Lana Wachowski's The Matrix Resurrections is a more intimate story about love and mortality than the big action set pieces. After viewing the film multiple times, writer Rafael Jordan appreciated it more than he initially did.
Jordan says in Episode 496 of the Geek's Guide to the GALAXY that Lana was more focused on getting people to like the movie right away. I don't think she cares. That is the subtle genius of it. I think it will become appreciated over time, but not soon enough to make her make more movies.
Over the past 20 years, Wachowski has seen fans and critics pan the third Matrix movie, seen the Matrix's "red pill" imagery co-opted by the political right, and faced relentless pressure to make more Matrix sequels. David Barr Kirtley, host of Geek's Guide to the GALAXY, sees parallels between the struggles of the heroes and the warm mode of the game.
In the first movie, the symbol of the oppressive system that is keeping you down is a government agent, and in this one it is a bunch of people on their phones. anxiety about people controlling our lives has shifted from the government to online hate mobs.
The return of Keanu and Carrie-Ann is featured in the film. Theresa DeLucci liked seeing mature actors in a sci-fi film. She says that she thinks reeves did a wonderful job conveying decades of exhaustion, regret, weakness, and fallibility. When they asked if I was going to fly, I loved it. And he said, 'Screw that.' You are fifty years old. You don't have to fly anymore.
Despite its focus on aging and loss, the science fiction novel Resurrections still has an optimistic streak.
She says that it feels like a contemporary cyberpunk story, not just in that it has moved from a gee-whiz attitude about the internet to a more jaded attitude, but really more in terms of hope. There is a hope that people can connect and think logically and creatively and make the world a better place. That is the ultimate science fiction message.
The complete interview with Theresa DeLucci, Lisa Yaszek, and Rafael Jordan can be found on the Geek's Guide to the GALAXY website. Check out the highlights from the discussion.
David Barr Kirtley is on The Matrix.
The cultural impact of The Matrix is hard to overstate for people who weren't around when it came out. I remember people saying, "This is our generation's Star Wars," and that was how it felt. Everyone had seen it. Before The Matrix, there were some movies about virtual reality, like Johnny Mnemonic, but only the hardcore science fiction fans would have seen them.
Theresa DeLucci is on The Matrix Revolutions.
I can't remember much about it, but I remember being in the theater. Everyone was excited. The IMAX movie premiere was in New York City. It was like a club. The people were wearing Matrix gear. My friend was very excited. The death scene of Trinity in the movie was so bad that people started heckling. Someone in the theater just yelled out, perfectly timed, "So do it already!" after Neo said, "You can't die." I remember that more than anything else.
The Matrix Resurrections was narrated by Lisa Yaszek.
I went in with no expectations. Was it as revolutionary as the first one? How could it be? It is the fourth in the series. I still think it did honor the series. The story was logical. Lana doubled down on the Wachowskis' insistence that these movies are about love, and I thought, "Boy, Lana really doubled down on that this time." I think that it is interesting, and it makes me want to watch the three original ones again. Is it a metaphor for capitalism? Is it a metaphor for trans-ness? Is it a metaphor for our society? Maybe it is a science fiction story about love.
Rafael Jordan is a writer.
The first film has Neo unplugged from the Matrix in the 32nd minute. The first script of Act 1 and Act 2 is still valid. He doesn't wake up in the real world until the 52nd minute in this one. Act 2 starts when they finally go to Io. The audience isn't aware of these screenwriting rules consciously, but they start to check out a movie when things aren't progressing fast enough, and it's no coincidence that this film was 20 minutes longer than the others. I wish it had been a longer show.
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