Critic scores for the fourth installment of The Matrix franchise, The Matrix Resurrections, have arrived and the critics have very polarizing reviews.
Rotten Tomatoes
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently has a 71% score on the Tomatometer from 113 reviews There are 80 fresh reviews and 33 rotten reviews. The average rating is 6.5 out of 10.
The Top Critics score sits at 67% from 39 reviews. There are 26 fresh scores and 13 rotten scores. The average rating is 6.4 out of 10.
Here’s what some of the critics are saying:
Randy Myers at San Jose Mercury News gives the film a 3 out of 4. He writes, “‘Resurrections’ can’t compare to the original film, but it is a lot of fun.”
Valerie Complex at Deadline gives the film a fresh score. She writes, “It focuses on telling a heartfelt story that rings as true to reality as possible. This may cause hard-core Matrix lovers to loathe the direction that’s been taken, but it’s a breath of fresh air for me.”
Emma Stefansky at Thrillist gives the film a fresh rating. She writes, “This movie finds joy in retreading old ground and picking out threads here and there to weave into new pathways, unexpected twists and turns, and an endless array of surprises — in other words, the Platonic ideal of a franchise sequel.”
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Peter Sobczynski at eFilmCritic.com gives the film a rotten 2 out of 5. He writes, “A disappointing film that has a few interesting ideas here and there but drowns them in a lot of narrative clutter, half-baked intellectual musings and surprisingly half-baked action beats.”
Anthony O’Connor at FILMINK gives the movie a rotten 7 out of 20. He writes, “… too tortured, too inconsistent, to offer a cohesive experience, much less an enjoyable one.”
Brent McKnight at The Last Thing I See gives the movie a B-. He writes, “At times this is exciting and fresh; at others, it’s a painfully dreary rehash.”
Alex Bentley at CultureMap gives the movie a rotten review. He writes, “Ultimately, The Matrix Resurrections seems to serve no purpose. It neither reinvents the original heroes for a new time nor introduces compelling new characters to have fans begging for more.”
Robert Kojder at Flicking Myth gives the film a 4 out of 5. He writes, “A cleverly meta, bombastic, visually phenomenal, epic tale of reconnection with unabashed romanticism further cementing Neo and Trinity as a dynamite duo.”
Matthew Turner at Hero Collector gives the film a 2 out of 5. He says, “Despite the best efforts of the cast and a small handful of good moments, this is a chaotic mess that fails to justify its existence.”
Grace Randolph at Beyond the Trailer gives the film a rotten score. She says, “Some nice moments & performances but overall it not only doesn’t gel, but it never really gets off the ground. Promising ‘cool stuff next time’ is crazy for a 4th installment.”
JimmyO at JoBlo gives the film an 8 out 10. He writes, “If you appreciate this franchise, there’s little doubt that you won’t enjoy this trippy excursion down memory lane.”
Edward Douglas at The Weekend Warrior gives the movie a 7.5 out of 10. He writes, “Looks pretty great and is frequently weird as hell, but it’s also a suitable grand finale to the original trilogy.”
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Jeffrey Zhang at Strange Harbors gives the film an A-. He writes, “The Matrix Resurrections inspects its own place in pop history while thumbing its nose at the very system that birthed it.”
Julian Roman at MovieWeb gives the film a 3.5 out of 5. He says, “The Matrix Resurrections goes back to the integral source code that made the original so captivating. Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss are again an electric pairing on screen.”
John Saavedra at Den of Geek gives the movie a 3.5 out of 5. He writes, “This is no cynical corporate cash grab like so many other legacy sequels that have released in the decades since Neo first saved Zion.”
Metacritic
On Metacritic the film has a Metascore of 65. It has 23 positive reviews, 11 mixed reviews, and 3 negative reviews.
Here’s what some of the critics are saying:
Mick LaSalle gives the film a perfect 100 at the San Francisco Chronicle. He writes, “In the end, it’s the ideas at work in The Matrix Resurrections, much more than the action, that keep us contentedly in our seats for well over two hours.”
