With The Matrix Resurrections (2021) coming to NowTV I thought it was a good time for me to catch up on a franchise that I had so far avoided. This also coincided with my wanting to get back into writing, which leads us to the here and now. I was initially going to make this more like one of my ‘Franchise Friday’ reviews from back in the day where I would do shorter reviews of each film, but I have decided to do something a bit more off the cuff where I can just talk about my general thoughts and feelings about the main series, as well as some surprise inclusions. So, don’t expect this to be structured in any kind of sensible way. I might even put the conclusion next.
I won’t be doing that, but what I will be doing is kicking off by letting you know that I don’t think this franchise is very good. Before this week the only film I had seen is the first one, and I am not going to be a contrarian with my opinion on that one. The Matrix (1999) is great. It is obviously a very interesting concept which is one of the main reasons it had the impact it did upon its release, but it is also a great action film with brilliant action set pieces and a visual style that is immediately recognisable. However, as the series goes on it really loses pace. If I’m being honest, I actually liked The Matrix Reloaded (2003) despite some of it feeling clunky and it never reaching the heights of the first. But I found The Matrix Revolutions (2003) to be a complete chore to sit through, and while there are some elements of The Matrix Resurrections (2021) that I liked, it ultimately falls flat for me as an extension of the franchise and a stand-alone film. And as I was watching them, I came to the realisation that the reason I don’t think this franchise is all that is because I don’t care about the philosophical or thematical aspects of it. It just doesn’t do anything for me. I enjoy the concept of the Matrix as a space where fun action set pieces can take place, but the whole ‘what is real’ side of it is just an added extra which I think adds to the narrative of the first film but becomes an overbearing mess as the films go on. The only aspect of the films I care about less is Zion, which is an issue for the original three films as more focus is put on Zion as the films go on. Thankfully, the newer film does rectify this by getting itself out of Zion and back in the Matrix, which seeing as that is the name of the series is a smart move.
What I can’t and won’t deny when it comes to this franchise is the cultural impact it had and continues to have in pop culture today (although I might argue that is all just the first film again). In aesthetic terms, the look of the film is something that was adopted by several films in the early 2000s to hang on the coattails of the franchise’s success, with Equilibrium (2002) and Underworld (2003) incorporating the leather and trench coat look to their films. The technical side of the films was also something that was a huge influence on the industry as a whole, with bullet-time being popularised in a big way through its implementation in the series. But it was not just the technical and visual aspects of the films that had such a profound impact on the culture, but the more philosophical themes of the films found themselves being discussed, written about, and adding credence to simulation theory, which became much more popular upon initial release. This also led to the release of A Glitch in the Matrix (2021) which is a documentary which looks into simulation theory and the film's influence on this theory and people who bought into it as a result. It’s a decently entertaining and insightful watch which is worth viewing if you have an interest in that side of the film and its impact, but it isn’t anything you need to rush out to see. It is also important to note that as influential as this film has been, we can’t forget about what influenced it in the first place. A huge amount of influence came from Anime, namely Akira (1988), Ghost in the Shell (1995), and Aeon Flux (1991 – 2005), the latter of which had an American film made based on it which was influenced by The Matrix itself. And this influence of Anime led to what seemed like an inevitability with the Animatrix (2003), an anime film made up of shorts which act as a prequel to the first film.
It works really well as a companion piece to that first film if you are really into the world of the Matrix, and there is some great animation throughout, but my lack of care for the wider world of the Matrix meant that it did little for me.
As we come to the conclusion of this piece, I am struggling to wrap it up as I didn’t have much of a point or goal to aim for when I sat down to write, which feels a little like what happened with The Matrix Resurrections (2021). I think the main thing I got out of this whole viewing experience is the knowledge that the first film in this franchise was and remains great, but all subsequent films seem rather pointless unless you are really into the ‘deeper themes’ of the franchise. Do I regret watching them all? No, but I think my time would have been better spent doing quite a lot of other things like working out am I real or just a simulation.
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