The Matrix Resurrections
148 Min
Cert: 15
Cast Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris
Director Lana Wachowski
I never got to see the original Matrix in cinemas, after watching Resurrections, I now feel like I have.
More of a repeat than a reboot, the film hits almost every beat of the original while desperately trying to be meta about doing so. In this world Neo (Reeves) is a game designer who created a trilogy of hits called, get this, The Matrix. Cue a seemingly endless run of ever so pleased with themselves jokes about Warner Bros demanding a sequel and the pressures of making The Matrix 4 etc.
The constant flashbacks to the 1999 original serve only to remind you that this has been done before and better. It particularly hurts the new Morpheus as, no matter how charismatic Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is, he can't hold a candle to Laurence Fishburne.
The worst decision the director makes is to ret-con the whole point of the original trilogy in a way that will please only the most liberal of fans. Neil Patrick Harris and Jonathan Groff deliver good performances and the film looks spectacular, it just does so while having nothing new to say or show whatsoever.
★★☆☆☆
