deerstalker
**Warning: Spoilers Ahead**
Hello, Dexter Morgan.
Dexter has a contentious place in television history. On one prosthetic hand, its final season and finale remain one of the worst of all time even now almost 10 years after it aired. On the other dismembered hand, the Season 4 closer featuring the surprise murder of Rita Morgan (Julie Benz) at the hands of the Trinity Killer (John Lithgow) continues to top lists of the most shocking moments in TV history more than a decade later. It’s a production of extremes, and today’s reboot New Blood follows in its footsteps.
I have loved Dexter from the very start. The vigilante justice of his code fills an important vacuum for victim/survivors, and watching him dismantle criminals who escaped the law was cathartic. But where I really fell in love was during Season 5, the rape-revenge season, where Dexter (Michael C. Hall) takes down a gang of perverts who kidnap women to torture, rape, murder, and film it all, dumping the women after in the Everglades in trash barrels. As he dispatched each pervert one by one, those were the moments when Dexter received my devotion permanently. In fact, I adore Dexter so much I didn’t think the Season 8 finale was as atrocious as everyone complained, and I long suspected that Dexter Morgan never intended to survive that hurricane he rode into that garnered so much fan hate.
In Marcos Siega’s sequel Dexter: New Blood, my suspicion was finally confirmed that the eighth season closed with a suicide attempt. When Dexter accidentally survived, he took the opportunity to reinvent himself. From the opening moments of New Blood we see these changes in action in Dexter’s new alter-ego James “Jim” Lindsay who has made a home in upstate Iron Lake, New York. Jimbo has amplified Dexter’s previous office-donut persona and has compartmentalized his old self so deeply he hasn’t killed a single bad guy in this entire time away from Miami. The ghost of Harry Morgan (James Remar) has been replaced with a fabulously demented version of Dexter’s sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), who bullies Dexter into staying straight, while providing disturbing evidence that under Jimbo’s affable veneer he is even more psychologically damaged than before.
With the shooting of a sacred white buck on Seneca land by local murderer Matt Caldwell (Steve M. Robertson) — who killed five people and covered it up — coupled with the return of Dexter’s estranged son Harrison (Jack Alcott), “Jim Lindsay” can no longer hold back the truth about Dexter Morgan and wraps his shed in plastic to kill Matt. Unfortunately, Dexter’s first victim in 10 years is the son of Iron Lake’s own serial killer of runaways Kurt Caldwell (Clancy Brown), who is almost as prolific as Dexter himself and also hides behind a good guy veneer. As Dexter’s actions once again put Harrison in danger, his cat and mouse game with Kurt has explosive consequences.
Dexter might not be killing just before we meet him again, but he’s still flirting with the law. His girlfriend is Police Chief Angela Bishop (Julia Jones), the first Seneca woman to hold that role, who slowly begins uncovering the truth about Dexter Morgan: He is the Bay Harbor Butcher, and she’s been sleeping with him for almost 3 years.
As the stakes consistently ramp up, New Blood reminds us that while this is a sequel to Dexter, it’s a new and evolving monster entirely. Sunshine, beaches, and sandbars are replaced with snow, forests, and the blue light of winter. The iconic title credits are absent, along with the haunting lullaby melody of Dexter’s theme songs. Instead, we’re hit with an intense Cormac McCarthy-esque visual collage that hints to future events, as well as the episode title hidden in the scenery like a superhero comic. Every episode has an actual soundtrack to complement the score, including songs from Iggy Pop, Blondie, Beck, Lunachicks, and many others. The tone has shifted into much more ominous territory, helped along by the new characterization of Debra, whose unsettling ghost presence is the veritable opposite of who she was alive. It’s both thrilling and terrifying to see this new side of Debra, and Jennifer Carpenter attacks the role with gusto.
Yet New Blood is still so familiar. There are many echoes to the original, starting with the return of Dexter’s internal monologue, which feels like an oddly comforting, strange homecoming. After the past three years of the real-life pandemic, Dexter’s voice felt like a restoration to some semblance of normalcy, being back with an old friend even though he remains problematic. After all, Dexter has killed at least 135 people in his original run, and adds five to that number in New Blood.
