The Matrix Resurrections
review by Bobby Blakey
In 1999 The Wachowski brothers unleashed their sci-fi action flick The Matrix on viewers and it was like nothing audiences had ever seen. While their follow ups to finish out the trilogy were met with mixed results there is no denying that the original starring Keanu Reeves, Hugo Weaving, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Robert Taylor still delivered. Now Reeves and Moss are returning to the franchise as well as Jada Pinkett Smith for The Matrix Resurrections co-starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christina Ricci, Telma Hopkins, Eréndira Ibarra, Toby Onwumere, Max Riemelt, and Brian J. Smith. Could this latest trip into the Matrix be worthy of the original trilogy or should it have taken the blue pill and stayed a dream?
The Matrix Resurrections follows a world of two realities: one, everyday life; the other, what lies behind it. To find out if his reality is a physical or mental construct, to truly know himself, Mr. Anderson will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more. And if Thomas…Neo…has learned anything, it’s that choice, while an illusion, is still the only way out of—or into— the Matrix. Of course, Neo already knows what he has to do. But what he doesn’t yet know is the Matrix is stronger, more secure and more dangerous than ever before. Déjà vu.
Like most I was insanely excited to get to dive back into the Matrix, but ending of the original trilogy left it pretty closed. At the same time, they did have a line from the Oracle at the end saying we might see Neo again someday and here we are. The real question is is it worth the return and does it do anything new to push the franchise forward? The answer is yes and no,
but fully delivered the action and fun I had hope for despite it being a rehash of the original film in a clever way.
I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I was hoping for something fresh and new to move the franchise in a new direction, but still dug the direction they went with. This allowed us to take on some new twists in familiar territory as well as using it as a catalyst to move things forward. There are some great fun connections to the original trilogy while still being its own thing. Sure there are a lot of elements that aren’t near as inspiring as fans might have hoped for, but they have evolved this universe and made it make as much sense as it can in the world of the Matrix.
With the exciting return of Reeves and Moss the big question was how they were moving forward without Fishburne as Morpheus or Weaving as Agent Smith. It actually makes sense to how it is handled and I kind of dig what they did, but there was an easy way to bring back Fushburne as well that they sadly didn’t do. That being said, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II does an awesome job as this new iteration of Morpheus. There are nods to the original, but he makes it his own. Reeves dives right back into the role and gets to showcase more character this time around thanks to the current state of him where we are now.
In the end this is a sequel we didn’t need to a series that I love despite its flaws, but one I am glad we got. It’s filled with all the things we expect from the franchise in action, confusion, twists, and technology. Decide for yourself and check out The Matrix Resurrections available now on digital and then on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD on March 8th from Warner Bros.
