WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Matrix Resurrections, now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
The Matrix Resurrections continues the tradition outlined in the first film -- red vs. blue. In the original Matrix, Morpheus offers Neo a red pill that takes him to the real world and a blue pill that keeps him ignorant in the Matrix. In the franchise’s latest installment, a new Morpheus offers Neo the same choice, but the play on blue and red doesn’t stop there.
Throughout Resurrections, audiences can see obvious and more subtle uses of red and blue that the director, Lana Wachowski, uses to signal whether something is real or a part of the Matrix. When this new version of Neo is introduced, he lives in a cool-toned world where he works designing games. His office has blue walls, his co-workers are wearing blue clothes, and of course, he’s taking the blue pills. The person prescribing those blue pills wears striking blue glasses. All of this reflects the fact that Neo is inside the Matrix. In fact, the very doctor he’s been talking to about his “episodes,” which are glimpses into his past, is the Analyst -- the designer of Neo’s prison and fake life within the system.
But even before Neo's introduction, the blue is there. Bug’s hair is blue inside the Matrix, and the world itself carries that blue tint. Even things in the background are blue. It’s particularly clear when Neo is conversing with Trinity about his game. As people and cars go by behind her, they are all blue. But, as their conversation continues and Neo begins to question what’s going on internally, trickles of red start to come in.
Red coats and vehicles signal this change in Neo, and audiences can see a lot more of it as Resurrections goes on. Agent Smith awakens during a fight at the office, and a bright red wall backlights him. The barista at the coffee shop reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is wearing red glasses with a red patterned shirt. She is the child program he encountered in the third film.
When Neo wakes up in his pod in the real world, it’s apparent that red represents reality. The entire scene is filled with the harsh, red glow of the pods, and the sentinels’ eyes are a glowing red. It’s beautiful the way the setting gradually shows more and more red pops until it abruptly changes to an entirely crimson world. The choice to do this is a subtle way to clue the audience in to the trick. The weight of the oppressive blue Matrix is tangible, and the glaring neon red highlights the harsh nature of the real world.
The message the colors send is two-fold. Blue is often a soothing, calming color, so it’s no wonder the Analyst would choose blue to bathe his world. The blue is lulling people into a false sense of security and happiness. Red, however, is a lively color attached to feelings of anger and passion. While outside the Matrix might be real, that doesn’t make it great. It’s the entire appeal of the Matrix. It’s easy and gentle, whereas the real world is complicated and dangerous.
But Neo’s brain can’t stay fooled forever. As time drags on inside the simulation, he starts to see more and more of the flaws and inconsistencies of the Matrix. He starts to see the one thing that is truly real to him above anything else -- Trinity. After all, the other strong emotion attached to red is love, and the love Neo has for Trinity is the most important thing to him. Trinity grounds him in reality while giving him something to aspire to outside of the false hopes of the Matrix.
It’s also important to note that there is a balance between blue and red at the end of the film. The sky is a colorful sunrise, and it's the first one audiences see as Trinity soars through the sky. Trinity confronts the Analyst in a broken building with red exposed brick and multicolored carpets and walls. The line between blue and red is blurry now, and the rigid structure of the Analyst’s Matrix is gone. Audiences can see that things have changed and that Neo and Trinity will be moving the world toward a better place. Now, they get to “paint the sky with rainbows.”
If you want to see the use of color for yourself, The Matrix Resurrections is available now in theaters and on HBO Max.