Nostalgia in New Blood is subtle, and effective, without much reliance on cameos from Dexter’s old world. In many ways, this return feels quaint, as the storytelling is straightforward and there are no massive twists like we’ve come to expect in a show since the first Dexter conclusion. Still, New Blood definitely banks on these moments of morbid remembrances, like when Dexter’s internal dialogue finally resumes after killing Matt Caldwell, along with carefully placed hints of the original theme song and the occasional steak and eggs references to the original run.
Where New Blood diverges is in Michael C. Hall’s performance, which reads much more like a play than a TV show. Hall uses his considerable theater chops to fantastic effect, and it meshes well with all the new blood infused into the show with fresh characters, the unique setting, and the actual gallons of blood spilled on screen as we see aspects of Dexter’s process we never did in past seasons.
In New Blood, everyone grapples with the fact that the past isn’t through with them. With Harrison’s return to Dexter’s life, and Dexter realizing Harrison also has a corresponding Dark Passenger, Dexter can no longer deny their shared generational trauma. A cycle of violence has continued, even with Dexter and Harrison living apart. It’s as heartbreaking as it is troubling, and New Blood explores these intense personal and psychological dynamics with powerhouse performances from all main characters. It’s a gut-punch when realizing young Harrison might not have a choice in following in his father’s footsteps. Jennifer Carpenter’s darkly dreamed Debra is horrifying and captivating, stealing every scene she’s in with an unsettling force that reveals just how broken Dexter really is deep down.
But where New Blood shines extra bright is in its Indigenous representation and focus on a real-life American problem of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Chief Angela Bishop’s main motivator is solving the case of her missing best friend Iris (Jessica Perry), as well as all the other Indigenous and runaway women who have gone missing in the area. She suspects a serial killer, but has no idea it would be kindly Kurt Caldwell, whose performative sanity is even more effective than Dexter’s “cultivated affability.”
In nonfiction America, the FBI suspects multiple serial killers are working through Indian Country, as the systemic epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women grows each year without even receiving a modicum of national news coverage. This kind of Indigenous representation in television, especially in a police procedural, is almost nonexistent, so seeing New Blood take time and care to explore these important issues sets it apart from Dexter’s own history as well as similar cop shows. If more shows and movies focused on America’s missing and murdered Indigenous women, we might be seeing more urgency and justice for these women and communities in real life just through simple awareness.
“What would justice feel like to you?” Dexter asks Harrison when describing Harry’s Code, and every single character in New Blood has both individual and collective ideas of what justice means to them, both legally and otherwise. For the fans who felt the original Dexter ended with an ambiguous injustice, I hope you’re satisfied now that the closure in New Blood is concrete and irrevocable with Dexter’s death. I wasn’t prepared for a freshly broken heart this early in the year, and I am self-soothing by remembering the collateral damage of Dexter’s rampages Sargent James Doakes (Erik King) and Captain Maria LaGuerta (Lauren Velez) will finally receive their long overdue vindication. As sad as I am, I still understand Dexter’s story could end no other way.
Goodbye, Dexter Morgan. I will miss you even more this final time around.
**Warning: Spoilers Ahead**
Hello, Dexter Morgan.
Dexter has a contentious place in television history. On one prosthetic hand, its final season and finale remain one of the worst of all time even now almost 10 years after it aired. On the other dismembered hand, the Season 4 closer featuring the surprise murder of Rita Morgan (Julie Benz) at the hands of the Trinity Killer (John Lithgow) continues to top lists of the most shocking moments in TV history more than a decade later. It’s a production of extremes, and today’s reboot New Blood follows in its footsteps.
I have loved Dexter from the very start. The vigilante justice of his code fills an important vacuum for victim/survivors, and watching him dismantle criminals who escaped the law was cathartic. But where I really fell in love was during Season 5, the rape-revenge season, where Dexter (Michael C. Hall) takes down a gang of perverts who kidnap women to torture, rape, murder, and film it all, dumping the women after in the Everglades in trash barrels. As he dispatched each pervert one by one, those were the moments when Dexter received my devotion permanently. In fact, I adore Dexter so much I didn’t think the Season 8 finale was as atrocious as everyone complained, and I long suspected that Dexter Morgan never intended to survive that hurricane he rode into that garnered so much fan hate.
