Back in high school — I know, I’m an infant — I watched Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s science fiction saga “The Matrix” and its’ two sequels. Like most, my mind was blown, and it was all I could talk about for weeks on end. The sheer amount of freshness and creativity brought to the sci-fi genre on display in those three films has been largely unmatched in the decades since.
Now, Lana is looking to make up for lost time — not to mention “Jupiter Ascending” — by bringing back Neo, Trinity, and others in a long-awaited not quite reboot of her cyberpunk tale. Rest assured, The Matrix Resurrections is a pure “Matrix” sequel and arguably one that lives up to the original.
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Much like “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” this film has secrets to keep that the marketing has hidden from the public, so key plot details will once again not be given away by this reviewer. Needless to say, “Resurrections” has a lot to answer for, seeing as — Spoiler alert — Neo (Keanu Reeves, “John Wick”) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss, “Disturbia”) both bit the dust in “The Matrix Revolutions” back in 2003.
Both return to much fanfare here, but the film’s nebulous first half tries to posit that maybe, just maybe, they’re not the Neo and Trinity that we know. Much has been written about the very, very, VERY meta first act, which seems to skewer the notion of the movie you’re watching in the movie you’re watching. Much like the 1999 classic, this movie starts off with questions. Lots of them.
As the film progresses, Lana and co-screenwriters Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchell, a name that should sound familiar to fans of the Wachowskis, answer these questions in a fun and unique way that still plants a flag that this is a “Matrix” film. It’s so nice and frankly refreshing to return to the deep sci-fi world Lana and Lilly have created, with plenty of new twists and characters to keep things fresh. Namely, Jessica Henwick (“Underwater”) as Bugs, named after none other than Bugs Bunny, a new rebel who not only kicks plenty of ass in her fight sequences but adds lots of pathos and enjoyable moments.
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It’s crystal clear from the Warner Bros logo that Lana is having a ball coming back to this world, as are Reeves and Moss, whose chemistry is much improved from the previous films. I questioned a few of the choices made here, including the return of a certain other character from the trilogy, but overall, this felt like a modern upgrade of the films I loved, not just a rehash of what worked before.
If there’s any complaint, it’s that this film has a lot of explaining to do- literally. Much like “The Matrix,” this film is laden with dialogue to make sure you know just what the hell is going on, which comes to a head in the high stakes, yet brain-boggling climax, and while this isn’t quite out of left field for the franchise, compared to the action-heavy sequels, nothing beats the famous freeway chase in “The Matrix Reloaded.”
I had a blast with The Matrix Resurrections. It feels like a return to form for all involved, proving that big idea science fiction is still viable and can meld with huge action set pieces. While its’ meta opening may not jive for all, those who stick with it will find an awe-inducing epic that might just hold a candle to the original film.
The Matrix Resurrections is now playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.