The Matrix Resurrections: Does it live up to its legacy?
The only thing that made the film worth watching is the undying love between Neo and Trinity. They got the ending they deserved
The Matrix trilogy is one of the biggest cinematic phenomenons of the last few decades. Since the first film came out, fans have been obsessed with the complex storyline, along with the mind-bending action scenes and costumes.
The recently-released 'The Matrix Resurrections' has come 18 years after the third installment 'The Matrix Revolutions'. Fans once again got a chance to reconnect with their favorite characters - Neo and Trinity, played by the original actors Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss.
But does the new film do justice to the Matrix legacy?
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Spoilers ahead!
The movie begins almost like a replica of the first film where Trinity is chased by some agents, although the scene ends differently. Furthermore, this time, it is not just us, but some new characters like Bugs and Seq, who are observing the scene along with us.
Later in the movie we find out that this was taking place not just in the matrix, but a modal inside the matrix, through a video game created by Tom Anderson, aka Neo, himself. (YES! Neo is really alive.)
The name of the video game is 'The Matrix' and the storyline follows the life of Neo and Trinity, and their entire journey throughout the trilogy.
Tom Anderson/Neo now leads a life inside the matrix as a famous video game developer and co-owner of the business with Smith, aka Agent Smith. He often faces anxiety and has flashbacks of the game. He seeks help from a psychiatrist who prescribes him blue pills to stay on track.
Neo also bumps into Trinity sometimes at his regular coffee shop. Trinity, who is now known as Tiffany, is married to a man named Chad and has kids.
In the real world, a young and enthusiastic captain, Bugs, has been trying to locate Neo inside the matrix. After lots of failed attempts, Bugs and co finally locate Neo and convince him to get out of the matrix into the real world and take the red pill.
Bugs explains to him that his flashbacks are not from the game but were his memories. It has been 60 years since the events of the third film, and it was always Neo's destiny to come back to the real world.
Therefore, Neo subconsciously leaves the modal open in the game. When Neo wakes up from the pod, he sees Trinity across from him, but fails to help her.
This is the point where the fans find the keys that help them untangle all the burning questions. The movie becomes a little interesting as we get to witness the new Zion, robots living with humans, and most importantly, the face-off between Neo and Smith once again.
The director of the film, Lana Wachowski, filled the movie with metaphors and Easter eggs. For instance, the city IO is a symbol of1 and 0 - the binary code.
For a matrix fan, such as myself, 'The Matrix Resurrection' was a nostalgic hit. Seeing my favorite characters one more time on the big screen was overwhelming. Yet, to me, keeping the reminiscing apart, the movie could not be treated like a worthy successor of the legacy it left behind.
'The Matrix Resurrection' comprises a lot of good ideas which felt scattered. The execution is where it lost its way. The original matrix movie is great for several reasons and its fighting scenes are iconic and people love it even now.
But in this film, you will find no major showdown from either Neo or Trinity. The excessive use of CGI made the fighting scenes boring.
The movie is unnecessarily long. Most of the first 1.5 hours have been used to show the things you already know and some other irrelevant things that stopped it from moving forward. The movie itself made fun of making the sequel, as if they knew it was going to be a flop.
Some scenes of Resurrection felt like Wachowski was trying too hard to make us feel the vibe of the original trilogy, but failed miserably. This happened because excessive changes to the plot misguided it, while new additions, except Bug's character, did not make us connect to the essence of the Matrix film we knew.
The only thing that made the film worth watching is the undying love between Neo and Trinity. They got the ending they deserved.
Overall, someone who is looking for nostalgia might have a good time watching the film, but others, not so much.