In Marcos Siega’s sequel Dexter: New Blood, my suspicion was finally confirmed that the eighth season closed with a suicide attempt. When Dexter accidentally survived, he took the opportunity to reinvent himself. From the opening moments of New Blood we see these changes in action in Dexter’s new alter-ego James “Jim” Lindsay who has made a home in upstate Iron Lake, New York. Jimbo has amplified Dexter’s previous office-donut persona and has compartmentalized his old self so deeply he hasn’t killed a single bad guy in this entire time away from Miami. The ghost of Harry Morgan (James Remar) has been replaced with a fabulously demented version of Dexter’s sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), who bullies Dexter into staying straight, while providing disturbing evidence that under Jimbo’s affable veneer he is even more psychologically damaged than before.
With the shooting of a sacred white buck on Seneca land by local murderer Matt Caldwell (Steve M. Robertson) — who killed five people and covered it up — coupled with the return of Dexter’s estranged son Harrison (Jack Alcott), “Jim Lindsay” can no longer hold back the truth about Dexter Morgan and wraps his shed in plastic to kill Matt. Unfortunately, Dexter’s first victim in 10 years is the son of Iron Lake’s own serial killer of runaways Kurt Caldwell (Clancy Brown), who is almost as prolific as Dexter himself and also hides behind a good guy veneer. As Dexter’s actions once again put Harrison in danger, his cat and mouse game with Kurt has explosive consequences.
Dexter might not be killing just before we meet him again, but he’s still flirting with the law. His girlfriend is Police Chief Angela Bishop (Julia Jones), the first Seneca woman to hold that role, who slowly begins uncovering the truth about Dexter Morgan: He is the Bay Harbor Butcher, and she’s been sleeping with him for almost 3 years.
As the stakes consistently ramp up, New Blood reminds us that while this is a sequel to Dexter, it’s a new and evolving monster entirely. Sunshine, beaches, and sandbars are replaced with snow, forests, and the blue light of winter. The iconic title credits are absent, along with the haunting lullaby melody of Dexter’s theme songs. Instead, we’re hit with an intense Cormac McCarthy-esque visual collage that hints to future events, as well as the episode title hidden in the scenery like a superhero comic. Every episode has an actual soundtrack to complement the score, including songs from Iggy Pop, Blondie, Beck, Lunachicks, and many others. The tone has shifted into much more ominous territory, helped along by the new characterization of Debra, whose unsettling ghost presence is the veritable opposite of who she was alive. It’s both thrilling and terrifying to see this new side of Debra, and Jennifer Carpenter attacks the role with gusto.
Yet New Blood is still so familiar. There are many echoes to the original, starting with the return of Dexter’s internal monologue, which feels like an oddly comforting, strange homecoming. After the past three years of the real-life pandemic, Dexter’s voice felt like a restoration to some semblance of normalcy, being back with an old friend even though he remains problematic. After all, Dexter has killed at least 135 people in his original run, and adds five to that number in New Blood.
Nostalgia in New Blood is subtle, and effective, without much reliance on cameos from Dexter’s old world. In many ways, this return feels quaint, as the storytelling is straightforward and there are no massive twists like we’ve come to expect in a show since the first Dexter conclusion. Still, New Blood definitely banks on these moments of morbid remembrances, like when Dexter’s internal dialogue finally resumes after killing Matt Caldwell, along with carefully placed hints of the original theme song and the occasional steak and eggs references to the original run.
Where New Blood diverges is in Michael C. Hall’s performance, which reads much more like a play than a TV show. Hall uses his considerable theater chops to fantastic effect, and it meshes well with all the new blood infused into the show with fresh characters, the unique setting, and the actual gallons of blood spilled on screen as we see aspects of Dexter’s process we never did in past seasons.
