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PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of The Matrix Resurrections (Johnny Klimek/Tom Tykwer)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you've been clamoring to hear how Hans Zimmer would
score a film in the franchise of The Matrix, this entry supplying
token references to Don Davis' existing material but achieving none of
the same intelligence.
Avoid it... if logic correctly tells you that the absence of Davis would probably be felt in this score, for his music is badly adapted and his pivotal identity for Neo and Trinity is unacceptably absent.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
The Matrix Resurrections: (Johnny Klimek/Tom
Tykwer/Various) For years, Warner Brothers hassled Lana and Lilly
Wachowski (formerly Larry and Andy prior to their transition) about the
possibility of creating a fourth film in the celebrated science fiction
franchise of The Matrix, but they long refused. Only after the
passing of their parents did Lana Wachowski change her mind, seeing the
characters from the franchise as a renewed nostalgic and comforting
connection to the heart. The return of Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss
as the leading couple in The Matrix Resurrections launched the
project into its destined place as an examination of the cyclical,
rebooted nature of the film's Matrix idea. That concept from 1999 still
stands among the most original ever explored in cinema, and its sequels
revealed the possibility for endless iterations of the story for future
generations. The interplay between Neo and Trinity in The Matrix
Resurrections has immense emotional appeal, while new depictions of
a fortified Matrix and humanity's battle against it drive continued
scenes of altered-reality fighting. Losing Hugo Weaving and Laurence
Fishburne from the newly shot material is definitely a detriment, but
the franchise has reached such mythical status with audiences that their
relegation to archival footage won't likely matter. One aspect of The
Matrix Resurrections not returning to the concept's former glory is
its original music. Regardless of your opinion about the listenability
of Don Davis' scores for the first three films, they remain some of the
most intelligently conceived music in a generation, applying structural
concepts with extraordinary care and thought even if the end result is
not always palatable. Since 2003, however, Lana Wachowski had preferred
a close working relationship with the composing and directing duo of
Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer, their collaboration highlighted by
Cloud Atlas. Klimek had often scored Tykwer's films, with the
latter contributing to the music in some capacity.
Despite earning critical praise for Cloud Atlas and Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, the music resulting from Klimek and Tykwer has often underachieved. The duo had not provided music for any films in the three years prior to The Matrix Resurrections. One cannot fault Wachowski for seeking a continued collaboration with these men; there is some sense in applying Klimek's electronica background to this concept, and Tykwer had provided a track to The Matrix: Revolutions. But the end result clearly shows a massive step backwards in intellectual prowess in the music for The Matrix Resurrections, Davis' complicated approach to musically representing the various reflections of the two universes in the story largely abandoned in favor of a more conventional action-thriller score. Klimek and Tykwer are joined by four additional writers, the most significant results of this assistance heard in three major cues contributed to by Gene Pritsker and two by Justin Bell, that duo orchestrating the score as well. There is clearly an intent by these composers to carry over the motifs and instrumental style from Davis' scores in The Matrix Resurrections, but their endeavor sounds much more like a love letter to Hans Zimmer than a smart continuation of Davis' musical world. There are token references to actual techniques and motifs by Davis in this work, but they do not define it. In fact, the score sounds as though it was crafted as a conventional Zimmer-inspired knock-off and then layered with various elements of Davis' music where deemed necessary. The foundation of the work is still grounded by pounding bass notes on key, generic string ostinatos, and elongated crescendos, all standard Zimmer fare. The frequent use of the dreaded Zimmer "horn of doom" from low brass is so humorously over-applied here that one might get the impression that the horn of doom is multiplying faster than Weaving's Agent Smith from the original trilogy. If you give these people enough time, perhaps subsequent scores will only consist of the horn of doom alone as all the other elements of the composition become