The Matrix Resurrections (2021) Movie Review (POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT)

Hello guys and seasonal greetings from your friendly neighbourhood Movie Nerd and welcome back for another round of movie reviews, in a place, not the Matrix but one where you can be nerdy about movies!

It's almost Christmas and I am finally done with the preparations for the holidays, with a few little things left to finish up but I manage to find some time to write this review for a movie that really divided the fans of the franchise and movie goers alike. I put in the title a potential spoiler alert, if I get into some plot points or some parts of the story that I might spoil for the people who haven't seen the movie yet but I don't really see that to happen. I think I will keep this spoiler free but, just to be on the safe side, I put the alert just in case.

So, without further due, this is my honest review of the 4th Matrix movie but, before I start, a little synopsis for you guys:

• Plagued by strange memories, Neo's life takes an unexpected turn when he finds himself back inside the Matrix.

I went last night to see the movie in the cinema and I know, it's also on HBO Max but I did not see the other three movies on the big screen and I wanted to experience a Matrix movie as it should be experiences, in the movie theatre. I am a big of the Matrix trilogy, especially the first one and I was so excited when they announced that a fourth movie is going to happen. The trailers really impressed me and I was very eager to see in what direction they are going to take the story now. I was surprised and a bit confused of the choices and the risks they took with this one.

First of all, the first half of the movie is so meta and self aware that it does not feel like a Matrix movie, it really feels like a parody or an SNL sketch, with the humor and the witty banter between the characters. The way they talked about the original trilogy being a game that Neo or, in this case, Thomas Anderson developed and saying that WB were thinking of making a fourth one, I really think that was the actual meeting that the creators had when discussing making this fourth movie. It felt a bit off but, surprising nonetheless.

Second of all, they screwed up two of the most iconic characters of the franchise, Morpheus and Agent Smith. They did not feel imposing or threatening in any single way whatsoever. They used images from the previous three movies, just to make a point that what came before was better than what we have today. Or maybe it was a way to help the people that haven't seen the original trilogy to understand the story better but, if you are one of those people, please do yourself a favour and watch them.

About the story of this movie and it's main plot, the script does not do a really good job on telling us what the story is really about. It's a little confusing, most of the times boring and some of the times has some really bad and stupid dialogue. It's basic plot or main subject is not free the minds, like it was in the first movie but a love story between Neo and Trinity. I really preferred that this one will go back to that, rather than focusing on another thing that does involve that.

The action part, where the other movies really shined, this one feels a bit downgraded to a lower level. It does have action sequences but some of them are really badly edited and poorly shot, with the shaky cam technique, which is always a marvel to see, being sarcastic BTW. The action part from the final act of the movie really stands out as the better one plus the fight between Neo and Agent Smith is pretty good as well.

The main problem of the movie is that it has a really interesting idea and a really smart concept and it also answers some questions that most of us had at the end of Matrix: Revolutions , like what happened to humans and Zion after Neo defeated Smith or how Neo and Trinity were still alive and we got answers to those questions but it relies to much on the other three movies, especially the first one, to basically tell the same story, combined with some new elements along the way, to try and make it something original but, unfortunately, is not. Some of that works but most of it just falls flat.

The music is almost inexistent, the main theme of the Matrix is heard a little in some occasions but that's about it and the new music does not really work all that well. It does have some good special effects and I liked that they, at least, kept and used the sound design and sound effects from the previous movies. The actors are doing the best they can with the material that they got.

Overall, the movie feels more like a reboot than a resurrection. It lacks the originality of it's predecessor but it still contains some of what made the other movies great, a perspective that is everlasting, characters that were glad to see return, some of them at least, a little bit of heart and emotions plus a smart concept. Unfortunately, the end result feels a little disappointing. I liked the movie, I am not that upset as others really are, most of them really hate this movie but I was really excited to be back into this world, although leaving it a bit disappointed. 6.2/10

OK guys, that was my review for this one. I am not sure that I will do another review till the year is over, I want to go see The King's Man after Christmas but I am not sure that I will be able to. So, I will make this a temporary last review of the year and if I don't post the review for that movie next week, this will be the last review of the year.

Until then, have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, take care, stay movie nerdy and keep on reviewing!