Released: 22nd December 2021
Length: 148 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Director: Lana Wachowski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Ann Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff and Neil Patrick Harris
As one of the best sci-fi flicks of modern times, The Matrix thrilled audiences worldwide in 1999. With Reloaded and Revolutions shot and released back-to-back, the property quickly dropped out of the public eye. Some eighteen years after the trilogy ended, The Matrix Resurrections has arrived. Lana Wachowski’s latest production is a well crafted follow-up, but it’s unlikely to set the world on fire.
Sixty years after The Matrix Revolutions, Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is a famous video game developer who once again doubts the nature of his reality; faint memories of Neo cloud his mind with older faces making appearances. So begins another awakening and a new conflict between man and machine, the specifics of which I won’t give away here. The opening act plays a mind game with the audience, making heavy use of allegories and metaphors to tie the new virtual world with its predecessor. Often times this involves repeating sequences from the original classic which splits the film into two halves. On one side, Resurrections features some intriguing developments that pick up well from the third film. But on the other, things can become overly referential to the point of distraction. A fight scene involving a returning foe and his henchmen is very inconsequential, as if it was thrown in to tie to the 2003 release. As we head to the final act, things feel rushed when it comes to transitions and connecting sequences. The characters finish a fight scene within the matrix one moment and then they’re on their way back to the human city in the next shot. It’s rather jarring and the scenes in this new location feel half-baked and underused.
Over a four-year-span, The Matrix films faced some criticism for their somewhat wooden acting. For the most part Resurrections works to correct this. Every actor is more expressive and tuned into the action. Both Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss fit right into their roles with a stronger connection to boot; the way they question their lives and events around them makes for a solid improvement. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II makes for an effective Morpheus with the film successfully integrating a new version of the character. With that said, it’s unfortunate that so many of the newcomers lack development and depth. Bugs (Jessica Henwick) is by far the best of the group; she plays a key role from the get-go and has a reasonable amount of charisma. This is where the investment ends as the other crew members on-board the Mnemosyne are woefully basic. Their roles effectively evaporate when the action starts, making it difficult to care about their fates. Agent Smith does make a return, this time played by Jonathan Groff; unfortunately his performance doesn’t hold a candle to Hugo Weaving and his character doesn’t have much menace or impact on the story. The new version of Smith is another symptom of wider problems; while Neil Patrick Harris fares a little better as The Analyst, his scenes are often taken up by expository dialogue.
On its initial release at the turn of the millennium, audiences were treated to some truly ground-breaking special effects. Resurrections doesn’t get near this achievement but the suite of visuals and audio-work is excellent. Dazzling visions of machine cities are blended with superb lighting within the virtual world alongside new technologies that fit right into the setting. The IP hasn’t lost a bit of its immersive quality with a commanding display from start to finish. The score, this time composed by Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer, feels weighty and grandiose; it easily matches the previous work of Don Davis. Getting into finer details, the action and stunts are good, but nothing really mind-blowing; this comes down to one gap and that’s the camerawork. The trilogy leaned heavily into Hong-Kong cinema to make the fights more kinetic. By comparison the fourth film settles into a fairly predictable rhythm. Standard cuts between multiple characters and set pieces have a more general lens rather than focusing on movement. With such a crowded genre and contemporaries like John Wick, the franchise now has a harder time standing out from the pack.
The Matrix Resurrections is a polarising sequel in many ways. For every moment that absorbs, there’s another that treads too closely to the original film or brings back older elements without much justification. Everything is still competently helmed with improved acting to boot, but an awe-inspiring sci-fi epic this is not.
Rating: 3/5 Stars (Fair)
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