The Fantasy Review’s list of The Matrix movies ranked, from worst to best.
The Matrix movies by the Wachowski sisters is one of the most influential and groundbreaking science fiction movie franchises of all time.
Until recently, I had not watched the 2021 sequel, Resurrections, so I went back and rewatched the original trilogy before diving into Lana Wachowski’s sequel.
Ranking The Matrix Movies
#4 – The Matrix: Revolutions (2003)
The third movie in The Matrix franchise is not bad, but it does falter where the others succeed. I don’t envy any writer in writing a finale to a trilogy like this.
The issue with this film is it feels like an extended final act to the second movie, Reloaded. The plot structure is weak, and unlike the other entries in this list, it has very little to say.
Big, epic battles between men and machines can be fun, but this was hardly Helm’s Deep. And how we are left as the credits roll leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
#3 – The Matrix: Reloaded (2003)
Or, as I like to call it, “The Matrix Finale, Part 1” – don’t lie to yourselves guys.
Reloaded has nearly everything that Revolutions doesn’t. The search for, and then protection of, The Keymaker is an exciting, enjoyable thrillride, allowing Carrie-Anne Moss to blow everyone away with her performance on the highway.
This sequel loses some of the intrigue and deeper philosophical insights we looked at in the original movie, but it holds up as a fun, action sci-fi film, with enough food for thought to keep us satiated.
Think of Reloaded as the Aliens of the Alien franchise. It’s the bigger, louder sequel to a quieter and more thoughtful original. But it ain’t bad.
#2 – The Matrix: Resurrections (2021)
I’m not sure if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but Resurrections resurrects the deep thought and care from the original 1999 movie to give us a satisfying ending to the series – at last.
With a franchise so beloved, I don’t think anyone is going to be 100% happy with every part of this sequel, but as the first thirty minutes of meta-analysis tell us: no one ever is.
However, I was blown away. The politics in the new human city in the real world were a little forced and not the strongest part, but luckily there’s not much of that to deal with.
Essentially, Resurrections feels like a movie about star-crossed lovers pretending to be a deep, philosophical science fiction narrative, while actually being a deep, philosophical science fiction narrative, and I’m not mad about it.
#1 – The Matrix (1999)
Nothing will beat the original The Matrix from 1999, and I don’t think anyone is surprised. This is the film where the premise is laid out and the writers can just have fun exploring that, without worrying about how to end a longer narrative.
Much like stories like The Hunger Games, this first narrative arc is the strongest because it can focus on the raw ideas. The Matrix does nothing else, and that’s why it’s one of the greatest stories ever told.
The problem with sequels to “one of the greatest stories ever told” is they rarely, if ever, live up to the original.
