‘The Matrix Resurrections’ Reviews Are Here: “Awe-Inducing” or “Exposition Dump”?

By Fletcher Peters @fIetcherpeters
Published Dec. 17, 2021, 1:53 p.m. ET

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The Matrix Resurrections

The twists and turns of The Matrix Resurrections have enthralled some viewers, while leaving others cold. The first reviews of the film rolled in on social media last night, a mixed bag of complete and total support versus hatred towards the convoluted mess. While we’ll only be able to see it for ourselves beginning next week — from the comfort of our own home on HBO Max, of course — thanks to early reviews, we can gauge what Lana Wachowski‘s new installation might be like.

As the movie’s social media embargo lifted yesterday (Dec. 16) night, critics rolled their opinions in all over Twitter. “#TheMatrixResurrections is a terrific, awe-inducing, meta mind-bender completely in line with the franchise’s legacy,” film critic Courtney Howard raved. “Finds an innovative, high-concept way to frame the new story. Keanu Reeves & Carrie-Anne Moss‘ chemistry burns. Jessica Henwick is a revelation!”

And, of course, there were folks who felt the complete opposite — as is with any movie! “#TheMatrixResurrections is an almost 2.5-hour exposition dump with choppy action scenes reminiscent of the Bourne movies,” film critic Jeff Nelson tweeted. “It reuses far too much footage from previous installments and is meta to a fault.”

As seen above, folks are making some wide-ranging comparisons when it comes to The Matrix Resurrections. The most common? Rian Johnson’s Star Wars installation, The Last Jedi. There were a handful of other Star Wars sequel comparisons tossed in the mix, too. “The Matrix Resurrections, despite (and because of) its infinite goofiness, is the boldest & most vividly personal Hollywood sequel since The Last Jedi,” writes critic David Ehrlich, who continues, “a silly/sincere galaxy brain take on reboot culture that makes peace with how modern blockbusters are now only about themselves.”

You can make your own call when The Matrix Resurrections releases next Wednesday, Dec. 22, right in time for Christmas. The film will stream for free to HBO Max subscribers on the non-ad supported tier for 31 days before leaving the platform — scroll up to watch the trailer for the new reboot.