“I still know kung fu.” —Neo
Today’s quick review: The Matrix Resurrections. Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves), an award-winning game designer, knows that something is wrong with his world. He sees it in his rare interactions with Tiffany (Carrie Anne-Moss), his work for his boss (Jonathan Groff), and his therapy sessions with his analyst (Neil Patrick Harris). But he can only learn the truth from a mysterious woman (Jessica Henwick) and an old friend (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II).
The Matrix Resurrections is a sci-fi action movie and the fourth film in the Matrix trilogy. Resurrections picks up years after Revolution left off, with Neo trapped in a new world with different methods of control. The sequel takes a very different tack than the original movies. Not only does the time jump shake up the setting and the rules of the universe, it also brings with it a different tone, aesthetic, and set of themes.
The novel aspects of the story are risky but interesting. Faced with the prospect of continuing Neo’s story, Resurrections goes meta. The story looks at Neo’s impact on the world, the undying nature of fiction, and the often blurry line between fiction and reality. Resurrections also gets the chance to update the look and feel of the Matrix, dropping the rigidity of the original version in favor of something that feels more organic.
At the same time, The Matrix Resurrections relies heavily on nostalgia. Many scenes are explicit callbacks to the original films, and key moments are interspersed with clips from those films. The gambit is a mixed success. The nostalgia highlights the series’ strengths, but the blunt nature of the callbacks takes the audience out of the story. Further muddying the waters, the callbacks tie directly into the film’s musings on cycles and fiction.
As for its action, The Matrix Resurrections is not as groundbreaking as its predecessors. It still has plenty of spectacle, but the fights are scaled back to be less technically demanding. The special effects are more polished than the old films, thanks to advances in technology, but they are not used with as much care or reverence. To its credit, Resurrections does toy with a few new ideas for its action, but they are not explored in depth.
Finally, the story is as much of a mixed bag as the rest of the movie. The core of the plot is interesting and makes for a workable extension to the series, but the execution fluctuates wildly. The movie will flirt with real stakes and sincere conflict, only to trail off into self-aware comments. It also does a mediocre job of managing its new cast, giving them basic personalities but never putting in the work to make the audience care.
Ultimately, The Matrix Resurrections accomplishes what it wants to, but not necessarily in a way the audience will like. Decent action, intriguing new ideas, and a viable story make it worth a watch for the curious, but there are numerous pitfalls for anyone looking for something true to the spirit of the originals. Try it if you are interested in an offbeat and highly meta riff on the originals. Skip it if you are looking for innovative action.
For a stylized fantasy action flick that deals with similar themes of oppression and mental illness, check out Sucker Punch. For a sci-fi film that takes a more measured look at the nature of reality, try Inception. For a Matrix-influenced sci-fi action movie about a man who awakens from a dystopian system of control, check out Equilibrium.
[6.1 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10838180/). I give it a 6.5 to 7.0 for spectacle and speculation broken up by a slew of risky decisions.