The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

Title: The Matrix: Resurrections

Year: 2021

Genre: Action | Sci-Fi | 

Runtime: 148 min

Director: Lana Wachowski

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Neil Patrick Harris

5.7/10

A WORTHLESS CASH-GRAB

When the first The Matrix–film first came during the late 90s, it resonated in a major way with the audience, causing a frenzy, unlike any other franchise. The style, the story, the acting which also launched a certified career for Keanu Reeves, is still considered to this day a modern classic. It revolutionized the special effects and triumphed over the market for its nuanced storytelling is mesmerizing visuals. It was popular for sure and after the second and third premiered; they were worse than received. It did not resonate with its complex story structure with the audience for its time. The story got too complex.

In one way, despite this film taking place 60 years after the war against the machines, it continues in the footsteps of the third film. With Lana Wachowski returning as the director. Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss return to their roles as Neo and Trinity respectively, causing some excitement for a soft reboot and a sequel after the death of the main character. However, in this film, the death didn’t take place, or the character was brought in some unsettling way back from the dead in an unreasonable way. The director has had a weird admiration for these two characters and their passion for each other.

Laurence Fishburne is not back, Hugo Weaving is not back either. New actors are playing both Morpheus and Smith. Both Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jonathan Groff make a decent impression on their predecessor’s role. But this film is confusing enough that their existence in this film is worthless. A lot of the story is weak and consorted, it doesn’t resemble the essence of mystic, love, and action-filled sci-fi story that the first trilogy had. It drives from it.

What Neil Patrick Harris undisclosed role in this reality-bending universe doesn’t help either. What he is and is supposed to be to move the story forward is never concretely presented satisfactorily. He’s the bad crook and the devil in the story. We get that, but why he doesn’t is explored good enough. He’s a bot.

The sci-fi part with the immensely visual effects gets tiresome during the climactic scenes, within the final act, are cheap. The overall decent acting from Moss helps the story while Reeves is sleeping in most of his scenes.

Overall, the performance is good and tolerable. The story is still confusing, and we don’t need more movies. We don’t want a fifth film. The trilogy is what it is. It has its flaws with the distorted sequels, but it was far more genuine storytelling-wise. Maybe this film is for the hardcore fans who pay anything for Warner Bros and their cash-grabbing productions.