The Matrix Resurrections
Director: Lana Wachowski
Writer: Lana Wachowski, David Mitchell, Aleksandar Hemon
Sequel to: The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Jessica Henwick, Neil Patrick Harris, Jada Pinkett Smith, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christina Ricci, Lambert Wilson, Andrew Lewis Caldwell, Toby Onwumere, Max Riemelt, Chad Stahelski
Seen on: 22.12.2021

Plot:
Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is a video game designer. He became famous with a game that has, by now, achieved cult status, and there is huge pressure for him to recreate this success with a new entry into the franchise. He doesn’t want to do that, though, and escapes as much as he can into a coffee shop where he is too shy to talk to frequent patron Tiffany (Carrie-Anne Moss). But that’s not the only thing Thomas is struggling with. He has frequent dreams of a different life, one where he is Neo. And maybe that life is more real than he thought.

We were a group of three people watching The Matrix Resurrections in the cinema. One was very excited about this film, one was somewhere in the middle, and one was rather bored with it. Unfortunately, that third person was me. But obviously, impressions of it vary greatly. I just wish I could have gotten more out of it.

I was very excited about The Matrix Resurrections, simply because I love The Matrix and the trailer for this one looked very promising indeed. And when it started, I was still there for it. Bugs (Jessica Henwick) was an interesting new character, and the film found some clever ways to nod to the old films, especially the first one, and give us some meta commentary on the fact that this sequel was being made in the first place.

I also really liked the romantic angle here, with Thomas’ pining for Tiffany and their flirting which was really sweet. But that’s about all the emotional attachment I had in the film, and that mostly worked because Neo and Trinitiy have been a couple in my head for two decades, and Reeves and Moss seemed to be completely into it as well.

After the set-up, the film started to lose me though, and at an alarming rate. I just didn’t give a damn about most of it. Plus, amid the overcomplicated dialogue that seems desperate for depth, and the mix of new events and nostalgic nods to what came before, I lost track of the plot a little and checked out at some point.

Not the ideal circumstances to stay engaged, and I do regreat that. I wish I could have felt the excitement that my friend obviously did. But instead I will simply stick with the first film from now on, I think. Even though I absolutely liked that Neo and Trinity finally got their happy end here.

Summarizing: didn’t live up to my hopes.