‘The Matrix Resurrections’ and the Wachowski Movie Rankings

‘The Matrix Resurrections’Lana Wachowski's solo return to the franchise

The Matrix Resurrections 2021

Lana directs alone this time; her sister Lily sits it out. Co-written with novelists David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas) and Aleksandar Hemon. Keanu Reeves is again Thomas Anderson, now a video-game designer whose studio wants a sequel to the trilogy-inspired game he made, the meta hook the whole thing runs on. Neil Patrick Harris plays his analyst, later revealed as a new Architect; Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays a ‘modal’ version of Morpheus, since Laurence Fishburne wasn't asked back; Jonathan Groff plays Smith, reimagined as Anderson's boss. Sean and Rob land around a 3 to 3.5 out of 5; Amanda closer to a 2.8. All three like the writing and the metatextual first hour, which argues with twenty years of red-pill co-option and Warner Bros.'s own demand for a sequel. The digital cinematography, muddy action, and a back half that turns into standard robot-fighting are the sticking points. Consensus MVP: Lambert Wilson's return as the Merovingian.

Reference pointsmovies and comps that came up along the way

A Glitch in the Matrix 2021

Rodney Ascher's Sundance documentary on people who believe they're living in a simulation. Sean brings it up as a companion piece on what happens when a film's meaning slips out of its creator's hands.

The Animatrix 2003

The anime anthology tying into the Matrix world. Sean recommends starting a rewatch there (the first two segments work as a real prologue), though it's left out of the ranking below along with the rest of the extended universe.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2021

Rob's unfavorable comp: he prefers how Resurrections handles being ‘a movie about its own existence’ to what this one does with the same problem.

Ocean's Twelve 2004

Amanda's vibe comp for a sequel that spends its runtime interrogating the idea of a sequel.

Shutter Island 2010

Rob's comp for the disorienting, what's-real opening act, which he says plays closer to this than to the original trilogy.

Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021

The other new-release measuring stick for how much homework a movie now expects. Amanda could follow this multiverse without difficulty but says Resurrections doesn't open itself up the same way.

Space Jam: A New Legacy 2021

Amanda's example of Warner Bros. running the same meta-synergy play twice in one year, raised right after Smith's in-movie pitch about the studio demanding a sequel.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi 2017

Rob's comp for a franchise entry that turns subversive against its own fanbase.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2000

Cited for choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, brought up when the hosts note that Resurrections gives a cameo to John Wick director Chad Stahelski instead of putting him to work on the fights.

John Carter 2012

Amanda's comp for the tiny robot sidekick Bugs, which reminds her of Woola, and the merchandising push she suspects is behind it.

The Wachowski Movie Rankingsworst to best on the show, best-first here; the Animatrix, V for Vendetta, and the Netflix series Sense8 are left off since the hosts stick to features the Wachowskis solely directed

No. 1

The Matrix 1999

No. 1, unanimous. Amanda's first-boyfriend memory, Sean's five-star ‘masterpiece of the last quarter century’ seen at 16, Rob's first movie he wasn't old enough to see.

No. 2

Speed Racer 2008

No. 2. Rob's surprise case (candy-colored, all-green-screen racing he says is maybe the best any movie has looked) wins Amanda over as tiebreaker against Sean's objection.

No. 3

Bound 1996

No. 3. Sean's case: in the conversation for best neo-noir ever made, carried by Gina Gershon, Jennifer Tilly, and Joe Pantoliano.

No. 4

The Matrix Reloaded 2003

No. 4. The freeway chase is Sean's Jurassic Park T-Rex comp. Both he and Rob say revisiting this was more rewarding than revisiting Resurrections.

No. 5

Cloud Atlas 2012

No. 5. Co-written by novelist David Mitchell, who also has a story credit on Resurrections. Sean didn't connect with it on release but has come around; both flag the racial makeup choices as a real problem. Tom Hanks has named it one of his three favorite filmmaking experiences.

No. 6

The Matrix Resurrections 2021

No. 6. Sean's placement, mostly because a second viewing of Reloaded beat a second viewing of this.

No. 7

The Matrix Revolutions 2003

No. 7. Sean calls its ending his single biggest nitpick in the franchise, hard to explain even with help. Rob notes it does have more leather.

No. 8

Jupiter Ascending 2015

No. 8. Rob rewatched it ‘in a rubbernecking capacity’ and still isn't sure the movie is good, but loves Eddie Redmayne's whisper-screaming space emperor.

Also mentioned raised along the way

In passing V for VendettaDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessWonder Woman 1984Don't Look Up

Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads

TV Sense8The Wheel of Time

Games FIFA World Cup

Ads Boar's Head