infected by it. The adherence to basic Zimmer techniques in The Matrix Resurrections is disturbing enough on its own, but other aspects of the score aren't much better. There are occasional references to the slapping percussion of Dario Marianelli's V for Vendetta. These passages and those that outright ape the earlier Davis scores suggest that Klimek and Tykwer were likely working from a temp track of such music. The emulation of passages from the Davis scores is particularly pronounced in "Opening - The Matrix Resurrections," with more pinpointed references thereafter. Comparing "Opening - The Matrix Resurrections" to its inspiration is painful, frankly, as Klimek and Tykwer don't even get the straight imitations correct. The opening logos music of the franchise is damn-near sacred, and the combination of Davis' rumbling piano, metallic percussion, and polychord brass alternations over the top is an extraordinarily unique and recognizable calling card for the franchise. Klimek and Tykwer don't even get this first five seconds right, inexplicably dropping the piano and switching the metallic sounds to lighter chimes, which ruins the effect leading into the polychord alternations. Later renditions of Davis' material will strike you the same way, the music recognizable but not sounding quite right, like a cheap imitation. For many viewers, this intellectual budget approach to the score will suffice, especially as for many of them, the song placements and many score remixes are the more interesting attraction. But for film score collectors, The Matrix Resurrections fails to stimulate the senses or the brain, the London recordings presenting the orchestra and choir in only moderately decent shades and the electronic rhythms sweetening the tone boringly. If you strip away the Davis references, there would be no difference between this music and dozens of other mundane action scores for lesser movies. Klimek and Tykwer introduce a new collection of motifs for this generation of the franchise, though don't expect any of them to be as memorable as those from Davis' trilogy. Some listeners may not even pick up on them, as their progressions are rather generic and performed without any emphasis or distinction. The references to Davis' material in The Matrix Resurrections remains the highlight, albeit a diluted one, and all of this incorporation seems to point back to only the first score. The influences exist in six of the major cues, "Opening - The Matrix Resurrections" saturated with the heaviest dose of them as previously mentioned. The brass main theme of symmetrical major-minor chords for the franchise is followed by other straight emulations throughout the rest of the cue. A brief statement of that main brass motif pops up at the ends of "The Dojo" and "Factory Fight," the latter also offering string rhythms and brass figures from Davis' era. Hints of the main motif lace the latter half of "Simulatte Brawl" as well. By "Swarm," Klimek and Tykwer shift to Davis' monumental discovery motif of tonal magnificence, heard at 1:21 into that cue and at 2:37 into "My Dream Ended Here." The accelerating rhythm over massive tonal chords in this motif is nice to hear reprised. Both of those cues also reference Davis' use of rising brass figures for action as well. More generally, the dissonant layers of trumpets for sentinels periodically returns, as do wildly swirling strings for the reality-altering aspects of chasing or fighting. What you do not hear in The Matrix Resurrections is Davis' love theme for Neo and Trinity even though it was very careful nurtured and developed over all three previous films. This theme is a lastingly gorgeous identity, one left unfinished until the scene of Trinity's death and begging for additional treatment. The absence of this theme here is totally inexcusable, for their relationship, although seen through a different lens, definitely deserves the resurrection of their theme for the attraction they still feel for each other. In fact, when the characters struggle to determine why they sense a connection early in the narrative, the theme must be there to help guide them on that journey. For some, Klimek and Tykwer's score will be disqualified entirely by this strategic error alone. The new themes they instead supply for Neo and Trinity, among other concepts, are weakly constructed and poorly stated. There are glimmers of hope, as in the replacement Neo and Trinity theme also being based on tentative three-note phrases like Davis' idea, but that's simply not enough to carry the meaning forward. A new main theme by Klimek and Tykwer for The Matrix Resurrections has some semblances of a heroic identity, but despite having that three-note tendency in the major key by its end, it's not closely enough tied to the previous character theme to be considered an extension. The idea takes a long