The Matrix Resurrections is a reboot/sequel to the Matrix Trilogy. Keanu Reeves stars as Thomas Anderson, a videogame developer who developed a gigantic hit called The Matrix. It seems that the original trilogy was actually the Matrix game and Tom’s avatar, Neo was the main character. The Trinity in the game was based on a normal Mom he has a crush on Tiff (still played by Carrie Ann Moss). And Agent Smith was based on his business partner (Jonathan Groff). Now years later, the parent company wants Tom to create a sequel.
As he starts to work on the new game, he struggles more and more with his mental health. He regularly visits an analyst (Neal Patrick Harris) who reminds Mr. Anderson that he has trouble distinguishing reality from a fake reality his anxieties create (which feels a bit like forced exposition). The Analyst tries to remind him to stay in the present and ignore his “false” realities.
But Morpheus (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) leaves the Matrix game to contact Tom and remind him that he’s really Neo. But this Morpheus isn’t quite the same as the one from the original trilogy. Morpheus works with Bugs (Jessica Henwick), who acts as a similar wake-up call to Neo as Trinity did in the original movie. Morpheus and Bugs try to convince Thomas Anderson that the reality he is living in is simply a new Matrix; he again needs to leave the Matrix and return to the real world. So obviously Tom (or Neo) has to make a choice again.
From a narrative standpoint, Resurrections is an interesting continuation of the original trilogy. It doesn’t feel like they’ve “ruined” the original story. But it also doesn’t really feel necessary.
The biggest mar against the story is that’s it not easy to follow. The Matrix presented a lot of crazy concepts and had enough twists to be surprising, but it was never hard to follow. The audience always knew why a character was doing something. Resurrections has some of the over-complications to world-building that original sequels had and adds characters with unclear motivations on top of that.
The Matrix and the Matrix Reloaded had some of the best fight scenes of their times using cutting-edge effects. Things like Bullet Time and the Burly Brawl ended up being huge influences on action movies for years. This movie has good, but not great action scenes. Nothing is as eye-popping or as exciting as the original movies.
For hardcore Matrix fans who have been itching for more Matrix content, this is an okay sequel. Personally, I enjoyed some of the small retcons, but I don’t think it lives up to the legacy of the first two movies and the Animatrix. If you’re not a Matrix fan or you’ve never seen the originals, don’t watch this. It will just be a confusing, but well-paced and well-shot action movie. I’m rating this an HBO Now.