The Matrix Resurrections
How do you review a film like The Matrix Resurrections without spoiling the experience for those who have yet to see it? WIth great difficulty, but I will proceed with caution with a review that may seem lacking in any real discussion about the story being told in Resurrections
The biggest disappointment most people seem to have after watching the first trailer was the new Morpheus. Now I was one of those people and went into the The Matrix Resurrections screening feeling a little apprehensive, but I can tell you know that there is a solid reason for not bringing Laurence Fishburne back, and I fully approve of the direction taken.
Now without getting into anything that isn’t already said in the trailer, let’s talk about The Matrix Resurrections. Yes, it’s a sequel, not a reboot. But it’s also a love story, this is the overriding theme of Resurrections, a film with so many themes woven into it. It comes close to breaking the fourth wall, but instead bends it like a spoon, being openly aware of the franchise history and commenting on the Hollywood expectations for sequels, whilst also bravely touching on the way radical politics are being re-packaged for mainstream acceptance.
It also has a strong theme of accepting people for who they are, not what they were.
It’s also completely and utterly bat shit crazy.
But in a good way. It’s a wild ride that throws in a few new ideas and whilst it never quite reaches the levels of the mind-blowingly original concepts of the original film, it’s a fresh and welcome addition to the Matrix world, that surprisingly is neatly packaged as a complete story that doesn’t require any further sequels whilst at the same time leaving just enough of a hint to build sequels off.
Keanu Reeves does his thing as Thomas/Neo, though with far more humour as a man coming to terms with the fact that he’s not the man he was 20 yeas ago, and Carrie-Anne Moss still makes me swoon and kicks arse at the same time. However, the real show stealer is a new characters, Bugs, played by Jessica Henwick (as seen in the brilliant Love and Monsters).
But what about all the bad reviews? And this is where we come to the crux of The Matrix Resurrections, and that is, it’s possibly not what you were expecting, and unless you’re prepared to take the red pill, and see how deep this new rabbit hole goes, you will go home dissatisfied.
For me, a huge fan of the series, I swallowed that red pill big time, and now I can’t wait for The Matrix Resurrections to open in cinemas so I can go see it again.
Rating: M Suitable for mature audiences 16 years and over. Violence & offensive language.
GEEKERY rating: 4.5/5
