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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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The post ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
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
Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you? Sign up here! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram!
The post ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Beyond the limitations of daily life, which in many cases carries trauma, insecurities, conflicts, and worries with it, Belle introduces another realm where seemingly anything is possible. However, starting over isn’t always as blissful as it seems.
Award-winning director Mamoru Hosada is known for the successful films Wolf Children, The Boy and The Beast, and more at Studio Chizu. The Japanese name for Belle (Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime) translates to The Dragon and Freckled Princess and is based on the 1756 fairytale, Beauty and the Beast.
While there’s certainly a lot of heart to this film, it’s not quite like the classic “tale as old as time” that some fans know well. Whether you’ve read the traditional fairytale by French writer Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont or watched the Disney Beauty and the Beast, this film adds its own technological and social-media flair that makes for something never before seen.
There are so many genres going on in Belle’s plot, which creates a huge risk that the story will feel cluttered and overpacked. The 2-hour film takes on the ambitious task of filling several plot holes without leaving any loose ends, which for the most part works.
The movie is centered around seventeen-year-old high school student Suzu Naito (Kaho Nakamura) who lives in Kochi, a rural district in Japan. Suzu is offered a new path in life on “U,” a popular virtual world that offers users a chance to live as a new person.
Each U member is given an avatar based on their biometric information and hidden talents. In the real world, Suzu has gone through a great deal of loss and feels invisible at school, but on U, she’s a beautiful girl named Belle, meaning beautiful, with freckles and a mesmerizing singing voice.
However, the world of U reveals that while some people can forge new identities, it takes a lot more to change who they are and the lives they lead both on and off-screen. When a mysterious figure named the Dragon crashes one of Belle’s concerts, Suzu must unravel a dark force that prevails beyond her new virtual life.
The anime film does well in several ways, with an intriguing plot, complex characters, impressive animation, and enjoyable music. There may be a few predictable moments or convenient twists, but it’s altogether a must-see movie for anime fans.
The Plot
The plot is engaging from the beginning, as it immerses people into something similar to a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) but also engages with anyone who adores something a bit more on the theatrical side.
There’s generally themes that reach across genres offering action, slice-of-life, drama, comedy, romance, anime teen romance especially, and more. Quite simply, the movie doesn’t settle for a specific genre and is allowed to be whatever it wants to become, similarly to the possibilities of the virtual world it introduces.
Some parts are a bit rougher than others, as worlds collide and the classic fairy tale meets Hosada’s unique writing and world-building style. The satisfying thing about it is that it doesn’t need to completely make sense to be gratifying. The point isn’t for people to understand all of the rules and logistics of how U works and interrogate it as a flawed system, similar to anime series like .hack//SIGN and Sword Art Online have previously done.
The film meets Hosada’s standard formula without being bland. There’s tragedy, a lot of beast stuff, and satisfactory twists and turns.
Complex Characters
Belle introduces a lot of characters, a significant amount of backstory and chemistry to unpack as it balances both Suzu and Belle’s relationships, sometimes blurring the lines between the two. There’s a recurring question: Who is Belle? However, the answer is much more difficult to answer than even Suzu realizes.
She’s a teenager exploring her own identity, coming of age, relationships, school, and more while balancing an online persona who has her own set of obstacles, which means there are characters interacting with both of her identities.
There’s Suzu’s best friend Hiroka Betsuyaku who just so happens to be a computer genius, her childhood friend who’s also her crush, Shinobu Hisatake the popular girl she envies, Ruka Watabe and her goofy athlete classmate Shinjiro Chikami, some motherly choir ladies, and her father, whom she barely speaks to after a tragedy. Then, there are the relationships forged as Belle, particularly when it comes to the Dragon.
So, to say the least, there is a lot to juggle. Yet Hosada makes sure everyone is accounted for. While some things are left open-ended, the characters are constantly developing as their stories broaden instead of going stale or static. There’s a payoff that may seem completely predictable at first; some of it is, but the film ultimately has some unconventional conclusions.
Impressive Animation
While the animation isn’t the best out there, it’s pretty aesthetically pleasing, especially when it comes to the world of U. For those looking for a colorful MMO-like world with various avatars, comment bubbles, chat boxes and other video game meets social media and anime vibes, it’s going to be a pleasant ride. While anime movies in different realms and worlds aren’t unique, there’s something fresh and new about this one that’s truly eye-catching. It may be because Studio Chizu recruited Disney animation and character designers Jin Kim and Michael Camacho to create U and Belle.
Enjoyable Music
One thing this film doesn’t sell anyone short of is music. Suzu’s relationship with music makes Belle’s voice all the more powerful. Music is at the heart of the film, but it isn’t the Disney singing that many people think of when they imagine the Belle. The singing style is similar to J-Pop and matches the futuristic virtual world.
Like most other musicals, the songs move the story forward and build intimacy between characters. They embrace the vulnerability of being who they are at their core without hiding or changing. In Belle, music isn’t just for the sake of music; it’s used to represent Suzu’s own personal transformation and growth.
Verdict
While Hosada sticks pretty close to his usual formula, this film still manages to be unique, engaging, and heartfelt. There are some parts of the plot that could have been stronger, but it reflects an overall depth and development that fosters entertaining characters, animation, music and multiple genres that have the potential to engage anime fans.
Belle will arrive in theaters nationwide on January 14.