I still consider myself a big Matrix fan. Loved all 3 movies, the Animatrix, even the games (spent thousands of hours playing The Matrix Online).
I came away from my initial viewing of this movie very disappointed after going in completely dark not spoiling myself on anything. Some scattered thoughts:
- The first act is just weird. I mean, the entire movie is very weird, but this sort of meta commentary and visualization call backs were just not for me. It actually almost felt like a satire or parody of The Matrix, even.
- One of the safest bets I had for this movie was getting incredible action sequences and fight choreography, and man, this was probably my biggest disappointment, I think. They were just... not that good. The fight sequences were dull and uninspired which is crazy to me when you consider what can be done within the rules of The Matrix. The final chase sequence was probably the highlight but even that left me yearning for more. What happened to all the incredible action scenes and fight choreography we got in the past films? Neo vs. Smith, The rescue of Morpheus, Smith army, Chateau fight scene, highway chase, Smith vs. Morpheus, etc. were all far, far better.
- Returning characters were definitely misses rather than hits for me. I honestly didn't hate Niobe as much as others seem to, though her actions are definitely weird but that's the script's fault. How does Neo not ask Niobe what happened to Morpheus when they were talking? The assumption is he died of old age, I guess? Not saying The Matrix Online is canon, but in that game Morpheus died in the Matrix to a Merovingian assassin. Speaking of The Merovingian, his return was a flat out crime, what an absolute waste. Sati out of nowhere. Smith being relegated to a hipster CEO. None of this worked for me. More on Morpheus/Smith/Merv next.
- Not having Fishburne or Weaving come back to reprise Morpheus/Smith was a huge blow. The actor playing nu-Morpheus wasn't bad per say just my issues with how he was told to portray him was off, that's more on Lana Wachowski's direction more than the actor. I absolutely HATED the new Smith. A huge swing and a miss for me, but trying to live up to Hugo Weaving was a failed endeavor from the very start.
- What a huge fucking waste bringing Lambert Wilson back for that small Merovingian scene. Dude is rambling in the background looking like he just escaped Jumanji while an awful fight scene with Exiles is happening. Just UGH
- None of the new cast had any sort of characterization or a semblance of character development. They were just a new crew to get the plot going, and you couldn't care less about any of them by the end.
- Heavily disliked the way they handled the bot swarms in the Matrix. Reminded me too much from some zombie movie or something.
- Heavily disliked losing the iconic look and presence of Agents in favor of having them be "coated to look like normal people" now. Horrible decision.
There were a
few good ideas or things I did enjoy, at least:
+ The "new" Morpheus being Neo's model creation that combined aspects of Morpheus/Smith for his game being extracted and put on the crew to get Neo that extra kick to take the Red Pill again was a neat concept I must admit. (But, he wasn't really utilized all too well. His personality and mannerisms didn't mimic either Morpheus or Smith which is what his code was based off of which I thought was weird)
+ I liked seeing the human/machine cooperation in IO and the nanite technology that gave machines/programs like Morpheus a physical, human form in the real world. The human/machine cooperation seemed like a natural outcome from Neo's choice in Revolutions so it was cool to see his actions bared fruit. (figuratively and literally with the strawberry scene)
+ It touched on a machine vs. machine civil war which would have been fascinating to devote more time to but was only briefly mentioned for some reason.
+ Neo's revival at the hands of the machines did actually look pretty raw and visceral. That sequence was actually done pretty well.
So yeah, overall while it had some cool ideas and visuals it just wasn't all there for me. Perhaps part of it was waiting 18 years for more Matrix, so in the end I suppose the hype could never justify what we got. IMHO, I feel they should have just wiped the slate clean entirely and just told us a brand new story that had nothing to do with Neo or Trinity but I guess they needed big names and returning favorites to get the buzz going.
If WB decides to continue the franchise it needs a completely fresh start from a director / visionary who understands it and treats it like a passion project which Lana clearly lost for it decades ago and is made pretty evident with the outcome of this film.