The Matrix was one of the greatest science-fiction revelations at the turn of the 21st century. It was a fresh take on the genre, and was a standout movie in the careers of the main cast. The movie featured memorable lines of dialogue, intriguing worldbuilding, great cinematography, and fantastic action sequences.
However, the next two sequels to The Matrix left a lot to be desired. They lacked the luster of the first film, had dodgy computer-generated imagery (CGI), and generally lacked the energy and freshness of The Matrix. The two sequels also both came out in 2003, not allowing for audiences to have much breathing room in between The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.
Fast forward nearly two decades, and Warner Bros. gives the green light for a fourth Matrix entry. The Matrix Resurrections was released on December 22nd, just in time for the Christmas holidays. There was a lot of hype leading into the film, with the hope that it would breathe new life into a dead franchise and redeem the last two Matrix films. Lo and behold, The Matrix Resurrections has a middling Rotten Tomatoes score and has received mixed reviews from critics. It has also been met with a lukewarm response from fans, apparently not living up to the nostalgia that audiences have for the original trilogy. The box office reveals this lukewarm reception from critics and audiences. As of this writing, the film has earned back just over half of its budget. This simply does not cut the financial mustard, and there are several factors for why this legacy sequel has bombed.
Popular Franchises Do Not Always Require Sequels
Sometimes, a franchise does not require a sequel. The attempt to reboot The Matrix proves just that. After 18 years of collecting dust, The Matrix franchise was not exactly on the forefront of everyone’s minds just because the first movie was fantastic.
Time will tell if similarly dead franchises like Avatar and the Austin Powers movies will remain defunct. Fans are fairly intelligent and can tell when Hollywood is simply recycling old ideas as opposed to pumping out new ones.
Audience Need Versus Audience Want
Some franchises decide to give audiences what they want – think of The Transformers movies with all of the action, explosions, and lack of lengthy dialogue. Other franchises give audiences what they seemingly need to have – think of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy and the grounded, realistic storytelling. Few franchises get both done with aplum, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
The Matrix Resurrections fails to give audiences what they want and fails to give critics what they need. It is a failure on multiple fronts in this respect. This is a sign of a movie without an identity, one that does not know what it needs to accomplish.
Too Much Time Between Sequels
There are nearly two decades between The Matrix Revolutions and The Matrix Resurrections. That is a lot of time for a formerly beloved franchise to collect dust while other franchises are rising and falling in between.
In an age where movie theaters and streaming platforms are competing for people’s free time, asking folks to revisit a trilogy from a decade ago to prime them to see the fourth installment is a tall ask. Not every franchise needs to be Marvel or Star Wars where content gets pumped out every year, but a movie franchise should have two-to-four years between sequels at the maximum. 18 years is simply an absurd amount of wait time.
Maintaining an Original Cast
The original Matrix trilogy relied on three main characters to drive the plot and narrative: Neo (Keanu Reeves), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne). These three had fantastic on-screen charisma and poise during the first three Matrix movies.
However, The Matrix Resurrections recast Morpheus, without Laurence Fishburne at the helm. While Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is a great actor in his own right, the movie just is not the same without Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus. He arguably was the driving force of the original trilogy, and left a gaping hole in the cast for the fourth installment of The Matrix films.
Competition with Other Franchises at the Theater and at Home
At the movie theater, the MCU is peaking. One could argue that The Matrix Resurrections merely came out at the wrong time because Spider-Man: No Way Home came out a mere week earlier. The latter builds on movies that came out just two years ago, while the former builds on movies from nearly two decades past.
At home, where fans can also view The Matrix Resurrections, hit shows like The Wheel of Time and The Witcher are dominating. So The Matrix Resurrections has to compete with people’s time in ways that the three previous Matrix films did not have to, when streaming was not the giant that it is today. The Matrix Resurrections had several hurdles in its way that it failed to jump. The reasons it failed could be lessons for movie studios that have rights to dormant franchises.