The Matrix is undoubtedly among the most impactful and influential sci-fi movies ever made, but the subsequent sequels have constantly come under fire for their underwhelming stories and deviation from the original narrative. The most recent sequel, The Matrix Resurrections, was particularly controversial because of how drastically it steered away from the first movie’s formula and changed certain aspects of this long-standing story. Of all the Matrix movies, Resurrections is certainly the boldest and most polarizing.

However, there’s still an excellent story underneath the surface of Resurrections’ lackluster execution that could’ve been something really special with a different execution. It’s certainly not boring or repeтιтive (which can’t be said about The Matrix: Revolutions), but it admittedly bites off more than it can chew at moments. The reason why The Matrix Resurrections doesn’t work is glaringly obvious to those who are more familiar with the movies that preceded it, because it lacks one thing that they excel at.

The Matrix Resurrections Needed Better Action Sequences To Be As Memorable As The Original

The Latest Sequel Doesn’t Even Feel Like An Action Movie

The Matrix movies have always been experiments in action filmmaking above all else, but Resurrections didn’t have any of the dynamic set pieces or innovative technology that made the original trilogy so exciting. Instead, much of the action in this sequel felt bland and sterilized in comparison, using big-budget set pieces to create tension rather than тιԍнт, choreographed combat. While this certainly worked at times, it leaves the overall experience feeling quite underwhelming in comparison to its predecessors.

Conversely, the original Matrix movie was doing things that Hollywood had never seen before with its action camerawork. The “bullet-time” effects are the most obvious example, but there are countless action scenes in the Matrix franchise that break rules in equally impressive ways. Whether that’s Neo’s huge fight with Agent Smith in Revolutions or the motorcycle chase in Reloaded, there’s nothing that quite rivals these moments in Resurrections.

The Matrix Resurrections’ Story Was Interesting, But The Movie Had Little To Offer

The Movie Felt Like Too Many Ideas Without The Right Executions

The idea of a Matrix sequel that’s also a metatextual commentary on the film industry at large seems fascinating on paper, but it still needs to fit neatly into the Matrix franchise as a whole. Instead, Resurrections focused too closely on the specifics of its story, trying to weave a narrative web that has something important to say, that it seemingly forgot about all the action and visual dynamism that audiences love about The Matrix.

The reason that The Matrix Resurrections failed seemed obvious in hindsight; the film doesn’t have a target audience. It excludes non-Matrix fans by telling a story that requires a deep understanding of the previous movies, but it also excludes Matrix fans themselves by ditching all the stylish action and almost mocking the original trilogy that people have come to love so much. Ambition is great in sequels, and arguably the only way a franchise can develop into the future, but Resurrections feels so ambitious that it forgot where it started.

Resurrections Was A Reminder Of How Essential The Action Was To The Matrix

The Movies Simply Don’t Work Without This Important Aspect

The action scenes are more than visual spectacle in The Matrix, but they’re also a method by which the Wachowskis are able to drive the story forward. Sequences such as the iconic “bullet-time” are moments of rich character development; these are the times when Neo discovers his abilities and learns to use them on his path to self-discovery as “The One”. Even the fights that Neo loses in The Matrix serve a clear purpose, teaching him lessons about this fierce and dangerous world around him. None of this is present in Resurrections, and that’s why the story doesn’t feel as powerful.

Ultimately, audiences were waiting for such a long time for Resurrections to finally continue the story of Neo and Trinity that it was simply disappointing when the sequel barely resembled the original trilogy at all. The Wachowskis had developed a very engaging and compelling method of storytelling that goes above and beyond most action movies by weaving these fight scenes into the fabric of the narrative. The Matrix Resurrections replaced these scenes with more philosophical, dialogue-heavy scenes that certainly offer some interesting insight into the film’s subtextual message, but leave it feeling wholly unfamiliar from its predecessors.