Movie Review – The Matrix Resurrections – A Powerful Sequel
Table of Contents
My Rating – 4 out of 5
Plot Summary (Storyline) – The Matrix Resurrections
Niobe: Nothing can breed violence like scarcity.
From The Matrix Resurrections
18 years have passed since the release of The Matrix Revolutions in 2003. Some serious mind-bending stuff (though not at the level of Christopher Nolan) brought a new experience in alternate reality laced with drama and intrigue to the silver screen. A visibly aged Keanu Reeves along with Carrie-Anne Moss return to the screen reprising the roles of Neo and Trinity aka Tiffany in this new installment. The sharp-dressed agents are back as well, as is Morpheus (Lawrance Fishburne/Yahya Abdul-Mateen) though in this edition Fishburne has been replaced by Mateen. The story is a bit disjointed here, the main motive behind the movie looking a bit flimsy.
Neo seems to have settled into the role of Thomas Anderson, a game designer who is trying to make the latest version upgrade to a virtual reality game called The Matrix. His boss at the gaming company is getting impatient as nothing is really going to plan and their financiers are threatening to pull the plug on their project at the earliest. Trinity is missing from Neo’s life and though he has given up on ever meeting her, he is not sure that she’s not alive and he cannot meet her ever again. Faced with the twin challenges of a job threat and grief-inducing episode, Neo is sure of only one thing – that he will have to find Trinity.
The Analyst: Quietly yearning for what you don’t have, while dreading losing what you do. Desire and fear.
From The Matrix Resurrections
The action set-pieces are similar in conceptualization and execution as in the earlier installments, with all the slow-motion dodging of bullets while bending over backward, eminently present in this one too. His therapist, known popularly as The Analyst, is also of the opinion that Neo should be kept closer to reality and not entertain the thoughts of meeting someone who does not seem to be alive anymore. Bugs (Jessica Henwick) is a new recruit into the world of Neo and she comes to Neo to take with her to Niobe – Jada Pinkett Smith, Neo initially refuses but then gives in. But Niobe doesn’t know that Neo’s ultimate motive is to find Trinity.
But Neo insists on going back and seeing if he can get Trinity back as well. And as expected, chaos ensues which continues till the climax. It doesn’t really help that the storyline is not meaty enough to keep the viewers engaged and the action set-pieces can only garner that much attention. It is not difficult to adjudge this edition to be the weakest amongst the four released so far.
Conclusion – Movie Review of The Matrix Resurrections
The acting in this movie is ordinary, not outstanding, though Keanu Reeves’ intensity brings an altogether different dimension to his character. The action set pieces are extraordinary, as they are expected to be, but the overall cohesion in the movie is a little flimsy. Carrie-Anne Moss is adequate in her character and Jada Pinkett Smith looks wasted in her role. Overall, much better was expected of the franchise, particularly since this sequel was 18 years coming. Unfortunately, it does not live up to those expectations.
If you have been a fan of the franchise, you may want to watch it for the sake of nostalgia, but you would end up feeling a bit disappointed with how the story has been treated. However, there is a promise of another episode, and one can only hope two things – it shouldn’t take another 8 years coming and would have a meaty story for its legions of fans. Till then, we will have to be satisfied with this slightly undercooked version of The Matrix. Resurrection, yes, successful, not so much…
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