Lawrence Fishburne finally gives his verdict on The Matrix 4 with a backhanded compliment

Laurence Fishburne has finally given his hot take on The Matrix: Resurrections and it's kind of a backhanded compliment.

While speaking with Variety, the three-time Emmy Award-winning actor revealed that he found the latest Matrix flick slightly underwhelming.

He said: “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. And it wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be.

"But I thought Carrie-Anne and Keanu really did their thing. Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

Well, at least he had something nice to say.

When asked if he felt he missed out on an opportunity not being a part of the fourth instalment, Fishburne simply said: “No, not really.”

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The actor was replaced by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Morpheus for the fourth instalment to the franchise, while Jonathan Groff took on the role of Agent Smith, which was previously held by Aussie actor Hugo Weaving.

Fishburne told The Wrap that he had not been invited back to film the sequel.

But, despite this, Fishburne insisted there was no bad blood between him and the rest of the cast and crew. 

He told the outlet: “I have not been invited. Maybe that will make me write another play. I wish them well. I hope it’s great.”

'You have to let it all go', as Morpheus would say. 

He added: “It is probably the role that I’ll be best remembered for, which is great; it’s not the only thing I’ll be remembered for, which is better.

"What I get with him is I’ve got Darth Vader in this hand, and I’ve got Obi-Wan in that hand. I’ve got Bruce Lee, I’ve got Muhammad Ali shuffled in there, and I’ve got kung fu.”

Warner Bros.

In 2020, while speaking to Film, Weaving admitted that he had reservations about returning to the Lana Wachowski franchise.

He said: “I really wanted to know why we were doing it and what's to be gained, apart from making money [laughs]. 

“I don't mean me; I mean Warner Bros.

"But there's got to be a good reason to revisit a franchise, and it was wonderful, the first Matrix and then doing V for Vendetta and Cloud Atlas—I felt very much a part of their family.”

While The Matrix: Resurrections has opened the possibility for another instalment, don’t expect Hugo and Laurence to sign on anytime soon.

Jonathan and Yahya, you might just have to pull out the black shades once again.