Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) find each other again in an updated version of the classic sci-fi simulation. However, while Revolutions was a critical catastrophe, it is The Matrix Resurrections that has had a worse overall impact on the series.
While there was always talk of a fourth Matrix film materializing at Warner Bros. year after year following Revolutions' release, the Wachowski sisters continually rebuffed the production studio as they felt their Matrix story had been completed in 2003. However, following the tragic ing of the Wachowskis's parents in 2019, this stance softened, with Lana Wachowski subsequently keen to reconnect with the original Matrix characters that had become such an integral part of her life after dreaming of reuniting Neo and Trinity. As a result, the film was officially announced by Warner Bros. on August 20, 2019, with Lilly Wachowski granting her blessing for her sister to direct The Matrix Resurrections solo.
Yet while the conception of The Matrix Resurrections is undeniably touching, it still ultimately hurts The Matrix franchise far more than its oft-maligned predecessor. An abysmal box office performance, sometimes jarring script, and lukewarm critical reception means The Matrix Resurrections looks an increasingly poor franchise revival in the cold light of day. Here's why The Matrix Resurrections hurts the franchise far more than The Matrix Revolutions did, including a comparison of both film's stories, critical reception, and respective impacts upon release.
Why The Matrix Revolutions Was Poorly Received In 2003
First released in 1999, The Matrix had set an incredibly high bar for itself, with the Wachowskis' feature single-handedly re-defining the parameters of high-quality sci-fi cinema. Although not quite on par with the first film, the follow-up in the form of The Matrix Reloaded still proved a serviceable sequel and set up a high-stakes finale for Neo and company to navigate. Yet despite an aggressive pre-release promotion campaign and becoming the widest film release ever by opening simultaneously in 108 territories on November 5, 2003, The Matrix Revolutions failed to live up to its considerable billing.
The range of gripes leveled at The Matrix Revolutions in 2003 was far-reaching. Many critics felt Revolutions committed the cardinal sin of allowing special effects to take over proceedings, losing the gritty narrative and complex social commentary that the first Matrix made its bread and butter. Others felt that despite the core characters' narrative being wrapped up, The Matrix Revolutions failed to impart a permanent sense of closure to its audiences - partly owing to its ambiguous ending. However, Revolutions' critical consensus did little to dampen the film's box office success, with The Matrix Revolutions taking a whopping $427.3 million worldwide in ticket sales. This staggering global total would prove significant in the eyes of Warner Bros. in the years to come, with the production company's appetite to create more Matrix content left un-sated until 2021 despite their best efforts.
What Has Been The Response To The Matrix Resurrections?
To date, The Matrix Resurrections has elicited a decidedly mixed response from critics and audiences alike. Many have noted Resurrections' dogged willingness to pay homage to The Matrix's original success, with Wachowski's fourth Matrix film acting as a love letter to the franchise she and her sister created. Resurrections has also been praised for its sharp commentary on technology in contemporary culture, with Neil Patrick Harris' Analyst a performance to savor as he callously utilizes the pitfalls of social media to his advantage.
However, there has also been plenty of ire directed towards The Matrix Resurrections. At the forefront of this criticism is Resurrections' story, which translates as both jarring and un-original in the context of the wider Matrix universe. Wachowski's latest Matrix offering fails to adequately explain why the definition of "The One" has been altered, just as Resurrections also struggles to meld its series of stellar ideas into a cohesive narrative across its 148-minute runtime. Simply put, The Matrix Resurrections translates as a list of clever Matrix-based ideas that never fully gel into a satisfying new ending for The Matrix franchise.
There is also the issue of The Matrix Resurrections' status as a box office bomb, with Wachowski's movie failing to even recoup its ittedly mammoth production budget. To date, the film has grossed over $152 million worldwide against its budget of $190 million, representing a serious lack of interest when Resurrections needed it most over 2021's festive period. The wider takeaway here is that The Matrix Resurrections did not do enough to entice moviegoers to see it in a theatrical pandemic landscape, although its viewing numbers via its simultaneous HBO Max release remain respectable.
Why Resurrections Hurts The Matrix Franchise More Than Revolutions
While The Matrix Revolutions was a huge disappointment upon release for various reasons, The Matrix Resurrections may well prove a permanent death knell for The Matrix franchise. How each film handles its respective conclusion is key, with Revolutions at least feeling like a complete ending to The Matrix trilogy as Neo's sacrifice ushers in a new era of peace for man and machine alike. In contrast, The Matrix Resurrections revives The Matrix's key characters in new ways without ever fully justifying their need to return, with Resurrections' end feeling like the start of a new trilogy instead of a direct Revolutions sequel (and Matrix finale as Lana Wachowski has since suggested.)
Ultimately, The Matrix Resurrections smacks of unnecessarily reviving a franchise, with the film proving it was the wrong decision by Wachowski and company to reenter the universe. Lana Wachowski's, and indeed the rest of the cast's, love for the Matrix characters clearly remains as strong as ever, but it is arguable as to whether the general public's appetite for another Matrix installment ever matched their enthusiasm in recent years. More significantly, this fact is backed up by Resurrections' box office failure, which acts as a clear signifier to Warner Bros. that The Matrix franchise no longer has the same pull its IP commanded in the early 2000s. The Matrix Resurrections attempts a bold revival of The Matrix franchise, but its commercial and critical shortcomings mean it has likely hurt The Matrix's long-term viability more than Revolutions ever did.
