The intent behind the return of a long-finished film franchise always places a focus on profit or point. Is returning to this landscape, enjoyable or not, done due to having something new to say, or is it merely going through the monetary motions? The Matrix Resurrections doesn’t add a lot new to the vocabulary of the ideology but then it succeeds in not feeling like just a cash grab.
It also pleasantly shifts some of the focus from male to female with Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) being the real hero of the revisit. The technological landscape of today is dramatically different from that in 1999 when the first Matrix film debuted. There was the paranoia on the Y2K bug and the relative infancy of a thing called the internet that drove public sentiment. Now it’s social media that controls the minds.
This change is not reflected much in the storyline so the chance of making a lasting comment on that superficiality is missed. This also leads to things feeling more nostalgic than cutting edge. That is not necessarily a hindrance if they do something interesting with the characters and this is attempted with the refocus on human emotions over technology. The mechanics of this fantasy world never made much sense anyway.
A clever first reel slowly gives way to a revealing sense of repetition but it seems unkind to watch The Matrix Resurrections only through the filter of the past. Seen on its own, it’s an entertaining romp through dodgy science and somewhat sincere human emotions, and if creating a recognisable world to get lost in for two hours and twenty-nine minutes was the task at hand, consider the job well done.
Rob Hudson
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