Sequels to long dormant franchises are all the rage these days, but if there was one franchise that was expansive and confusing enough to truly warrant the sequel/reboot treatment it was The Matrix. Well that time is now, with one half of original directing team Lana Wachowski returning to the reality-questioning world of Neo and Trinity with a lot to say about the current landscape of entertainment and how audiences approach it. Whilst that extremely heavy-handed commentary doesn’t work as well as Wachowski thinks, the story that is told is a refreshingly straightforward affair for a franchise that became so bogged down in overly complex world-building. It isn’t a return to the form of that original film but Resurrections is a fun enough, if forgettable trip back into the Matrix.
Now living as the celebrated game designer behind “The Matrix” – a trilogy of video games that adapt the original trilogy of movies – Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is in a creative rut, forced by management to revisit his seminal franchise to produce “The Matrix 4”. A test run of code for the game opens up Thomas’ world to Bugs (Jessica Henwick) and a program that soon reveals himself to be a reincarnation of Morpheus (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) questions the reality of Thomas’ situation. When Thomas starts to notice similarities between Tiffany (Carrie-Anne Moss) – a woman he sees at a local coffee shop – and the Trinity character from his game, the world around him begins to unravel, ultimately leading to Morpheus and Bugs once again extracting Thomas from the Matrix into the real world, where the legend of Neo looms large. Once again at war with the machines and a smarter, more deadly version of the Matrix, Neo sets out on a desperate attempt to rescue Trinity from captivity, knowing that only together will they be able to end the war once and for all.
Wachowski clearly has an agenda when it comes to Resurrections, taking aim at the surge of sequels, reboots and spin-offs that took the entertainment industry by storm since her original trilogy was at its height in 2003. To call this commentary on the nose would be an understatement, with the story going extremely meta in name checking Warner Bros as wanting this very sequel as a result of corporate greed. The rare few times where this works is when the film embraces humour in a way the franchise never previously did, with an amusing montage poking fun at every hot-take and analysis piece written about The Matrix. Mostly though, the film takes any chance it can to skewer the trend, even going so far as to having a returning character spit on the very idea of a “sequel franchise spin-off”. Does that character even need to be in the film? Not at all, but that in itself just another layer of ridicule and scorn that Wachowski constantly assaults the viewer with.
Where it loses the viewer is in the incoherence of its message, with Wachowski heavily borrowing elements from these hated reboot/sequels; copying action beats from her earlier films and even going so far as to include a cute, infinitely marketable fist-bumping robot. Is it all just one big joke on the viewer? Much like the world of the Matrix it’s impossible to tell at times, which gives the whole film a rather cold, empty feeling. Is this a genuine attempt to return to a beloved franchise and should we actually care about anything going on or is this just a spoof on what audiences have become accustomed to from blockbuster filmmaking? The very concept of the previous trilogy as nothing more than a blip in the larger narrative, reduced to a simple video-game by the newly developed Matrix, devalues the audience investment to a degree – why should we get excited about what very well could be a new series of films if they can simply be wiped away in the future, fans be damned? Sure you could argue Marvel movies commit a similar sin, cheapening deaths by reviving characters but it seems hard to be believe that Wachowski has such an issue with this that she bastardised her beloved franchise to present what amounts to one big rant about the state of film.
The first half of the film is where this commentary reigns supreme but thankfully this levels out once Neo is removed from the Matrix once again. What makes it so easy to push that cynicism aside and simply enjoy the ride is Keanu Reeves, who plays the unassuming Neo so endearingly earnestly that it is impossible not to root for this everyman once again thrown in way over his head. New franchise recruits Jessica Henwick and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II are fantastic, fully committing to the characters and world in a way that makes them feel like they have been apart of the franchise since the beginning. On an action level is where Resurrections is at its most disappointing, eschewing the visceral close combat and inventive stylings of earlier instalments in favour of the quick-cut nonsense of modern action films; failing to properly showcase the impressive fight choreography Reeves is more than capable of. It only serves to further muddy Wachowski’s point, turning her once-revolutionary action franchise into just one of the many poorly shot action films that exist today, devoid of any truly standout set-pieces that were once the franchises bread and butter.
The Matrix: Resurrections ultimately ends up like the other sequels, taking one step forward towards furthering the franchises and the bevy of interesting ideas behind it, before taking two back by cluttering an already confusing world; this time with a meta commentary so muddled that it is impossible to tell what beats are meant in earnest and which are poking fun at the state of modern film. Keanu Reeves remains this series’ strongest element, once again giving an enrapturing performance as Neo which is only strengthened by a solid supporting cast. When the film is pared back to its roots of inventive sci-fi action is when it is at its best, a solid enough ride that will leave you with a smile on your face at the fact that yes, after all these years, Keanu Reeves still knows kung-fu.
The Matrix: Resurrections stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Jada Pinkett Smith, Christina Ricci & Neil Patrick Harris – In cinemas now and streaming on HBO Max in the US.