The Matrix Resurrections – Interesting Sequel
Director: Lana Wachowski
Writer: Lana Wachowski, David Mitchell, Aleksandar Hemon (Screenplay)
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Jessica Henwick, Neil Patrick Harris, Jada Pinkett Smith, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christina Ricci
Plot: Return to a world of two realities: one, everyday life; the other, what lies behind it. To find out if his reality is a construct, to truly know himself, Mr. Anderson will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more.
Tagline – It’s been another life, beyond the one…
Runtime: 2 Hours 28 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Matrix Resurrections starts as Thomas Anderson (Reeves) a genius game designer who created a trilogy of games, finds himself questioning his own reality after getting a visit from Bugs (Henwick).
Bugs has been searching for Neo for years, now she has located Morpheus (Abdul-Mateen II), she can finally track down Neo to help him escape the Matrix and learn the truth about his connection to Trinity (Moss).
Thoughts on The Matrix Resurrections
Characters & Performances – Thomas Anderson is the genius game designer who is starting to struggle with his own reality, until he starts getting signs about his true self, Neo. Once he is out of the Matrix, he will learn the impact of his sacrifice and what it meant to a generation of people, what it changed in the world and why he has been bought back. Keanu Reeves will always be remembered for this role, you can see why he works so well for decades in this role, but it doesn’t feel like he gets to reach the potential he made Neo in the past. Trinity is now Tiffany inside the Matrix, married with children, she like Thomas doesn’t remember each other, she is the target of the search for Neo, as the question will be whether she can return to neo after all these years away. Carrie-Anne Moss is great here, almost getting to turn her role around while holding back on the combat side of everything involved. When it comes to the supporting cast Bugs is the standout, being the one that leads the search for Neo, putting her own position in the real-world home. We do get a returning Smith who has his own interesting arc, while Morpheus does feel underutilized, despite having a different design, which is one of the more unique aspects of the film. Nobody in these roles is bad, with a new look cast in these roles working if there was going to be more to come in the future.
Story – The story here follows Neo who has been put back into the Matrix, as he starts to see his world unfold again, where he will look to learn about what has changed in this world he saved before. This is a story that will rely on the fact you know what has happened in the franchise before, while spinning what started it in the first place on its head through a different world creation. It will constantly flash up reminders of what happened in those films too, which can become frustrating at times, pushing for the idea of undying love between Neo and Trinity. This does feel like a larger experience of how people are pulled out of the Matrix in the first place, rather than the bigger picture unfolding. This story will also have plenty of on the nose points about sequels, reboots and cashing in, which don’t work for the film.
Themes – The Matrix Resurrections is a sci-fi action film that will use the modern technology to replace certain factors used in the first trilogy, stepping away from payphone, turning to mirrors, while using a unique way to bring Morpheus to the big screen in the real-world. When it comes to the action in this film, nothing feels fresh, the slow-motion involved does feel overused, not gaining the shock effect we had from the original moments, becoming the largely forgettable part of the film.
Final Thoughts – The Matrix Resurrections is a sequel with plenty of ideas, a nice spin on what we were left with, but offers little in the action side of things.