The original is without a doubt one of the greatest, most innovative and influential action movies to come along in the last quarter of a century, but The Matrix failed to capitalize on its game-changing nature when the back-to-back sequels arrived in 2003.
Sure, they may have pushed the envelope from a technological perspective, but it all became a bit self-indulgent by the time Revolutions drew to a close. Box office takings plummeted from Reloaded‘s $739 million to the third installment’s $427 million in the space of six months, which just goes to show how rapidly interest evaporated.
The Matrix Resurrections is now playing in theaters and on HBO Max, bringing a self-aware and meta sequel that almost comes crashing right through the fourth wall at points. The ending is reminiscent of the 1999 classic on a visual and audio level, but Carrie-Anne Moss revealed to ReelNation what it meant to her personally.
“That’s really easy. The last day of the third Matrix was my character’s death. And so I really had this opportunity to really grieve, letting go of something that had meant so much to me. I remember Lana and Lily crying; we had to go outside. I mean, it was snotty crying. OK? I knew this was it, like I am saying goodbye to something that has meant so much to me…. I had a full day of just weeping. So at the end of this one, the last day of this one, it was bittersweet. It felt so good to have done it to have been with everyone, it didn’t have quite – it had some emotion, for sure, but not quite in the way that it did years ago.”
Based on the underwhelming box office performance so far, we might not get the fifth or sixth installments we’ve heard rumored, even if director Lana Wachowski has never even hinted towards such projects even existing. As things stand, then, Resurrections is an ambitiously weird way for the series to bow out, if that’s how it ends up going.
