The era of the reboot continues with the fourth installment in the Matrix franchise: Resurrections. Twenty years after the events of The Matrix Revolutions, Neo (Keanu Reeves) is living an ordinary life under his original identity, Thomas Anderson, having seemingly forgotten everything he learned ever since he first took that red pill. Now, a new group of rebels—and a new Morpheus—come crashing into his life and reopen his mind to the Matrix, which has become even more dangerous since he left it. There’s lots of winking, tongue-in-cheek moments in this movie with more than enough fan service; Resurrections is not afraid to poke fun at itself. It becomes almost meta in the most magical way as the new Morpheus (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who once again shows his chameleonlike range) recounts the previous Matrix adventures to Neo, trying to spark his memory. Even better, Neo and Trinity’s (Carrie-Anne Moss) chemistry burns as bright as ever—even if they don’t remember each other right away. Longtime fans may find it too heavy on the exposition, but newcomers will appreciate the context. And even though Laurence Fishburne’s absence is a sore spot that’s never fully explained, The Matrix Resurrections is a breath of fresh air in a time when reboots are a dime a dozen. R, 148 min.
Wide release in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
The Matrix Resurrections
