The Matrix Resurrections (2022) Review

Directed by: Lana Wachowski

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Lambert Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. 

Synopsis: The film is set sixty years after Revolutions and follows Neo, who lives a seemingly ordinary life as a video game developer having trouble with distinguishing fantasy from reality. A group of rebels, with the help of a programmed version of Morpheus, free Neo from a new version of the Matrix and fight a new enemy that holds Trinity captive.

Review: Keanu Reeves returns to the world of The Matrix after nearly two decades, reprising his role as Neo.

There was so many mixed reviews on this entry and I can see why. If a successful franchise returns after nearly twenty years, the expectations are automatically at an all time high, especially with Keanu having found action hero stardom with his John Wick franchise.

The original Matrix movies had some of the most fun action sequences, it was like watching a Donnie Yen movie with some classic John Woo Gun-Fu. Jaws hit the floor. Fair, the third movie may not have been the strongest entry in the franchise but it was a fun action movie that rounded off the trilogy.

Resurrections brings back our original heroes Neo and Trinity, unfortunately there is no return of Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus. Neo and Trinity live in the same universe and see each other everyday, yet they do not remember each other from their previous lives. If there is something new the Matrix Resurrections brings to the table it is the relationship between Neo and Trinity. This wasn’t quite fleshed out as well in the original trilogy as it is here, which for fans of the characters is a fun rabbit hole to explore.

The fight scenes….as previously mentioned, the fight scenes were unreal in the previous movies. This time around, not so much. These fights could pass for rehearsals rather than finished choreographed fights, everything seems effortless and it’s almost like the actors are still practising the moves. This was a disappointment.

Neo and Trinity both have some new abilities and have lost some of the previous, but it doesn’t add or take away from the characters or story. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is on duty as a younger version of Morpheus. We do get another Morpheus vs Neo kung-fu scene, but as mentioned previously about the fights, it’s nothing worth getting excited for.

Overall, The Matrix Resurrections shouldn’t have centred around Neo and Trinity and would have served better as a limited series based in the universe of The Matrix with new characters. Resurrections is essentially a love story about Neo and Trinity and relies heavily on flashback sequences. After initial viewing, It’s not a franchise that should continue on the path it’s going.

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