Film Review: "The Matrix Resurrections" (2021).

"It's been another life, beyond the one..." in The Matrix Resurrections. This science fiction action film directed by Lana Wachowski, written by Wachowski, David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon, and based on the characters created by The Wachowskis. It is the sequel to The Matrix Revolutions (2003) and the fourth installment in The Matrix film series. Plagued by strange memories, Neo's life takes an unexpected turn when he finds himself back inside the Matrix.

In late August 2019, it was officially announced by Warner Bros that a new sequel was in development with Lana Wachowski returning as sole director, with Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss confirmed to reprise their roles. Lilly Wachowski was not involved with the film due to work on the Showtime series Work in Progress (2019-Present), but gave her blessing to those involved to come up with a story even "better than the original". By early February 2020, Jada Pinkett Smith, Lambert Wilson and Daniel Bernhardt were confirmed to reprise their roles. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff and Priyanka Chopra Jonas replaced Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving and Tanveer K. Atwal. Weaving was originally approached to reprise his role as Agent Smith, but he had to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts with other films. Jessica Henwick, Neil Patrick Harris, Christina Ricci were cast as newcomers. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in early November. Filming took place in San Francisco, California USA and at Babelsberg Studio in Berlin, Germany under the code name Project Ice Cream. In mid March, production on the film was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In mid August, Reeves confirmed filming had resumed in Berlin. In September, Warner Bros. confirmed that Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer would score the film. The film was originally set for a May 21, 2021 release on May 21, 2021 release date. However, the film was postponed to April 1, 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was then moved back to December 22, 2021. The film is set to be the final film from Warner Bros. Pictures to have a simultaneous release on the HBO Max streaming service for one month as part of the studio's plans for all of its 2021 theatrical films.

The film stars Reeves, Moss, Abdul-Mateen II, Henwick, Groff, Harris, Chopra Jonas, Smith, Wilson, Bernhardt and Ricci. The film somewhat comes together nicely as the actors breathe vulnerability, fallibility and personality into their roles, with Reeves still being quite the commanding presence.

We waited almost twenty years for the same basic story? Hmpf. At least it looked good and had the original cast. Without that, we'd all be crying ripoff. The mediocrity of the film is not the fault of the audience, but people need to demand more. This is simply not serious or challenging filmmaking, even in the action genre. This latest installment of fandom's favorite mongrel pet is a poorly paced MacGuffin-chase plot, ginned up with groan-inducing spoonful doses of pro-war imagery and its attendant rudimentary vocabulary.

Simon says The Matrix Resurrections receives:

Also, see my review for Sense8.