There is nothing left of the original Matrix in Resurrections. The cyberpunk core is gone. The hacker spirit is gone. The rebellion is gone. What’s left is a hollow, sanitized product dressed up in nostalgia. Neo is no longer a hacker. He is a corporate symbol repackaged for profit. The themes have been watered down to the point of meaninglessness. This is not cyberpunk. This is marketing.
this post was submitted on 18 Apr 2025
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Cyberpunk
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What is Cyberpunk?
Cyberpunk is a science-fiction sub-genre dealing with the integration of society and technology in dystopian settings. Often referred to as “low-life and high tech,” Cyberpunk stories deal with outsiders (punks) who fight against the oppressors in society (usually mega corporations that control everything) via technological means (cyber). If the punks aren’t actively fighting against a megacorp, they’re still dealing with living in a world completely dependent on high technology.
Cyberpunk characteristics include:
- Dystopian city setting where mega-corporations rule
- Full integration of technology into society, featuring cybernetic implants
- Outsider protagonists (punks) who often are very familiar with the technology around them
- Hard boiled detective and film noir vibes and influence
- Themes dabbling in trans-humanism, existentialism, and what it means to be human.
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He is a corporate symbol repackaged for profit.
I forgot the line in the movie but they alluded to it. Like they knew they were making a cash grab movie and wanted the audience to know it too.
I forget the exact line, but it's in the scene where his boss is informing him they're making a sequel (to the in universe video game) no matter what, and his only choice was to be involved or not.
Yeah, I think the actual content of Revolutions was strictly the Wachowskis's way of protesting being forced to make another one. I think they made it as bad as they possibly could on purpose. I think we'd have gotten a "better" movie had neither of the Wachowskis been involved with it. (Not that we'd have gotten a "good" movie, but it wouldn't have purposefully ruined everything.)
Now that's an interesting question... would the movie have been better if the Wachowskis weren't involved at all? I'd argue the movie would've been better if none of the previous cast came back. The story should've been some new incarnation of The One (not Keanu Reeves) as the cycle repeats (the Architect talks about it being the 6th iteration). Or they could've even moved the world forward by having humans and machines working together but "oh no! the matrix is breaking/failing for some reason and we have to fix it!"
Unfortunately, we all know it was just WB saying "we need a cash cow... Wachowskis! Make us another!" and they had to scramble to come up with a story.
I would have been happier with a movie that explored a combined world. Some of the things we saw in Resurrections that touched in that was very interesting. But they would have had to come up with a new plot that wasn't connected to the previous ones. While I loved Neil Patrick Harris' character and his job with it, I don't like revisitation movies that break the previous conclusions to make them work. This was one of the flaws of the Star Wars sequels - instead of taking a finalized ending and building on it for a new thing, they "oops, it's not really fixed" and started a repeat all over again. And I liked TFA itself, I just didn't like where it led.
Unfortunately, we all know it was just WB saying "we need a cash cow... Wachowskis! Make us another!" and they had to scramble to come up with a story.
No, it was the Wachowkis saying “we don’t want WB making a Matrix movie without us. And, we don’t want another one so let’s make a forgettable turd.” The deal they signed said they had to make another movie or WB could make one without them. They made a crap movie on purpose.
I actually liked Resurrections, but not as a good movie, but as a fuck you to the shareholders. It isn't cyberpunk, but I would say that it's punk if you think of it as Lana's way of saying "you are dumb for even considering it, but I don't want anyone else to do it." I would even say that as a piece of art on it's own it's kin of punk, like graffiti sprayed on WB's roster.
Resurrections is an interesting movie in that I think it's the only one I've seen that agrees that it shouldn't exist. Lana Wachowski definitely did not want to make it and does nothing to hide that fact.
As for whether it's cyberpunk? I say no, because it shed most of the cyber aesthetic of the first 3. It being a movie that all but grabs you by the collar and shouts "I shouldn't exist!" does make it punk, however.
I consider it not worth discussing in any capacity.
Yet here you are lmao
The Matrix has turned into another meh franchise that's just an excuse to sell lots of the funky impossible karate that was impressive and refreshing the first time, but now totally repetitive, annoyingly constantly fast-paced, and stupid sub-plots with zero surprises.
It's devolved into another totally boring and unimaginative franchise that's being milked for all it's worth, like the million Marvel, Fast and Furious or John Wick movies out there.
The whole series is cyberpunk. They're still in a dystopian world of high technology, but little quality of life..
Personally i didn't even like the original Matrix movie but i can't deny it's a landmark for american cinema. But here is a question: has the oppinion on reloaded and revolutions improved over time for the general public?
I remember the hype for the franchise just slowly died down as audienced got dissapointed with the sequels, but now people seem to like them.
Resurrection was weird for me, i can't place my finger on why but it felt like a matrix tv series edited as a movie.
Reloaded is still good and holds up in many ways.
Revolutions is a SLOG.
wow, i am shocked at how bad everyone seems to think it was. it was definitely a significant shift from the original trilogy, but i thought it was still a pretty solid film on its own merits. also, definitely still cyberpunk.
Wanted to love it, watched it twice, don't remember a thing. I've found that's my criteria for movie critique, do I remember it the next day. May seem cool in the moment, I'm easily impressed, but did I wake up thinking, "Holy shit that was cool!"
Went to see the original 2 nights in a row in 1999. Yeah, woke up thinking it was cool.
I really wasn't trying to make a "let's all shit on Matrix Resurrections" post here. I was hoping for more of a discussion about at what point something stops being cyberpunk. I guess I misjudged things...
I don't think Resurrections is a film that can be talked about plainly. Not right now, anyway.
It's really interesting because it's an almost objectively terrible movie, but it's self-aware of that, as if it were mocking people for being interested in the first place, deliberately rubbing their noses in the carpet shit-stain they somewhat innocently paid to see. And so, it is a film that wields its audience as a weapon against the producers that forced its birth, and there is essentially no way this plays out without a lot of unbridled anger and resentment.
I actually like it for having the balls to be that awful. But for a lot of people, who simply do not care about the "broader conversation" this film sits within, there's just nothing else to talk about but how boring that particular Sunday was for them.
Matrix Resurrections was Terminator Genisys bad. It took real effort not to look away from the screen.
The action was weak with constant slow motion and no impact. Neo spends the whole movie spamming force pushes. Trinity's return made no sense and had zero buildup. Morpheus was turned into a meme. Smith was just some guy with no presence. The new crew was forgettable. The meta commentary was embarrassing and killed any immersion. It felt like the film hated being a Matrix movie and wanted out.
Pro: Keanu Reeves is cyberpunk
Contra: everything else