Would Matrix: Resurrections Have Worked Without Lana Wachowski?

The way this matter has been put, it almost feels as though Warner Bros. might have extended the opportunity to Lana Wachowski to work on Matrix: Resurrections as a courtesy, since the word is that they would have made the movie with or without her. But how would that have looked? Would it have been as well-received by fans, or would it have been considered unworthy by those that have seen The Matrix as a mind-bending and life-changing experience? It’s hard to say really, especially since everyone has their own opinion about the matter. But to be honest, without Lana Wachowski present for the movie it does feel as though several elements might have been very different or would have been absent entirely. There’s no guarantee that it would have been better or worse since that’s not the way that things ended up going. But there is enough room to guess at what might have happened in some instances. It does feel as though the story might have had a different point to it since if one really looks at the story, it’s easy enough to state that it has a few plot holes that many people will allow to pass because they want to believe in the sanctity of Lana’s tale. 

But thinking of how it could have been if WB had taken hold of the movie and given it over to someone else to run it is kind of interesting since it’s possible that Neo would have been the main point of the movie once again, and Trinity would have been another main point, but perhaps not in the same way. Trying to pin down what people expected this movie to be is kind of tough due to the fact that some folks were wondering why there needed to be another movie in the first place, while some were willing to leap in headfirst on faith, perhaps thinking that the story could even go for another trilogy in order to capitalize on the popularity of the original trilogy. But this is where the error is since for Lana it might have been a way to get through a rough time in her life, but otherwise, it felt too much like a cash grab. 

The original trilogy was capped off in a way that was actually quite nice since, despite the fact that some folks feel that Trinity didn’t get a good enough death scene (in truth it was masterful for a few reasons), the movies ended on a note that wasn’t too sweet or bitter since Neo ended up going out on a strong note as he achieved what no one else had done, peace between the machines and humanity. Sacrificing Trinity was a blessing in disguise since one should be able to think that had she remained alive, she would have been alone again, and it might have kind of ruined the whole purpose of her character, meaning that she was destined to fall in love with the One, but would lose him at one point or another. One thing that does kind of strike a discordant note as it’s a bit of a retcon that should have been included in the first place, is the effect that occurred when Trinity and Neo were in connection with each other. 

It’s true that it could be explained away in a few easy sentences, but this destructive bond that allows them to cause the machines no end of trouble is something that one might have thought would be important to add in the original trilogy. Obviously, this wasn’t a thought at that time, but adding it in kind of made it feel like a young kid designing a superhero, as in “And then they can do this, and they can do this, oh and they can do this, and this, and they can also do this”. In other words, retconning a character on the spot in order to make the plot work in their favor. Did anyone else happen to notice that Keanu Reeves, one of the hardest-working individuals in Hollywood, had very little choreography in the fight scenes he was involved in, even when he’d regained who he really was?

This might be chalked up to scheduling, but the fact is the action in this movie was decent, but not on the same level as the first movie, nor even the two sequels that followed it. When something finishes behind an animated sequel like Sing 2, which still looks like a fun movie, it’s easy to guess that more people were willing to watch Resurrections at home on their TV since it was simpler than spending the money on a ticket and refreshments. Without Lana Wachowski, it’s fair to state that the movie might not have had the same type of exposition, but whether it would have been better or worse is something for a lot of people to decide.