In New Blood, everyone grapples with the fact that the past isn’t through with them. With Harrison’s return to Dexter’s life, and Dexter realizing Harrison also has a corresponding Dark Passenger, Dexter can no longer deny their shared generational trauma. A cycle of violence has continued, even with Dexter and Harrison living apart. It’s as heartbreaking as it is troubling, and New Blood explores these intense personal and psychological dynamics with powerhouse performances from all main characters. It’s a gut-punch when realizing young Harrison might not have a choice in following in his father’s footsteps. Jennifer Carpenter’s darkly dreamed Debra is horrifying and captivating, stealing every scene she’s in with an unsettling force that reveals just how broken Dexter really is deep down.
But where New Blood shines extra bright is in its Indigenous representation and focus on a real-life American problem of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Chief Angela Bishop’s main motivator is solving the case of her missing best friend Iris (Jessica Perry), as well as all the other Indigenous and runaway women who have gone missing in the area. She suspects a serial killer, but has no idea it would be kindly Kurt Caldwell, whose performative sanity is even more effective than Dexter’s “cultivated affability.”
In nonfiction America, the FBI suspects multiple serial killers are working through Indian Country, as the systemic epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women grows each year without even receiving a modicum of national news coverage. This kind of Indigenous representation in television, especially in a police procedural, is almost nonexistent, so seeing New Blood take time and care to explore these important issues sets it apart from Dexter’s own history as well as similar cop shows. If more shows and movies focused on America’s missing and murdered Indigenous women, we might be seeing more urgency and justice for these women and communities in real life just through simple awareness.
“What would justice feel like to you?” Dexter asks Harrison when describing Harry’s Code, and every single character in New Blood has both individual and collective ideas of what justice means to them, both legally and otherwise. For the fans who felt the original Dexter ended with an ambiguous injustice, I hope you’re satisfied now that the closure in New Blood is concrete and irrevocable with Dexter’s death. I wasn’t prepared for a freshly broken heart this early in the year, and I am self-soothing by remembering the collateral damage of Dexter’s rampages Sargent James Doakes (Erik King) and Captain Maria LaGuerta (Lauren Velez) will finally receive their long overdue vindication. As sad as I am, I still understand Dexter’s story could end no other way.
Goodbye, Dexter Morgan. I will miss you even more this final time around.
You Know the Kitchen is Lit if they Talkin’ Smack
Listen, I know some of you folks love some QUALITY cooking competition shows. Some of you love you that good baking competition that will have you buying vanilla paste in bulk. Some of you enjoy good ol’ fashioned kitchen rage (I’m not judging you, just saying you deserve better.) Then there’s some who want a little bit of everything. Well, let me introduce you to something you been waiting for: The Great Soul Food Cook-Off on Discovery+. It got your classic shit talking, instigating, immaculate plates, legendary judges, and celebration of a beautiful cuisine. When I talk about how food competitions be trying to dilute soul food into “rustic”, “simple” and “unrefined” I be wanting to cuss them out. Soul Food comes in many variations. It’s wonderful, inventive, and has a rich history. It confuses me when people downplay it. This show presents flowers to your shrimp n’ grits and gives a standing ovation to your granny’s pound cake.
The Great Soul Food Cook-Off is that energy you need to start your year off right. We have Miss Melba Wilson (Owner of the Legendary restaurant Melba’s in New York City), Eric Adjepong (a personal favorite finalist from Top Chef, and a chef whose specialty lies in West African Cuisine), as well as many guest judges and an invigorating host, Kardea Brown. This show gives you Black people living their best chef life, creating dishes based off various challenges that touch on the history and importance of Soul Food. As a Chef Dorian and Chef Chris fan when I saw that they would be entering the arena, every Saturday night I pulled up a delicious plate then proceeded to scream and snap at my television.
Give Me That Black Joy
Through this show, I got to learn about soul food chefs that I wish I knew about before. Each chef had a different approach to soul food, whether it was simplicity and preservation or innovation and pushing boundaries, each person’s vision was valid and supported in the show. The Great Soul Food Cook-Off pushed forward flavor and appreciated presentation. Many cooking shows would demean food where the presentation didn’t seem “proper” in their eyes. Presentation was a story of themselves instead of a vehicle to prove they’re capable of “fine dining.”
