Like Neo has his Agent Smith, I have a coworker who likes to challenge me at every turn. But I’m getting ahead of myself here…
So, it looks like Neo is going back to The Matrix and he’s taking us with him. And by “us” I mean anyone who has HBO Max and the slightest desire to visit this franchise one more time. For the record, I’m sure that will be a lot of people. Before I delve deeper into the pros and cons of watching yet another Matrix movie, I want to make sure we’re all on the same page. Check out the trailer to The Matrix Resurrections, which airs on HBO (and in theaters) on December 22:
Wow! This is a Different Kind of Matrix
Facts are scarce about this movie that was never meant to be. (I’ll explain that in a bit.) But ever your intrepid streaming reporter, I went down the proverbial rabbit hole to bring you what I know about the fourth installment of this series. Here goes:
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It’s a sequel to The Matrix Revolutions.
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It stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Jada Pinkett Smith.
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The Wachowskis intended The Matrix Revolutions to be the last movie in the series.
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Lana Wachowksi returned to take on Resurrections by herself.
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Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays the part of Morpheus, replacing the iconic Laurence Fishburne.
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The movie’s plot has Neo living in San Francisco as someone named Thomas A. Anderson.
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Anderson’s therapist has him taking blue pills, naturally.
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Neo and Trinity do not recognize each other when they meet.
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The new Morpheus offers Anderson a red pill and thus, a return to The Matrix.
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For whatever reason, this installment of the series has an overarching Alice in Wonderland theme.
To be honest, this movie can either be great or a complete disaster. I don’t think there’s any in-between.
So, Will I Stream The Matrix Resurrections?
Of course I will, but I’m not happy about it. Look, I’ve invested a lot of time in this series. I also thought that The Matrix Revolutions was a fitting end to the franchise. But much like Neo, it looks like I’m going to be dragged back into The Matrix one last time. At least I hope it’s the last time. Because if they come out with a fifth installment, I will start to make analogies about a baseball bat and a deceased horse. Frankly, I’m not sure that Resurrections will live up to the hype.
Have you ever heard about “The Sequel’s Curse”? It’s a little rule of mine that basically states that most sequels suck. You want examples? Okay. Jaws 2, Grease 2, and Highlander II: The Quickening come to mind. All three of these films are sequels and all of them stunk big time. These and other examples are why I’ve come up with “The Sequel’s Curse.” Admittedly, this has changed a bit in the age of huge franchises such as Lord of the Rings, etc. It’s the only reason I’m giving Resurrections a chance.
Now, About My Coworker’s Challenge…
Someone here at Solid Signal called me out. I’m not naming any names, but he’s known as the expert at fixing DIRECTV connection issues. Well, this anonymous coworker also fancies himself a film critic. As such, he often disagrees with my more bitter posts about the turkeys I stream. As a fantasy/sci-fi fan, he’s very excited about Amazon’s Wheel of Time. He took great umbrage to me dragging it a couple weeks ago. After reading my Streaming Saturday post, he stomped over to my desk and said:
“You can’t say that this sucks if you haven’t seen it yet!”
I told him I saw all I needed to see in the trailer, but he wasn’t having any of it. As we continued to argue about this show, he challenged me to watch the first episode of Wheel of Time. Once I do that, he says, I can maybe write a “more accurate blog post about it.” It was a bold challenge and one that I intend to take him up on. So, dear readers, expect next week’s Streaming Saturday post to be about that. Hint: I don’t think watching the first episode will change my mind one bit.
