Directed By Lana Wachowski

Starring – Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II

The Plot – Returning 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 (Reeves) will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more.

Rated R for violence and some adult language

the matrix resurrections trailer – YouTube

“Nothing comforts anxiety like a little nostalgia” – Morphius (The Matrix Resurrections)

POSITIVES

As many things that change about this once prominent property, it’s those that remain the same that are most effective in replicating its familiarity. In this perspective, the expansive world-building is once again the commanding factor here, illustrating The Matrix with a balance of lore and logic that not only echoes the movements of this environment during our years away from it, but also in solidifying its stark contrast from the world we call home. This is realized with a combination of practical and computer-generated backdrops and set designs that vividly articulate the magnitude of the war that is inevitably set to take shape, complete with a particular sense of identity in its variation of color schemes that outline the fantastical approaches to its scientific capabilities. In addition to this, the immersive blanketing of detailed sound design, with all of its whizzing bullets and contacting limbs, surrounds our ears with a marriage of volume and velocity that fleshes out the urgency and vulnerability of every engagement, all the while allowing us to interpret more about the stakes and consequences as a result of the devastation that we’re audibly entranced by. Aside from the technical merits, the performances are equally hit or miss, but Reeves proves that he can still embody Neo with relative ease, capturing the physical side seamlessly, but surprisingly the emotional side exponentially in a way that provides growth for the character amongst the decades-passing tragedy. Moss is also impactful, even with a minimal amount of screen time at her disposal, and the connection she shares with Reeves elicits an endearing sentimentality that is made all the more beneficial with the cross-world chemistry in the balance of its narrative, especially as one that defies everything about The Matrix when stripped down to its core. Finally, while the concepts of this self-aware meta structure didn’t reach its truest potential, I did appreciate it as Wachowski’s own commentary on everything from the media, to studio intrusion, to even fan theories about the series, which often convolutes and distorts what this franchise was able to accomplish. It certainly takes the evolution of the sequel in ways I truly wasn’t expecting from the trailers, allowing the resonating emphasis of the conflict itself to transcend far beyond the clutches of The Matrix, for a socially conscious imagining with no shortage of talking points to enhance audience experience.

NEGATIVES

This sequel doesn’t persist without a buffet of problems, however, as the profound punch of its previous predecessors is exchanged for a heavy-handed delivery that is the mere definition of spoon-feeding. This is where the misery of fan service comes into play, as not only are scenes from previous films replicated beat for beat in the context of this fourth installment, but the original scenes themselves LITERALLY play out on a screen above a lot of these sequences, in case you missed the similarities of their aspects. In addition to this, the film has no faith in its audience to grasp certain characters and subplots, so each time one is introduced to the forefront of the dynamic, it is spliced painfully with a shot from the previous films to coherently render remembrance to the interpretation. It makes it trivially unnecessary for any new fans to watch those previous three films because we’re shown literally everything that happened with those throughout this film, and in doing such comparisons diminishes what about this one is memorable enough to stand in that flock. Beyond the heavy-handed visual cues, the action sequences themselves are sadly nothing to write home about, as a result of claustrophobic angles, inconsistent special effects, and abrasive camera movements that obscure the craft and dedication of what went into such choreography. None of these even remotely come close to antithesis given to scenes from a film 22 years its senior, which still hold-up terrifically in the two decades since that has brought forth many technological evolutions with special effects. This is also a sequel that doesn’t justify the length of its run time (143 minutes). Overstretched dialogue and repetitious flashbacks give way to a clumsy structure of ideas that never add up as one contained entity, instead feeling like individualized subplots from multiple films that submerge with the kind of magnetism as a Sherman tank blasting through a nitroglycerine plant. This leads to pocketed gaps of uninteresting exposition padding, particularly during the second act, where the film feels like it directly halts the urgency of the conflict to introduce new characters and corresponding subplots in a film that is too convoluted to make those minutes fly by like feathers. Finally, while the supporting cast did a solid enough job with the magnitude of iconic roles they’re asked to take over, the complete lack of characterization for any of them kept me from ever investing in the blandness of their execution. For a film that is nearly two-and-a-half hours long, this is simply inexcusable, especially in the case of Jessica Henwick’s Bugs, whom I feel is the most appealing of the new ensemble, but her character is one that I still know very little about, made all the more confusing with a first act that followed her perspective so faithfully.

OVERALL

“The Matrix Resurrections” is the bare definition of the word forgettable. With a misguided execution of various tones, disjointed subplots, and categorically confused creativity, the film stands as a convoluted anomaly of epic proportions, and one made all the more tragic with the benefit of endearing ideas and intricate sound design at the depths of its otherwise wasted potential. Choose the blue pill, so as to avoid this uninspiring disappointment.

My Grade: 5/10 or D