The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

So Matrix Ressurrections will have a title roll sequence saying “somehow, Neo and Trinity returned”…?

The dead speak! And the living are laughing out loud.

Lol, nice. OTOH no one ever though Palpatine was a good character. He’s even a bad evil character. But it was comforting to see Han and Leia and Luke in a new film series again. I don’t think comfort is the only function of art, but I do think it can be one function of art. It’s why I loved Sense8–it was nonsense, but it was joyful nonsense… with orgies.

No, you’ll have to play Fortnite to figure out how they came back.

Well that story was part of a one-weekend limited release Fortnite tie-in a year and a half ago. If you missed it, you’re out of luck.

Well, I thought Palpy was a terrific character, but only over the course of episodes 1 through 6. The potential was there to be interesting in episode 9, but was squandered. I loved how his meticulous strategy and planning over decades had elevated him to a point where, in the prequels, he could benefit from any result of any climactic clash he had orchestrated. And I like that he had gotten a little lazy, by Return of the Jedi, after a few decades at the top of the totalitarian pyramid. Maybe he was following the example of Leto II, and trying to enjoy surprises his prescience usually squashed. Familial love blindsided him.

It could have been cool that a master planner would have put in enough contingencies to make death an inconvenience, especially in a universe with clones and Force Ghosts. But yeah, the implementation of that idea in episode 9 was too weak to be interesting.


Anyway, speaking of Matrix 4, I was a little uneasy about the blue pill imagery in the trailer. It looked like, from flashes of scenes that hopefully will be much different in the actual movie, that Thomas A. Anderson is being prescribed a huge number of blue pills by Doogie Howser, M.D. Presumably (per Morpheus’ red pill/blue pill drug pushing in the first movie) the blue pills keep him docile and accepting of the Matrix illusion. Presumably by dumping out the blue pills, he learns about The Truth (again) so he can be the gun-toting kung fu hero he is destined to be (again).

What worries me is that if that is the scenario in the actual movie, it will inspire more of what happens from time to time. Someone is on meds and doing well. Then they miss some days of meds and their neurochemistry slips from “neurotypical” to “well, I feel more like myself again, let’s skip a few more pills and see where this goes” to “uh oh, those that have wronged me need to suffer my wrath”. And then it’s a tough painful road to get back where they need to be. This has happened to some acquaintances and acquaintances of acquaintances struggling with bipolar and other disorders. Once with fatal consequences.

A movie hero decides to throw out prescriptions that were 1) prescribed by the enemy and 2) holding them back so, if they get off the meds, they can 3) learn The Truth and 4) become fantastically powerful and possibly 5) make out with a hottie. That’s an appealing story. I hope it won’t encourage anyone to throw their meds down the sink so they can be like Neo.

On the other hand, there are weaknesses in my argument. Someone’s atypical neurochemistry would be present regardless of what movies they see. Also, it’s a what-if scenario backed by only anecdotes, and the anecdotes don’t include “They were swayed by a piece of pop culture.” Also, I’m not a psychiatrist. Also, I might be misinterpreting a few frames from a trailer. So maybe I’m full of crap and fretting over nothing?

You’re right, but it’s not like this is something new. The plot point of the protagonist stopping his or her meds to become the hero he or she is meant to be is pretty common. You’re right though that this can be detrimental.

There are counter-examples, where the hero has to take meds to become what he or she is destined to be, most famously Captain America, but also that movie Limitless with Bradley Cooper and Lucy with Scarlett Johansson. But these are much more rare based on my recollection.

GTFOH! Speed Racer is honestly one of my favorite movies of all-time. It is the perfect homage and live action reimagining of an iconic TV program. It’s a feast for the eyes and a glorious parable of family.

How about Claire Danes’s character in Homeland?

I’m more of a Roger Ramjet guy.

Steve Rogers. He took drugs to become a superhero.

OG drug-taker yo!

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I don’t think art ought to concern itself with the possible negative ramifications of someone taking its metaphors literally.

Super high hopes, super low expectations.

I really hope the majority of the running time is not a recap and retread of the first movie.

I get the sense that it’s more about Neo choosing to submerge himself in the matrix out of grief, and my hope is that it will be a movie more about dealing with traumatic loss… But the Hollywood cynic in me is also setting my expectations firmly at the retread level, giving only a superficial nod to his inability to let go of Trinity as the basic setup, not the substance of the material.

But I’m still open to it being solid as a retread. Force Awakens was a return to form on strength of dialog and character arcs, and it delivered on the tone that later installments failed to capture. After the Matrix prequels, even managing to end the series with dignity would be a win, or at least not an own goal. (Not that it needed more than the original movie in the first place…)

Yesterday during one of the football games, a long preview for this came on. I was lying on the couch with the remote far away, so I had to do the thing where you close your eyes and hum really loudly to yourself so you can’t hear the damn trailer. I looked like an idiot in my own home! Damn you WB! I don’t want to know anything about this movie.

“It happens when they change something, but only slightly, as if they cannot create an original idea.”

In the before times ie early March 2020 I saw them shooting a scene for this in Chinatown in SF.

That is the only reason I am remotely interested.