'The Matrix Resurrections': Here's What the Critics Are Saying About the Keanu Reeves Sequel

By Anna Rumer

The Matrix Resurrections reviews are in, and the critics are largely praising the Lana Wachowski-directed Keanu Reeves movie as a triumphant addition to the original franchise. Since its Dec. 22 debut in theaters and on HBO Max, The Matrix Resurrections has earned a 68% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and a very similar 69% audience score. Keep scrolling to read what some of the critics are saying about the new film, from glowingly positive reviews to eye rolls from some of the biggest names in film reviewing. 

'Exacting and Rapturous'

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(Photo: Warner Bros.)

K. Austin Collins, a critic for Rolling Stone, was impressed with the sequel, writing for the outlet, "It is a Matrix movie that could only have come with twenty-plus years of hindsight – and insight. I was moved, impressed – far more than I expected to be. The emotional engineering of The Matrix Resurrections is exacting and rapturous." Read the full review here.

'Nostalgic Yearning'

Manohla Dargis for The New York Times noted that seeing Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss back on screen together as Neo and Trinity was a major boost for the film. "Resurrection ... gets a great deal of mileage from its – and our – nostalgic yearning, appreciatively stoked by Reeves and Moss's reunion," Dargis writes. Read the full review here.

'Worthy Conversation Piece'

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(Photo: Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images)

Melanie McFarland argued in a review for Salon that while Resurrections "isn't a complete success, it is a worthy conversation piece." McFarland writes, "The Matrix Resurrections is a better messenger and cultural analyst than a cinematic spectacle... It may not deliver the original's thrills, but at the least it'll start some conversations." Read the full review here.

'Sly Social Commentary'

Sara Michelle Fetters of MovieFreak.com pointed out that Lana Wachowski didn't play it safe with the newest Matrix movie. "The Matrix Resurrections deconstructs its mythos even as it celebrates the ideas it has always held nearest to its heart," Fetters writes. The critic describes the film as "a deeply self-referential, indulgently meta continuation that's more interested in being a sly social commentary on the past decade or so – along with becoming a deeply passionate, overtly melodramatic love story – than it is in doing almost anything else." Read the full review here.

'Increasingly Self-Aware'

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(Photo: Sam Santos/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures Canada)

Sarah Gopaul of Digital Journal also noted the self-referential nature of Resurrections writing, "The film finds appealing ways to incorporate and acknowledge its past, creating a meta-narrative that becomes increasingly self-aware as the story unfolds." Read the full review here.

'Messy, Imperfect Triumph'

Angelica Jade Bastién argued in a review for Vulture that while Resurrections wasn't perfect, it was still a success. Bastién writes, "Teetering between a meta-reckoning with the legacy of the first trilogy and a sincere blooming of a whole new story that feels boldly romantic, Lana Wachowski's first feature solo is a thrilling triumph." Read the full review here.

'Curse of The Matrix'

Not all critics were in love with the sequel. Kevin Maher writes for The Times UK, "The curse of The Matrix strikes again. An ingenious, inventive and era-defining sci-fi movie from 1999 has now, with this latest and long-awaited misfire, produced yet another truly horrible sequel." Read the full review here.

'At War With Her Audience'

Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post also wasn't a fan, calling out what felt like an inconsistent tone from the movie's direction. "Wachowski seems to be at war with her audience, rewarding them with deep-cut callbacks one moment only to roll her eyes at the entire enterprise the next," Hornaday writes. Read the full review here.

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