In The Matrix Resurrections, the man returns as Neo.
After nearly two decades, the moviegoing public finally gets to revisit the imaginative cyberpunk world of 1999's The Matrix with the fourth movie in the sci-fi franchise: The Matrix Resurrections. It's not a perfect film, but there's enough of the old magic to please fans. The stars still have chemistry, there are many references to the franchise throughout, and the themes have been subtly updated to make them more relevant than ever.
There are some minor details below, but no major revelations.
It's difficult to overstate the cultural impact of The Matrix, which redefined the sci-fi film genre and spawned an entire generation of fans. Cyberpunk author William Gibson named Neo his all-time favorite sci-fi action hero, and he called The Matrix an innocent delight he hadn't felt in a long time.
We still refer to taking the "red pill" as a metaphor to represent choosing between a life-changing truth or blissful ignorance. "I know kung fu" and "Whoa!" are two of the most meme-worthy utterances of the year. The film gave us "bullet time", a special effect in which the shot progresses in slow motion while the camera appears to move.
Two guns are better than one for this new version of Morpheus.
The two subsequent films never quite reached the same heights despite their box office success.
The film opens with Bugs, the captain of a rebel ship, stumbling upon an odd program in an isolated part of the Matrix. The opening scene of the original film is where Trinity takes out a group of armed officers and must flee from agents. The presence of an agent who turns out to be the digital embodiment of Morpheus is all wrong. Morpheus is freed from the node by Bugs and they are able to find Neo in the Matrix.
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Neo, back in his Thomas Anderson persona, is working at a game design company with his boss and partner Smith. The company's most successful gaming franchise is the Matrix. He can't shake the feeling that he is trapped inside a fake computer reality, even though he keeps having vivid dreams that seem like memories. Neil Patrick Harris is the therapist who keeps Thomas well supplied with prescription blue pills.
Thomas is drawn to Tiffany, a married mom who frequents the same cafe, and it's not long before Bugs and Morpheus figure him out.
Carrie Ann Moss returns as Trinity, or is she a suburban housewife named Tiffany?
The premise of the film is ingenious, and the system had to figure out how to diminish the power of the one who can control and manipulate it. By trivializing it, we can turn a heroic myth into entertainment. It provides the perfect opportunity to work in fan-service homages to the original trilogy, such as a black cat named Dejavu. I can't discuss in depth the cool twist to "bullet time" that Wachowski has come up with.
There have been technological changes. Bugs and her fellow human rebels pass in and out of the Matrix using mirrors as portals rather than phone lines, agents can blend in better with the simulation humans in the Matrix, and Morpheus can be embodied outside of the Matrix via something called the "Exomorphic Particle."
Jessica Henwick is a new rebel ally.
The Wachowskis didn't intend to make another Matrix film after Revolutions. In a 2015 interview, Lilly Wachowski called the prospect "a particularly repelling idea in these times." Warner Bros. announced the fourth film in August.
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Wachowski, as director, has a chance to skewer the studio franchise system's obsession with focus groups and marketing in the film, which is a fourth Matrix game. We need a new time. It's not hard to imagine the scenes as reflections of the director's own frustration, as the game development team argues about which elements are most crucial.
Enlarge / Neo vs. Agent Smith.
The first film was amazing and no sequel will ever come close to it. The second act is poorly paced and confusing, and the third act brings us to a satisfying conclusion. When it comes to the Matrix franchise, the dialogue is often pretentious and stilted. There is some heavy-handed moralizing that would have benefited from a more subtle approach.
The issues aren't enough to stop the film from being a very entertaining one that gives fans of the franchise exactly what they want. It's got striking visuals, emotional resonance, dry wit, enough conceptual and thematic depth to spark some intriguing discussion, and plenty of fight scenes, even if the choreography isn't quite as thrilling as the original film. It's a solid addition to the franchise that works more often than not.
The movie The Matrix is playing in theaters and is also available to watch on the internet. If you are fully vaccined and boosted, we recommend only going to see movies in theaters.