The Great Soul Food Cook-Off touches on the colonization of the kitchen through stories of the chefs. Being Black in the culinary world is still challenging despite Black folks’ historical inspiration behind great dishes we know and love. We get to hear stories of overcoming odds that goes beyond “we grew up in a poor family, and now I’m using my skill to hopefully bring us out.” There are so many cooking-competitions that try to idolize the come-up story. The “cream of the crop” where they need to prove their worth. The Great Soul Food Cook-Off already recognizes the worth of the competitors, because they’re not competing for a white audience. The competitors know their skill, instead what they’re fighting for is specific to them. They’re not heralded as a representation of a race but as a representation of their own narrative and goals.
Take Heed, Take Example
Cooking competitions need to take an example from The Great Soul Food Cook-Off, because it gives flowers to being yourself. There hasn’t been an episode where I wasn’t engaged. I want people to see this show and imagine what a respectful cooking show looks like. Something that brings critique and doesn’t question the worth of someone who doesn’t fit in a box in their head. Appreciate the specialty in others and what makes them different. The Great Soul Food Cook-Off brings infectious Black joy, delicious food, and inspirational stories reflective to your own. Shows like this are important because it doesn’t force representation, it celebrates it in all of its forms. The Great Soul Food Cook-Off in its entirety is streaming on Discovery+ now!
Cover Image via rottentomatoes.com
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The post ‘The Great Soul Food Cook-Off’ is a Kitchen Lituation appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Warning: Spoilers for Seasons 1 and 2 of Harley Quinn.
DC’s Harley Quinn animated series is a boundary-pushing, wildly hilarious showcase of Batman’s best (and worst) villains. Writer-creators Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker, and Dean Lorey pay homage to the acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series, while incorporating more recent incarnations of various cast-off characters. Boasting a stellar voice cast, Harley Quinn gives the DCU a funhouse feel that’s anything but boring.
Premiering in 2019, Season 1 begins with Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) landing in Arkham Asylum after the Joker (Alan Tudyk) uses her to distract Batman (Diedrich Bader) while he escapes their latest crimes. Always believing in her man, she expects him to come and break her out. A year goes by and she’s still there, but Poison Ivy (Lake Bell), with the help of the Riddler (Jim Rash), breaks them all out of Arkham. It takes Ivy a frustratingly long time to get Harley to leave Joker for good, but when she does, it’s the beginning of a brand-new, bat-wielding Harley Quinn.
The rest of the season follows Harley as she establishes her own crew — Clayface (Tudyk), Dr. Psycho (Tony Hale), and King Shark (Ron Funches) — and tries to get into the Legion of Doom headed by Lex Luthor (Giancarlo Esposito). Unofficial members of HQ crew include their landlord Sy Borgman (Jason Alexander) and Ivy’s “roommate” Frank the Plant (J. B. Smoove). Ivy also begins dating Kite Man (Matt Oberg) — in secret, given his extreme confidence and bro-ness.
One of the best parts of the series is the use of Batman’s Rogues gallery. The series features familiar characters like Bane (James Adomian) and Scarecrow (Rahul Kohli), as well as the more obscure villains like Doctor Trap (Tudyk) and Queen of Fables (Wanda Sykes). Some appear as the villain-of-the-week, while others become semi-regular characters.
And you’d think it wouldn’t matter that much, but just hearing the villains dropping f-bombs makes the characters infinitely more entertaining. In a panel for DC FanDome, Alan Tudyk said, “Cussing as the Joker seems natural. The Joker would have foul language.”
It wouldn’t be Gotham City without the Caped Crusader, though he’s more of a supporting player in the series. His best scenes are with a despondent Commissioner James Gordon (Christopher Meloni), who’s just trying to be a damn good cop. A very young, bratty Robin (Jacob Tremblay) makes a few appearances as well, including an episode where he tells everyone that he’s Harley’s arch nemesis.
Since appearing in 2016’s Suicide Squad (and the much better subsequent films Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad), I’ve been a diehard Margot Robbie fan. I can’t imagine anyone else in the role, so I stupidly put off watching the Harley Quinn series when it first came out. Well, joke’s on me because Kaley Cuoco is fantastic.
