The Matrix Resurrections is a 2021 American science fiction action film produced, co-written, and directed by Lana Wachowski. It is the sequel to The Matrix Revolutions (2003) and the fourth instalment in The Matrix film series. The film brings back Keanu Reeves, Carrie Anne-Moss and Jada Pinkett-Smith to reprise their roles from the original trilogy.
The premise of The Matrix Resurrections may be simply stated as follows : –
Set sixty years after the events of Revolutions, the film follows Neo, who lives a seemingly ordinary life under his original identity as Thomas A. Anderson in San Francisco, but when a new version of Morpheus offers him the red pill and reopens his mind to the world of the Matrix, which has become more secure and dangerous in the years since the Smith infection, Neo joins a group of rebels to fight a new enemy. (Wikipedia)
To be blunt, there is no justification for The Matrix Resurrections to exist. The original Matrix film was undoubtably ground-breaking when it was released in 1999. Re-watching the film in 2021, it’s clear that it still holds up. All of which makes The Matrix Resurrections an obscene travesty, purely relying on brand recognition and the nostalgia factor to cynically sell tickets.
Fact is, the worst part of The Matrix Resurrections is that most of the time, the storyline follows the original movie beat for beat. There’s no justification for this whatsoever! Director/co-writer Lana Wachowski needs to come up with something new instead of rehashing former glories from over twenty years ago.
The intercutting with scenes from the original movie is jarring and only emphasises the irrelevance of this film. While the two sequels following The Matrix never could live up to the original, at least they were trying to tell a story. The Matrix Resurrections does absolutely nothing of the kind – it’s an empty spectacle. Avoid.
In cinemas and streaming on HBO Max now.
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