More and more these days, popular blockbuster films, or just films that are considered likely to draw an audience, like superhero films such as those in the MCU, and sequels to older popular films such as the upcoming Matrix 4, tend to throw in a lot of comedy. These films generally aren’t comedies in nature, but they add in a few jokes to lighten the seriousness of what else is happening. There are a number of reasons why this has become popular, be it an attempt to appeal to a wider audience, or simply to make the individual films and their characters more likable. Whatever the reason is, it has become a trend in modern Hollywood films.
The Matrix, now 20 years old, is considered one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time. It was made on a budget of $63 million, and it went on to earn $463 million worldwide in the box office. Its two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, made $742 million and $427 million respectively. There is virtually no point in the film (or even in its two sequels) where there is a joke onscreen or the characters have a laugh together about anything. The closest thing to a joke is in the first film, when the character Mouse attempts to pimp out his program, the woman in the red dress. Even this is addressed fairly seriously, with Mouse saying “to deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human. ” Because the original trilogy was not really comedic at all, one is forced to question if the new film will take on the trend of including comedy.
Hopefully, Matrix 4 will not try to be comedic and stick to the serious, philosophical, and action-focused attributes that made the original film so successful. The film won four Academy Awards, and the National Film Registry selected the film as worthy of preservation as American film history in 2012. The film was and still is hugely popular. So many lines and ideas from the movie are still being quoted today, and arguably, the film irrevocably changed action movies for the better. Prior to The Matrix, a ‘smart’ action movie was hard to come by. The film questions society and how the human race fits in with the rest of the world, and even exists as a trans allegory. It deals with issues regarding identity and self-image, and how those ideas differ between what it is in a person and what it is in the real world.
Everything in the film is so intense, and so important, and it is filled with moments that are almost overly serious. But that makes sense with regards to the subject matter of the film. Neo and the audience undergo a revelation about what the world really is and who he really is within it. Re-watching the trilogy today, it seems there are plenty of moments where the characters could make a joke and laugh at each other about the absurdity of what is going on and the sheer insanity of what they are capable of while in the Matrix, but they never do. They are all so serious and so committed to what they are doing, it helps the audience to feel the severity and the importance of the tasks they have in front of them.
Today, Keanu Reeves might be better known by the younger generation for his role as John Wick as opposed to Neo, but there would never have been Wick had it not been for Neo. Wick is almost a reflection of Neo in terms of his capabilities and personality. The first John Wick film was directed by two stunt choreographers, Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, but the sequels since have been directed just by Stahelski. He and Reeves met on the set of The Matrix, as Stahelski was hired as his stunt double for the film.
The original three films were written by Lana and Lilly Wachowski, but this fourth iteration is written by Lana, Aleksandar Hemon of The Lazarus Project, and David Mitchell of Cloud Atlas. The film is currently in post-production, and it has been announced that Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss will reprise their roles as Neo and Trinity from the original films. It will be interesting to see how this script will revive both Neo and Trinity in this script, as they both die in the third film of the original trilogy.
Alongside Reeves and Moss are Priyanka Chopra and Neil Patrick Harris. Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving, who played Morpheus and Agent Smith, will not be returning. Fishburne’s Morpheus apparently was not a character in the script for the fourth installment, and although Agent Smith initially was, Weaving couldn’t fit the project into his schedule. It is difficult to imagine The Matrix without Morpheus and Agent Smith, but to be fair, they weren’t really in The Matrix Revolutions very much either.
It is true that humor can save a film. This is clear from projects like Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok. Hopefully, though, the upcoming Matrix 4 will first and foremost stick to what made the original film so great when it was made, and only resort to comedy if it really has to.
The fourth Matrix film is projected to be released on December 22, 2021.
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