The Mosley Review: The Matrix Resurrections

If there is one franchise that truly blew the doors off of what was possible in storytelling, imagination and made you question your own existence, it is The Matrix. As a massive fan of the original trilogy, I went in to this film not hoping for the same mind bending trip. Like all of you, I wanted to see where this franchise was going and what new revelations could be discovered. I was wanting to see what story could justify the continuation of one of the best trilogies ever made. Well, I got those answers and also a film that felt very angry and sometimes misguided. I love meta humor and storytelling as much as the next person and it fit in this film, but it also felt cheap in the way it was used to add a layer of confusion for the audience. It was also used as a way to tell the audience that the filmmaker made this film because of corporate bullying from a major studio. Aside from all of that nonsense, the actual story of the film was cool and sometimes corny in its execution. The rules that were set in this universe are often broken, rewritten and explained in a way that just felt so wrong. There was alot that needed to be explained and I was happy that the film slowed down enough to explain why everything is happening. It all comes together in a not so tightly sealed package and you feel that there was a massive part of the recipe that was missing from the pie that was so delicious the first time it was made.

Keanu Reeves returns as Thomas Anderson / Neo and he was exactly as good as you'd expect. I liked that he was once again experiencing being awakened, but this time it was a new perspective. Its a story trope that is given to him that seems tired and yet works well with him. I liked Jessica Henwick as Bugs and how she represented the focal point for the audience to follow. She has the responsibility of setting up the story and I loved her tenacity in the action scenes. I don't if it was the sound mix or acting choice, but there was a portion of dialogue where I couldn't understand a word she was saying in the middle of her heavy panting. A glaring example of an important rule being broken. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was fun as the new Morpheus and I liked the reasoning of why he is the new iteration of the character. I won't spoil it here, but I will say that one of my theories were right about him. Neil Patrick Harris was great as Neo's therapist The Analyst. He really chews up the scenery as the film progresses and his motivations are a great twist on control. Jonathan Groff takes full advantage of the screen as Smith. There is so much more to his character and I thought it was cool decision that was made with him and it made sense for the universe. Jada Pinkett-Smith returns as Niobe and she is a stubborn and strong as we knew her before. She represents the amount of time that has passed since the Machine War and she explains what happened since then. It was interesting and sometimes way too rushed. Carrie-Ann Moss returns and as Tiffany / Trinity, it was great to see her try and figure out her connection to Thomas. Their love story was always the heart of the franchise and I enjoyed seeing it take precedence again.

The score by Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer was good and captured the tone of the film very well. I liked their spin on the famous Matrix musical annotations and it added a level of darkness to the franchise. I still missed the franchise composer Don Davis' dreamlike touch to the franchise. There are some major problems in this film that I could write a long string of code about, but I don't want to spoil too much. I will say that there is a story about the machines that is quickly glossed over and is kind of disappointing and dumb. I truly felt like the same artistry and magic wasn't present in this film at all. Sure the action scenes and visual effects were great to look at, but the story in my opinion was too busy being bitter to the studio and sometimes toward the audience that it couldn't get out of its own way. A rule that was broken is that the "free minded" people while in the Matrix don't breathe. Why are they all breathing so heavy during and after fight scenes. Also, there are some fun references to the past films that were used to say "Do you get it? They're just like this character. Right?". I wish they had let it flow more smoothly. There is also a cameo from another famous character in the franchise and they are completely wasted! There was so much potential on the table for this to be another excellent entry in an already great trilogy that could've been like Enter the Matrix, but like Neo did in the first film, the story didn't make the jump. This has got to be the most broken and angry sequel I've ever seen. If you're a major fan of the franchise like myself, it is still worth watching, but don't expect it to be anything memorable. This film is currently in theaters and streaming on HBO Max. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!