'The Matrix Resurrections' (15)

Director: Lana Wachowski

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff

Where can I watch?: The Matrix Resurrections is in cinemas now

Rating: 2/5

Review: The Matrix (1999) is an undisputed classic. It's slick, it's sexy, it's original. There are cool fight scenes, cool black leather coats and black sunglasses and memorable one-liners. My partner and I watched it again recently and loved every second. The subsequent Reloaded and Revolutions films were poor in comparison, but they weren't without merit. The same, however, cannot be said for The Matrix Resurrections.

I would love to have been in the pitch meeting for The Matrix Resurrections. I imagine it went something a long the lines of: "We need a bit of cash. Bring The Matrix back, but this time amp up the nostalgia - and make it meta". Indeed, the first hour or so of the latest Matrix is intercut with snapshots from the first film. This was clearly meant to remind viewers of what had come before, but it just made me wish I was watching that movie instead...

Reader, it's bad. It's really, really bad. The script - never the strongest in the original trilogy, mind you - is dire. In some places, it's toe-curlingly clunky. Keanu Reeves, apparently trying to replicate the wide-eyed, monosyllabic character he last played over 20 years ago, appears to have forgotten how to act. The action is messy and unexciting - slow mo is used throughout, and yet is doesn't have the same impactful effect that it once did: whereas fight sequences in the original felt highly choreographed and focused on one-to-one action, Resurrections opts for quick cutaways and confusing brawl scenarios instead. Throughout the film, ideas and sequences from the original are regurgitated in the poorest taste: the iconic 'red pill, blue pill' scene is played out again (while the original plays in the background!), and it's such a bitter pill to swallow this time around. Then there are the ludicrous Agent 'twists', and the cutesy robot animals, and the totally uninteresting new characters... And don't even get me started on the ending! In the end, it's clear that The Matrix filmography should never have been revived.

A Must-Watch?: Absolutely not. Just save yourself and watch the first one again.

Comments

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