All of the voice actors are incredibly hilarious, especially Funches’ instantly lovable King Shark. In addition to playing the Joker, Alan Tudyk also lends his voice to Calendar Man, Condiment King, and the failed actor Clayface. That character alone comes with many other characters of his making, like a co-ed named Stephanie.
In Season 2, Harley is on a mission to take down the Injustice League, formed by Bane, Two-Face (Andy Daly), Penguin (Wayne Knight), and Mr. Freeze (Alfred Molina). The season also introduces new faces/voices including the sultry and aloof Catwoman (Sanaa Lathan) and the excitable Batgirl (Briana Cuoco).
The central story of the second season is the growing romance between Harley and Ivy, slowly transitioning from friendship into something more. They have one hell of a turbulent relationship, but it doesn’t have anything to do with being queer. It’s refreshing that a queer love story exists without a tumultuous “coming out” plotline. Honestly, these women have had enough trauma from their parents and exes. They don’t need to play into tropes.
Season 2 ends with Ivy finally admitting that Kite Man wasn’t the right person for her. She may love him, but Harley is her number one. Kite Man is definitely one of my favorite characters. It’s sad to see him heartbroken, but it was bound to happen. Seeing Harley and Ivy declaring their love for each other and riding off into the Gotham sunset is what we all want, right?
The short preview from the DC FanDome 2021 event promises the two going on quite the adventure as a new couple on the run. Though it’s only a sizzle reel, I was still satisfied seeing Harley and King Shark again. Keeping with the show’s meta nature, Harley complains about the slow animation process and announces that the third season will air “sometime in 2022.”
Tee Franklin’s 6-issue comic series Harley Quinn: The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour picks up right at the end of the Season 2 finale. It follows the newly coupled Harls and Ives as they take an impromptu honeymoon, partially to celebrate their relationship. Also, because Gordo is determined to catch them after his master plan to arrest all of Ivy’s wedding guests failed.
Franklin maintains the uniquely endearing and raunchy tone set by the animated series, making Harley’s world even more inclusive. Artist Max Sarin keeps with the show’s style and expands Ivy’s and Harley’s wardrobe with some killer outfits I’m dying to see in the third season. The comic bridges the gap between seasons, debuting in August and recently concluding with the January 4 final issue. Hopefully, this means that “sometime in 2022” is very soon.
Harley Quinn is one of the best things in the DC Universe right now. The perfectly cast voice actors continue to amaze and entertain, bringing their own personalities to fan favorites. It shows just how ridiculous super villainy can be while exploring more serious topics like trauma, abuse, and identity. It’s got comedy, heart, and beautifully animated violence. Whatever Season 3 has in store, it’s sure to be a riot.
The first two seasons of Harley Quinn are available to stream on HBO Max.
Not Gon Lie, Y’all Had Me in the First Half
The opening act was disorientating, but it was also its only service. It’s downhill after that but not smoothly you know, like skiing? Nah, nah, nah. The Matrix Resurrections goes full Homer jumping the Springfield Gorge.
There were some really dope meta-within-meta plot points at the beginning of the movie. It was as if it took itself seriously. As the movie goes further into a Penrose staircase of self-reference, it starts to lose track of any gravitas the original trilogy built up. As an audience member, you get the feeling that Lana Wachowski didn’t have a great time making the original films and is taking it out on Warner Bros. The problem: fans of the franchise get caught in the crossfire.
Whatcha Say, Whatcha Say, Whatcha Say, What?
The writing in Resurrections was not inspired, at all. With so much plot, exposition was packed into the explain-y dialogue that there are moments where characters are literally impossible to hear. A lot of those were given to Jessica Henwick’s character Bugs (yes, as in ‘Bunny’, another coded dig at Warner Bros and reference to the ‘white rabbit’ from the first Matrix. She even says, “what’s up Doc?” early in the movie). You can boil quite a few parts of this movie down to, “Wait, what did they just say?”