Soren Anderson at The Seattle Times also gives the film a perfect score of 100. He writes, “Wachowski has taken the familiar and modified it in such a way to make it seem new. It’s a brilliant act of transformation.”
David Sims at The Atlantic gives the movie a 95. He says, “Wachowski’s gamble is that viewers will enjoy a film that’s heavy on philosophizing and introspection as long as it retains the emotional, romantic hook that powered the first movie. Reeves and Moss sell their reunion as Neo and Trinity persuasively, glowing with the overwhelming chemistry and affection that Wachowski needed to push the film beyond cynicism.”
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Keith Uhlich at Slant gives the movie an 88. He writes, “Where the love story was a means-to-an-end afterthought in the first Matrix, it’s now the crux of the tale, and the emotional undercurrents are so intoxicating that it more than makes up for the relative inelegance of the action scenes.”
Joshua Rothkopf at Entertainment Weekly gives the movie an 83. He says, “Resurrections does eclipse its predecessors for full-on, kick-you-in-the-heart romance: Reeves and Moss, comfortable with silences, lean into an adult intimacy, so rare in blockbusters, that’s more thrilling than any roof jump (though those are pretty terrific too). Their motorbiking through an exploding city, one of them clutching the other, could be the most defiantly sexy scene of a young year.”
Chris Evangelista at Slash Film gives the movie an 80. He writes, “It would’ve been incredibly simple to give us a traditional “Matrix 4.” Instead, The Matrix Resurrections takes its big-budget and runs wild with it. And while there are more than a few stumbles here, any modern-day blockbuster that’s this unafraid to subvert expectations is worth celebrating.”
Jack Shepard at Total Film gives the movie an 80. He writes, “Forget what you think you know… The Matrix Resurrections is a twisty metanarrative anchored by a love story for the ages.”
Clarisse Loughrey at The Independent gives the movie an 80. She writes, “The fourth ‘Matrix’ film offers a volcanic cluster of ideas with ambition – and a reminder that long black coats and tiny sunglasses are, indeed, very cool.”
Robert Daniels at The Playlist gives the movie a 75. He writes, “Wachowski’s The Matrix Resurrections, a fun, albeit messy metatextual sequel that struggles to find its narrative footing, soars whenever Wachowski focuses on sci-fi’s best power couple.”
Liz Shannon Miller at Consequence gives the movie a 75 as well. She writes, “As any good therapist will tell you, you can’t embrace the future without coming to terms with your past. Resurrections is very, very conscious of this.”
Dana Stevens at Slate gives the film a 70. She says, “Matrix Resurrections is a movie interested in collapsing binaries: the ones between man and machine, between digital and “real” life, between past and present, and of course, between genders. ”
John DeFore at The Hollywood Reporter gives the movie a 70 as well. He writes, “If you loved The Matrix and hated the sequels (or simply found them unsatisfying), go see this one. Have a blast. (But wear a mask.)”
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Peter Debruge at Variety gave the film a 60. He writes, “Essentially a greatest hits concert and a cover version rolled into one (complete with flashback clips to high points from past installments), the new movie is slick but considerably less ambitious in scope than the two previous sequels.”
Tim Tobey at The Telegraph gives the movie a 40. He writes, “There are snatches of fun to be had early on, before the teasing gimmickry about reality and fakery expires. But the second half is just a slavish rehash of all the series’ best-known tropes. Unlike Alice in Wonderland, crossing through this looking glass, we may simply wind up less and less curious.”
Brian Lowry at CNN gives the movie a 35. He writes, “While ‘Resurrections’ again offers a choice between the red pill and blue pill, the one thing that won’t be necessary — especially for those choosing the home-viewing option — is a sleeping pill.”
The Matrix Resurrections arrives on HBO Max and in theaters on December 22, 2021.
What do you make of these critic reviews for The Matrix Resurrections?
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