Tom Talks #18: The Matrix Resurrections (A Controversial Good Time!)

 

Hello and welcome back to the first Tom Talks of 2022! Along with the start of a new year, we're doing something new on the blog too and that is a movie review; with today's topic of discussion being 'The Matrix Resurrections.'

Almost two decades after the end of the trilogy, Lana Wachowski has returned to this universe and brought back one of the most iconic I.P.'s of the 1990s and 2000s. Fans of the original films were intrigued to see how this would come out and surprising to myself and maybe many viewers, I really had a good time with this one.

Without going into spoilers, I can say that for the most part the story was well told and while a bit slow for some at the start, it didn't feel like they were forcing this out for the money and the return of certain characters was not solely done in the name of fan service, at least in my eyes. The story had plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested and was a new look at this franchise, while still feeling true to what came before and to be honest, it felt more coherent and interesting than 'The Matrix Reloaded' and 'Revolutions.'

Of course, a big draw for this new film was the return of Keanu Reeves as Neo and Carrie Ann-Moss as Trinity. Some were disappointed with Keanu's performance, but for me he felt like Neo in a modern world; disillusioned and confused to the state of society and deep down knowing something was up, just like in the original film. You can make the argument that Trinity for the most part, was a plot device, but her and Neo's relationship was a key part of the story and the culmination of that storyline made for a satisfying conclusion.

As you may have seen in the trailers, there is some returning characters played by new actors and some others have come back to play their original roles. Yahya Abdul-Matten II was very good in bringing Neo up to speed with what had changed and had some entertaining scenes with our protagonist, in particular the fight scene that was shown in the marketing. Jonathan Groff played a key role, which I do not want to spoil, but I will say he plays the part well and is an intimidating presence.

Our key newbies are Neil Patrick Harris, who I thought was excellent and really grabbed your attention when on screen, while Jessica Henwick as Bugs, was a likeable character who was by far the most entertaining of the new crew and a great addition to the series, with good chemistry with both new and returning performers.

The real star of the show was the Matrix itself. This new version of what we had seen before, showed how the Machines had once again been able to control society, while showing viewers the price of safety and what it takes to get true freedom. It also was used as a means to show the director's fight to make the film she wanted and the metaness, in particular in the first act, was very enjoyable and showed how true events could be portrayed as fictional, even in our society and did what the first film did so well, which was question our own existence and how free we truly are.

At 2 hours and 28 minutes, the film has a decent length, but never lulled and flowed pretty well and the effects were pretty good and were a marked improvement on the impressive visuals we saw back in 1999. The film also ended in a way, that leaves the doors open for a sequel, but could quite easily leave things as they are.

I really had a good time here! No this was not as groundbreaking as the first film, but it felt fresh and new and was more easier to understand than 'Reloaded,' while having more entertainment value and new ideas than 'Revolutions.' Due to the poor box office performance, it looks like a sequel is not on the cards, but I am glad we got to see the Matrix one last time and maybe in time, people will understand and appreciate this film.

8/10

Thank you for reading this Tom Talks, I hope you enjoyed! Make sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think of the film. Follow @tomtalks98 on Instagram for updates on future content and stay tuned for another Tom Talks!