Acting performances were decent throughout the movie, especially Jonathan Groff as Agent Smith. Keanu and Carrie-Anne pick up where they left off with Neo and Trinity with little effort. Henwick’s rebellious Bugs is tolerable but not as dynamic as she could be as the main character. Yahya Abdul-Mateen’s Morpheus/Smith was strange. I’m sure he did his best with the awkward role and the direction given, but it never truly landed or paid true homage to either character. The only other stand-out is Neil Patrick Harris’ turn as “The Analyst.” He hams it up, as the script demands, and it’s cool and funny until it isn’t.
Sense…9?
A very touching nod to supporters of The Wachowski’s work, a large part of the main cast of Sense 8 play roles in The Matrix Resurrections. On one end, it is beautiful to see these actors again and to see their solidarity with Lana Wachowski. On the other hand, it took me right out of the movie to see them all. The movie didn’t go many places, so it was a little distracting to always see one of them onscreen. That might be because I adored Sense 8 though. On the other side of that, huge shout to casting Thelma Hopkins aka Aunt Rachel from Family Matters. Didn’t see that coming, and it was pretty cool.
Your Weakness is Not Your Technique
Yeah, it is. The fight choreography in Resurrections is so painfully weak and unintentional it hurts. Yuen Woo-Ping took months to teach each of the lead actors a particular martial arts discipline for the original trilogy, and it showed. None of that kind of artistic integrity shows up in any of the fight scenes. Typically, that wouldn’t matter, but this is The Matrix – the fights are as pivotal to the story as the dialogue. This was not it. Especially when your franchise is known for the clean fight work that is technically sound and easily seen. Resurrections had fight scenes that were so convoluted (on the bullet train in particular) with slowed shutter speed and close-ups just shy of a Jason Bourne movie. It was very Train to Busan but with none of the satisfaction. We’re not even going to discuss that random battle royale in the abandoned building with The Merovingian’s goons. Yikes.
Every Beginning Has an End
Empty character cameos and a weak story truly take away from the deeply philosophical, scrappy, and clever world the Wachowski’s designed to begin with. Like, how do you shortchange The Merovingian? How do you boil that character down to just complaining about social media? Somehow, this movie makes the gigantic world of The Matrix feel small and crowded. Super real talk, The Matrix Resurrections left me with the feeling that the Wachowski’s might’ve never really known how their work had spoken to the downtrodden and ostracized. The Matrix Resurrections comes across as an angry letter from an artist to a corporate giant, but not in a good way. A cinematic middle finger to their parent company that offends diehard fans yet entertains newcomers and (hopefully) piques interest in the previous movies.
P.S.: It Felt Like Dying
If you don’t know what impact The Matrix had on the refinement of my political views, peep here. Even if you didn’t know me from a femme in a red dress, you can read the disappointment in my spirit. This movie had all the tools it needed to be great. The lost potential here is staggering. In real life, where what the first Matrix posited as the scariest outcome for humanity is our actual day-to-day life; this movie couldn’t recall that idea. What could have been the most powerful place for a critical analysis of corporate media tactics, Resurrections makes fun of but then exemplifies. The movie becomes the exact same fluff the original movie forced you to question.
So much of what is wrong with this movie comes down to the beginning of the credits. The familiar electric guitar riffs swell with the political angst of the late-90s. Rising to a shrill but needed release into Rage Against The Machines’ classic song, the aptly titled, “Wake Up.” Only for a band other than RATM to hit that opening, “Come on!!!” lyric!?!?! Are you serious? Did y’all really do that? No shade to the band that performed the song, Brass Against. But you will never know the pain I felt in that moment unless you were there: Madison Square Garden in 2001 when Knicks legend Patrick Ewing missed an open layup on a fast break to give the San Antonio Spurs a championship.
The Matrix Resurrections really felt like a visual monologue of an ‘old head’ scoffing at the new technologies of the next generation. There are moments, few and far between, that remind audiences of The Matrix that was. However, everything in Resurrections falls short of any of the passion and drive of the message synonymous with the arc of the first trilogy. It really just falls short.
You can watch The Matrix Resurrections at home on HBOMax or brave movie theaters nationwide.
Cover Image via Vox.com
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