Once upon a time in a simulation
Matrix – one of the most influential film (actually multimedia) sf series is over 20 years old. Quite surprisingly, despite the huge success of the story of free will and the fight against control, drawing on the idea of simulacrum, this franchise actually only accompanied pop culture for a few years, then only enjoyed the life spanning the MMO game The Matrix Onlinewhose servers were finally shut down in 2009. In the meantime, many once popular films, series or games began to return – with better or worse results – in a refreshed formula, or with an unexpected continuation. No wonder then that from time to time there were questions about the possible return of the Matrix. After all, we are talking about one of the most important brands at the disposal of Warner Bros. On the other hand, the trilogy presented a fairly definitive ending years ago. What’s surprising, when the new film by Lana Wachowski actually hit the screens at the end of last year, it turned out to be based on the problem of the tear between the corporate idea of returning the popular series and the consequences of bringing back to life a “dead” creature, which, nomen omen, did not need resurrection at all .
Galapagos Films promotional materials. Still from The Matrix: Resurrection by Warner Bros.
What’s real?
Remembering the end of the trilogy, it might seem like Neo is dead. Nothing could be further from the truth – the famous protagonist returns, and the role is played again by Keanu Reeves . The snag is that he is known to the world once again as a burned-out game developer Thomas Anderson, and the Matrix is a series of games by him. Now, the publisher, Warner Bros., is pressing to develop the fourth installment of the series after years, despite the reluctance of the author of the original. Sounds weirdly familiar. The more that Thomas from time to time meets the mysterious Tifanna on his way, the identity of which is dispelled by the playwright, also returning to the Matrix Carrie-Anne Moss.
Resurrectionit is not so much the fourth installment of the cycle, but an auto-thematic commentary, a remix of the series adapted to a more current context. The heroes again have to make a (illusory?) Choice and take the famous pill to break out of the Matrix, but the simulation is … different. It was quite a bold move to abandon the characteristic greenish-rotten image filter in favor of mostly more natural images, but this decision fits in with the presentation of the story. The “today” system is naturally saturated with media and technology, so it becomes more difficult to distinguish from reality, and for good reason it is an imposed corporate work routine, this time ties Neo. In the maze of references, there are many literal quotes from famous scenes from the trilogy. In fact, a large part of the film fits in a strongly ironic reflection on the extraordinary success of the older parts and the difficulty of repeating this achievement, at the same time mocking the mass reception of the work and the squandering of the anti-systemic potential for further consumption. Hence, a lot more humor (often quite bitter) than in the previous editions, which does not bother me in any way. One of the scenes explains directly to the viewer that it doesn’t matter ifThe Matrix needed a sequel, because Warner Bros would have produced it anyway – on its own terms. In this way, Lana Wachowski, in a way, explains the return to a legend that is difficult to live up to – maybe it provides an imperfect film, but its own, instead of another corporate blown trying to play on sentiments in a much more obvious way.
Well, it is a pity that there is actually something to explain …
Galapagos Films promotional materials. Still from The Matrix: Resurrection by Warner Bros.
When the code doesn’t work
Despite my praise over the interesting thoughts that run through the film, it’s hard not to notice the problems that the Resurrection brings . You can even say that the further you go, the more the simulation crashes. It’s hard to say what had to go wrong in the production process, but the script group (Lana Wachowski, Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchell) burst out of ideas at one point, and they couldn’t fully satisfactorily carry on with the already started. All this gives way to a fairly simple SF action. It would not be so prickly yet, if not for the fact that, for its heritage, the new Matrixit looks average, and often even ugly. As I mentioned at the beginning, giving up greenish colors is just a symbol, not the source of the problem. Worse, in no way even a bit of interesting aesthetics was proposed in return, as one of the factors behind the success of the prototype was a bold style on many levels. There is no question of equally groundbreaking CGI effects (interestingly, the transmedia ones found their way to the technological demo of The Matrix Awakens for 9th generation consoles), and the directing of action scenes lacks the “wow” effect, although you can appreciate their diversity.
Nevertheless, pluses break through. We get a quite successful electronic and symphonic music track (Johnny Klimek, Tom Tykwer). I also did not expect to appreciate the new cast so much, including actors replacing the iconic portraits of Agent Smith and Morpheus. Jonathan Groff and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II are aware of the sentimental burden inherent in these roles and do not try to emulate them unequivocally, thanks to the script playing in a creative reinterpretation that brings interesting results. Also, new characters such as Bugs (Jessica Henwick) and the therapist (Neil Patrick Harris) fit well into the Matrix world and immediately gain sympathy. Which may be a somewhat controversial statement, I am pleased with the fact that the series is bound together by the love storyNeo and Trinity, a trail not obvious at first glance, but still present in this long story. Is it not fancy? Yes. Is it refreshing to the deadly serious clashes with machines? Yet how, and the couple, after numerous obstacles, definitely deserved a down-to-earth plot, brutally interrupted in Revolutions !
Galapagos Films promotional materials. Still from The Matrix: Resurrection by Warner Bros.
Plenty of content
It may be reasonable to think – is it worth buying a Blu-ray edition at all, since the movie has been available on the HBO MAX service for a long time, and it evokes quite mixed feelings and well, there is a good chance that it will not be to your liking. This is quite a strong line of argument, however, the physical edition definitely stands out for its rich content. The album features nearly two hours of additional material! From the summary of the trilogy, through the comments of the creators and cast about the film, its creation and the most important themes, to the series devoted to the implementation of the most important scenes. Of course, as it happens in this type of editions, there is a lot of PR corpom in this and convincing that some of the scenes are more interesting than in reality, but it is very pleasant to watch and allows you to focus on the Resurrections for a longer time.
When it comes to technical issues, we have the right quality standard to which we are accustomed to Blu-raye from Warner Bros and Galapagos Films . Naturally, the image in 1080p displays very well, also compared to the streaming version (which maybe would be more important if the movie was visually more interesting). We will also find a number of language versions, of which the most important information for Polish recipients will probably be the presence of a native translation, both in the form of a voice-over (Dolby Digital 5.1) and subtitles. The original soundtrack is also available in the Dolby Atmos-TrueHD standard. The icing on the cake is a simple yet tidy interactive menu.
Step into the Matrix
Matrix: Resurrected is a sequel, remake and director’s commentary to the original. If such a description is intriguing enough – go ahead, give a chance to return to the world of the Matrix, and you will receive one of the most interesting refreshes of the famous franchises. It’s a movie that can be hard to like, especially due to its uneven history and technical flaws, but when it does, it’s a lot of fun, which the Blu-ray release material adds to. However, for those who doubt a safer form of the screening, the streaming version will certainly be.
