The Matrix Resurrections

Last month we saw the release of the new “The Matrix Resurrections” movie, which was released theatrically and on HBO Max. I had started watching it, but I only got about 40 minutes into the movie before I had to stop it because we were traveling over the course of the past three weeks. However, tonight I went back and finished the movie, and now I will let you know what I thought of this surprisingly new sequel.

If you think you can see this new sequel without doing some homework, then you should really implore some serious cogitation.

The franchise’s fourth movie – solid and sometimes confusing – has a lot of heart while it harks back to the original movie with action, more mind-blowing displays and, yes, romance when Neo and Trinity reunite.

The story begins with a scene very similar to the start of the original movie at the Heart O’ the City Hotel. However, it looks different. There’s a new Morpheus, this time played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

And now we see about “The Matrix” as a trilogy of video games designed by Thomas Anderson, played by Keanu Reeves. His business partner, played by Jonathan Groff, says the game’s distribution company wants a fourth game, not the new game that Anderson has been creating. What he doesn’t know is that his games are based on his own memories.

Then we see her. Anderson sees a woman named Tiffany, played by Carrie-Anne Moss. The two seem to recognize each other when they talk, but she ends up leaving with her husband (Chat Stahelski) and children (Julian Grey and Gaige Chat).

Anderson has anxiety, and talks with an analyst, played by Neil Patrick Harris, about what worries him after a suicide attempt: He thinks he believed he was Neo from his own video game and tried to fly off a roof.

There are many other characters, many of them “new.”

Linda Cook said in her review, “There’s a reason Anderson/Neo and Tiffany/Trinity have been kept in proximity with each other. They do not know their true identities.”

Cook continued, “Ideas of peace, binary/non-binary themes, how we define reality and all kinds of references to “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” abound. Diehard “Matrix” fans will have a field day finding Easter Eggs throughout.”

Cook admitted, “I don’t pretend to have caught all the details or have all the answer to the meanings of this movie. This is a dense film, full of meaning, symbols and references to the prior “Matrix” trilogy, the filmmakers themselves and even some of the actors involved in this diverse cast.”

The film has a wonderfully self-referential extra scene at the end of the credits. Cook asked, “What does it mean? I’m not sure, but I can tell you it’s humorous and may be a clue to a fifth movie.”

If you have not seen the trilogy, don’t start with this one – see the first three first. Then the fourth film will have you saying “Woah” one more time.

I have to be honest; I like this better than the last two movies. Is it better than the first one? Maybe, but I have to think honestly about that since I wasn’t very fond of this franchise. Still, if you want to see the new entry in the franchise, check it out on HBO Max if you don’t feel safe going to the theaters.

Thank you for joining in on my review tonight. Check in this Friday for the continuation of “Space Month.”