time to find itself, which is fine given the narrative, mostly stewing during the entirety of "Meeting Trinity." Fragments of the motif on piano at 2:24 into "It's in My Mind" yield to chaos by the cue's end. Additional piano pieces of the theme are conveyed at 0:39 into "Set and Setting," continuing to hints late in "The Dojo." A variant is suggested in the choral fantasy at the end of "Enter IO," and slight fragments on violins in the middle of "Enter IO" become more resolute by the end of the cue. The motif gains traction in the crescendo to end "Escape" but dissolves to fragments over early dissonance in "Factory Fight." Continued meanderings persist early in "Bullet Time" and finally achieve major choral appeal by 2:26 into "Simulatte Brawl." Interestingly, Klimek and Tykwer's "Neo and Trinity Theme" remix does not reference this identity but instead a positive twist on their own theme for the Matrix and Agent Smith. This quasi-love theme uses the same descending notes as the new Matrix theme and has some yearning qualities, but the theme is simply too inert due to its slow pacing. The idea debuts rather late, at 0:40 into "I Can't Be Her," repeating simplistically until a big choral crescendo. It is reprised in much the same form early in "My Dream Ended Here," strings and light choir carrying it in sadness. The idea repeats throughout cue and simply gets louder without any development, a true Zimmer technique. The melody extends to only the latter half of the "Neo and Trinity Theme" remix. These two themes don't achieve any discernable purpose because of their disturbing lack of development. Like the action rhythms, these melodies often end the score in much the same format as they had earlier, with only volume and intensity increased to drive home the point of their existence. On the other hand, their placements do offer more tonally palatable moments like the end of "Simulatte Brawl," where major key choral accessibility is supplied like a piece of candy. The absence of challenging layers to these moments again separates this music from that of Davis. A new theme of menace for the Matrix pounds away in true Zimmer form throughout The Matrix Resurrections, its descending four note phrase inelegantly stomping into the picture. It's first heard in slightly electronic, slow progressions at 4:41 into "Opening - The Matrix Resurrections," but its main introduction comes at 1:23 into "Set and Setting." It recurs under slashing action rhythms at 2:59 into "Factory Fight," on low strings at 2:50 into "Bullet Time," and in fragments near the start of "Recruiting," after which it struggles to switch to its positive alter ego over swirling strings. With the phrasing shifting to ascending figures in the latter half of that cue, the character theme above is born. Low brass belch out the idea with repeated notes for emphasis at 0:55 into "Infiltration." A common action rhythm exists throughout the score as well, heard in the second half of "Two and the Same," the middle of "I Fly or I Fall," in light plucking to open "Inside IO," late in "Escape," and during the second half of "Simulatte Brawl." This technique is separate from the straight Zimmer "horn of doom" foghorn effects; these passages infect the totally generic "It's in My Mind," and the duo of "Into the Train" and "Exit the Pod" play like an oddball combination of 90% Zimmer and 10% Davis styling. The latter cue's pounding bass notes with choir, along with the low brass phrases equally stomping away in "Sky Scrape" are really poorly handled. The foghorn blast at 1:40 into "Enter IO" is conceived as a stinger, and it's so totally unneeded that it becomes funny. Fans of modern action not only hear Zimmer in these cues, but there's a touch of John Powell's tired ostinatos for the Jason Bourne franchise in "I like Tests," too. Overall, Klimek and Tykwer don't completely flunk this assignment, but they are clearly no match for Davis' intelligence. On album, over 77 minutes of music is joined by more than an hour of remixes of various score tracks that will have little appeal to film music collectors. In fact, the source inspiration for these tracks is so generic that one can't tell the difference between the techno remixes in many cases. The incorporation of some of Davis' material here is appreciated, but its handling is sloppy, and the lack of Davis' love theme for Neo and Trinity in this score remains a massive point of frustration. More importantly, though, this music reveals once again the negative impacts of Zimmer's influence on conceptions of how film scores should sound. This franchise should not have to suffer music of the lowest common denominator. **
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 147:00
(Score total time: 77:20)
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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