The Matrices (The Wachowskis, 1999-2021)

[The Narrator Returns]

I won't argue Resurrections is a perfect movie but I find the instinct to write it off as lazy cynicism (not just here but all over the internet) pretty baffling, especially in light of literally every other movie either Wachowski has made up to this point. For as much as it does reference the previous trilogy, in tone it's much closer to the post-Matrix Wachowskis works in its unashamed corniness and belief in love-conquers-all (even the first half hour, which has to be the source of people calling this cynical, functions the same as the Royalton scenes in Speed Racer, heightened depictions of the ghoulishness of capitalism to contrast with the earnestness of the rest). What really sticks with me from Resurrections is its collectivist spirit, a small but very important step away from the messiah narrative of the originals towards the Wachowskis' overarching thesis of all progress coming from people working together. Quite contrary to TWBB, I enjoyed the new characters (even the ones who do admittedly disappear for long stretches, like nu-Morpheus) and I was moved close to tears by their "sob stories," which dial up the queer subtext of the originals and see Lana engaging equally with the inspiration her movies provided to those who needed it as she does with the corporate bastardizations of that art. I don't see how you can read contempt in a movie with as loving a characterization as Bugs, nominally the Trinity stand-in whose badass feats are driven entirely by her gratitude for the one who helped her in a time of need. It's cornball but as with every Wachowski project, I never doubt its sincerity.