Neo is reborn inside a new Matrix and must find a way to free
Trinity while also figuring out how they've come back to life. ACTION/SCI-FI
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The Matrix Resurrections (2021)Directed by Lana Wachowski
Written by Lana Wachowski, David Mitchell, Aleksander Hemon Starring Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Jessica Henwick, Neil Patrick Harris, Jada Pinkett Smith, Priyanka Chopra Jonas Sequel to 2003's The Matrix Revolutions |
Apparently the Wachowskis do their best work together, and I guess it's Lilly that knows how to translate philosophical bullshit into a coherent narrative. Without her, Lana apparently is left floundering. Nobody needed a fourth Matrix film, but the trailer looked promising. Nobody will argue the greatness of the first film, and I'll admit Reloaded and Revolutions have won me over with time. But this? Resurrections reeks of desperation. It makes even less sense than I expected and undermines the ending of the third film in more ways than one. Not to mention Keanu Reeves's blatantly phoned-in performance. Simply put, this movie is pretty awful.
Sometime after Neo's sacrifice that ended the war between Zion and the machines, the machines decided to resurrect Neo and Trinity and plug them back in because they make extra special batteries. Yup, that's the big mystery. Neo and Trinity are then trapped in a new Matrix run by a flamboyant new architect (Harris). Also, there's a new Agent Smith (Groff, who isn't awful but he's no Hugo), who is all about sounding hip and completely non-threatening. Most of the film drags and tries to win audiences over by throwing out references to the original three movies. Hell, a good chunk of the film is just footage from those films. Laurence Fishburne has been replaced by a younger model for reasons unknown, and the new supporting cast are nowhere near as memorable as the original batch of characters. There's just so little to enjoy. I wanted so badly to like The Matrix Resurrections. But everything that made the Matrix franchise stand out (the unique score, the cinematography, the originality) is all gone. It's been replaced by the same old shit, and the film attempts to justify that by pointing it out constantly. Shit that realizes it's shit is still shit, folks. Hopefully we can just let this franchise die now. |