By Mark Saldana
Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars)
It would seem that, after the events of The Matrix Revolutions, there would be no way to relaunch this movie franchise. However, thanks to the creativitiy and visionary mind of Lana Wachowski, there is always a way to reboot a movie saga that both celebrates and has fun with what was done in the past, while launching the story arc forward into mostly new territory. That said; this new installment of the popular series manages to mostly succeed, but does have its weakness. And that particular flaw has mostly to do with this movie’s reliance on what was already accomplished and the fan service and nostalgia that comes with this franchise’s success.
Many years after the massive war between humanity and artificial intelligence, the Matrix still exists with most of humanity lost and clueless in within the same construct revealed in the previous movies. Despite the valiant efforts of the resistance, led by Morpheus and Neo, things actually haven’t changed all too much. Neo (Keanu Reeves), who miraculously and initially inexplicably lives his new life within the Matrix currently works as a successful video game designer and developer, whose biggest success is a game based on the experiences of his past life. As a new resistance rises to challenge the latest version of the Matrix, the people behind this new rebellion reach out to “Tom Anderson” and hope hope he can rise up once again to challenge the A.I. that continues to oppress humanity, as he once did many years in the past.
Written and directed by Lana Wachowski, who co-wrote the screenplay with David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hernon, The Matrix Resurrections proves to be a mostly welcome reunion with a beloved and celebrated franchise which had a big impact on movie audiences decades ago. With style, panache, meta-humor, wild ideas, gorgeous visuals, and incendiary action, Resurrections is a movie that is guaranteed to please most fans of the series, but will probably bewilder and possibly annoy casual fans. My main complaint, as I noted above, is that the writers rely way too much on beats, sequences, and actual scenes that call back moments from the previous films. Despite this gripe, I certainly enjoyed this revisit to the franchise, and would love to see an another installment or two to get some closure that this re-opening of “Pandora’s box” deserves.
It gave me great pleasure to see both Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss reprise their roles as Neo and Trinity, but present a different glimpse of their characters as they are both lost and trapped with the Matrix. The movie allows the actors to show much more vulnerable sides to their characters and how they must re-discover their strengths and courage to become the saviors of humanity. I was also pleased with the newcomers to this franchise, all of whom perform wonderfully.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II performs admiraby as the new Morpheus. I could give more details as to why a new actor was cast in this role, but that would reveal a little too much about the movie’s story and plot. Abdul-Mateen not only superbly recreates the qualities and traits of Laurence Fishburne’s character, but bring something different that still works exceptionally. As Bugs, a brash and courageous new member of the resistance, Jessica Henwick brings to the character the proper grit and attitude the character needs. As Smith, Tom Anderson’s business partner in the Matrix, Jonathan Groff channels some familiar territory beautifullly while displaying some skills and talents of his own. Finally, I was also wowed by the extraordinary turn by Neil Patrick Harris as Tom Anderson’s unnamed analyst. As Anderson struggles with visions and flashbacks of his previous life, Harris offers counseling, but has some motives of his own.
As The Matrix Resurrections is one of those movies tailor made for the cinema, I would normally highly recommend that my readers definitely experience this movie in their cinema of choice. However, given the unfortunate resurgence of COVID-19 cases, I would suggest that people go see this knowing that there is a potential risk. The movie is not only available in local cinema’s, it is also available for viewing on HBOMax. Either way, I believe that fans of this series are in for a great time.