With The Matrix Resurrections, it was inevitable really, sooner or later we were going to get another sequel to the Matrix series, and Lana Wachowski in a self aware fatalistic fashion, to prevent Warner Bros taking her baby and having someone else expand the universe, grabbed it and basically threw the baby out with the bath water.
To find out if his reality is a physical or mental construct, Mr. Anderson, aka Neo, will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more. If he’s learned anything, it’s that choice, while an illusion, is still the only way out of or into the Matrix. Neo already knows what he has to do, but what he doesn’t yet know is that the Matrix is stronger, more secure and far more dangerous than ever before.
While the original was a spectacular bolt out of the blue, the two follow ups suffered from being great concept but no real direction or thought on how to conclude it and once again after a bunch of cool posters and trailers to get the hype in overflow, we have ended up back where we started with the previous sequels, only less enjoyable.
Lana Wachowski has returned to the movie of her greatest success this time without her brother and gone all meta. It’s entirely self aware and despite trying to be really clever, it simply boils down down to a rescue and chase movie. Don’t get us wrong there’s more exposition and clever camera trickery than Penn & Teller would be in awe of, but it boils down to one point. It’s dull. The opening half hour will have you wondering what on earth is going on, it’s never fully explained leaving anyone new to the franchise alienated to the point of boredom.
It’s a welcome return to Reeves and Moss characters (Neo and Trinity respectively) and the premise is interesting (The Matrix being entirely reset), but the blue hues and motif in the opening sections are somewhat condescending to the viewer. Neil Patrick Harris looks like he’s enjoying himself, which is great, because by the time Matrix Resurrections hits the half way point no one else is.
Bullet time was a fantastical new way of doing things when the original came along, but now everyone’s done it and while it’s back for the fourth instalment, there’s no real improvement or spectacular enhancement to it and it because of that, it all comes off a bit old hat.
The action sequences are enjoyable, but overly heavy handed for the most part and the conclusion of the film will have a collection of facepalms ringing out around the cinema.
The Matrix Resurrections unlike Ghostbusters: Afterlife isn’t a legacy return that is worth the wait. It comes across more like a petulant child not wanting to share their toys with anyone else, thus sucking the fun out of everything. Much like the previous Matrix sequels a huge missed opportunity.
The Matrix Resurrections is in cinemas Nationwide now
