twists and turns here are more interesting than the action, which is more like "Doogie Howser does slow motion" and "Neo has the Force." The two new additions don't add much. The action is mostly unmemorable, which is not what The Matrix was built on.
You will believe a Neo can fly. A Trinity is what it is. She was flying at the end.
The movie would be better with fewer action scenes. I would have liked the romance angle.
I agree with Rob. I think Warner Bros. would have been angry at the movie.
They felt like Lana Wachowski put them in out of obligation.
Trinity flies at the end of the movie, but they don't add a lot to the story. I think on a second watch that I understand why and how curious you both are about the ending. They say they have another chance. Are they talking about their love or saving the world?
I have to assume that they mean their relationship, because what does their ability to rewrite the Matrix do? Are they going to wake everyone up? Did that happen in the original trilogy? Are the machines shutting down?
All of the questions are very valid. The original movies did not wake everyone up.
I'm sure we'll find out in the next movie. Is the Matrix Reanimated? The Bride of Matrix? Is it a matrix redundant?
Chef kiss by Rob Bricken.
This is getting out of hand but I will allow it. The ability to rewrite the Matrix at the end of this suggests that everyone is plugged into the Matrix and that the true way to save everyone is just to make it more honest. The other chance is for their relationship as well as a new perspective on how to change everything. Trinity can fly because she has machine code in her, because she was resurrected by the machines.
I had a lot of questions about everything else, so I didn't ask about Trinity getting Neo powers. I assumed it was love or something.
Rob, remember how the first movie ended? Neo is like, "I'm coming for you" There are a million questions at the end of it.
There are a million questions in the beginning and middle of the movie.
Germain Lussier kissed a chef. Touché.
Germain, do you think there will be another Matrix movie or not?
Germain Lussier thinks this is it. I think Lana Wachowski said what she had to say, and from this conversation it is obvious that the movie is very polarizing, so who knows how much money it will make. Neo and Trinity living happily ever after in a world where technology is becoming better for the humans in the real world and them doing their best for people in the virtual world seems fitting. Any last thoughts here?
I missed Laurence Fishburne. The best wardrobe The Matrix has ever produced was that of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
Rob Bricken is tired of movies that are dependent on nostalgia to understand or enjoy.
Germain Lussier thanks Cheryl for mentioning Morpheus. The fact that he wasn't brought up before is a fault of the movie. The character isn't as strong as he was in the original, but at least the story gives us a reason why Fishburne didn't come back. Morpheus is not as good in the film as Abdul-Mateen II is.
100% agree with Cheryl.
Wait a second. How does Jessica Henwick get into Neo's video game? It is a program.
Germain Lussier says that it is not the new video game, but a modal for programs that he built himself.
How does Jessica Henwick hack into Neo?
Germain Lussier: Good night everyone...
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