<p>Director <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0905154/">Lana Wachowski</a> once more returns to her breakthrough film <em>The Matrix</em>. But she doesn&#8217;t just return for easy nostalgia. So many other long-awaited sequels have done so and ended up being disappointing marketing vehicles.</p>
<p><em>The Matrix Resurrections</em> digs up not just the shades, the leather, and the kick-butt visual effects. It also brings to light what really made <em>The Matrix</em> stick out from other action pictures. The big ideas of questioning society and rallying against the status quo are live and well in this film.</p>
<figure id="attachment_175102" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-175102" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="size-full wp-image-175102" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/23150526/Matrix04.jpeg" alt="Neo and Trinity in The Matrix Resurrections" width="1200" height="675" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-175102" class="wp-caption-text">Neo and Trinity in The Matrix Resurrections</figcaption></figure>
<h2 style="text-align: center">Rebooted World</h2>
<p>A sense of mystery once more returns to the series. We witness Neo (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000206/">Keanu Reeves</a>) without memories inside the simulation. He still believes himself to be Tom Anderson, a quiet yet competent programmer.</p>
<p>Shades of his previous life start popping into his memory. He starts seeing visions of himself as the hero who fought Agent Smith and led a rebellion against the machines. He takes pills to keep these visions at bay.</p>
<p>So many questions linger. How did Neo come back to life after the events of the previous film? Why does the married woman Tiff (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005251/">Carrie-Anne Moss</a>) look so familiar? What&#8217;s the real plan behind all of this?</p>
<h2 style="text-align: center">Questioning World</h2>
<p>This film goes meta right out of the gate. In the first act, we learn that Tom is the developer of a video game series. This video game is a stand-in for The Matrix franchise based on both the storyline and the literal name of the series being The Matrix.</p>
<p>The games are bickered over by the developers as they are signed on for a sequel. They argue about what The Matrix is all about, whether it&#8217;s a metaphor for cryptofascism or just mindless guns and explosions. How familiar these debates sound.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s an interesting aspect to explore considering the cultural relevance of The Matrix. It&#8217;s a film series that has shaped our media landscape but is still argued over its subtext. Even if Lana Wachowski finally confirmed the film she co-directed was really an allegory for being trans, there are still those who debate this long-held and recently-confirmed observation.</p>
<figure id="attachment_175101" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-175101" style="width: 1400px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-175101" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/23150504/MatrixResurrections05.jpg" alt="Morpheus in The Matrix Resurrections" width="1400" height="700" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-175101" class="wp-caption-text">Morpheus in The Matrix Resurrections</figcaption></figure>
<h2 style="text-align: center">The World of Choice</h2>
<p>One theme that is for certain in this film is the illusion of choice. The Matrix has mostly been recognized through the scene where Neo was offered a blue or red pill by Morpheus. Red reveals the truth while blue keeps him comforted with the status quo.</p>
<p>The choice is for Neo and choice becomes the element of humanity worth fighting for. It&#8217;s not enough to just know the truth that machines are placing humans inside a virtual world. It&#8217;s up to the individual to choose if they will do something about this.</p>
<p>This bodes well for the ultimate reveal of the villain. The villain is not just a controlling sociopath but an egotistical sexist. He&#8217;s the perfect embodiment of a world that is trying to halt an unstoppable change.</p>
<figure id="attachment_175098" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-175098" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-175098" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/23150357/Matrix01.jpeg" alt="Neo in The Matrix Resurrections" width="1200" height="675" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-175098" class="wp-caption-text">Neo in The Matrix Resurrections</figcaption></figure>
<h2 style="text-align: center">Shades of the Past</h2>
<p>The sequel features a few more returning players but in different forms. Morpheus (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5584344/">Yahya Abdul-Mateen II</a>) is present but more in the form of lingering code merging with agent DNA. Niobe (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000586/">Jada Pinkett Smith</a>) is still among the resistance but far less likely to jump into a fight after a war that has made her weary.</p>
<p>Agent Smith (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2676147/">Jonathan Groff</a>) is also back but acts as a conflicted program, no longer in full control of the Matrix. There&#8217;s also the strange cameo of the returning The Merovingian (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0933727/">Lambert Wilson</a>). He&#8217;s perhaps the most meta of inclusions for how he directly calls out sequels and franchises in a hilarious rant.</p>
<p>What&#8217;s brilliant about these returns is that nearly all of them question The Matrix as an entity and an external piece of culture. It&#8217;s not just the blatant criticism served up by The Merovingian. It&#8217;s how Morpheus becomes a seed of rebellion within the system and how Niobe has been beaten down by the attrition of it all.</p>
<figure id="attachment_175096" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-175096" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-175096" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/23150309/MatrixResurrections03.jpg" alt="Neo and Trinity in The Matrix Resurrections" width="1600" height="900" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-175096" class="wp-caption-text">Neo and Trinity in The Matrix Resurrections</figcaption></figure>
<h2 style="text-align: center">Cyberpunk Action</h2>
<p>If you only find yourself drawn to Matrix for fights, you may be pleased to know this aspect hasn&#8217;t been forgotten in all the postmodernism. There&#8217;s plenty of showdowns with runners versus agents, especially with the kick-butt addition of the latest gunslinger, Bugs (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3725055/">Jessica Henwick</a>). Every fight from the train battle to the city-wide chase is overflowing with guns, fists, explosions, and wicked freneticism.</p>
<p>The good news with the action is that they don&#8217;t go for more bullet-time effects. Pop culture has had its fill of that for over twenty years. The bad news is that there probably won&#8217;t be anything as mind-blowing as Trinity shooting an agent in the face or Neo battling a horde of Agent Smiths.</p>
<p>That is, of course, only based on the legacy of the Matrix and its action. There&#8217;s nothing here that will redefine the genre but still a lot of pleasing sequences. It&#8217;s still every bit as exciting as the deconstruction of itself, though one is certainly more powerful than the other.</p>
<figure id="attachment_175099" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-175099" style="width: 1920px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-175099" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/23150419/Matrix07.jpeg" alt="Bugs in The Matrix Resurrections" width="1920" height="1080" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-175099" class="wp-caption-text">Bugs in The Matrix Resurrections</figcaption></figure>
<h2 style="text-align: center">Conclusion: <em>The Matrix Resurrections</em></h2>
<p>This is every bit the sequel that we needed right now. It&#8217;s the <em>Matrix</em> movie that has evolved enough to more than just a reprisal. It not only zooms past the the lackluster nostalgia-baiting of other films but calls them out as well.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s little doubt this will be a highly divisive film. The meta nature is not going to be everbody&#8217;s cup of tea. But if you&#8217;ve endured an onslaught of too many franchise revivals that find little unearth, <em>Resurrections</em> is the cure to franchise blues.</p>
<p><em><strong>Did you see </strong></em><strong>The Matrix Resurrections</strong><em><strong>? Did you watch in the theater or on HBO Max? How does it rank among the other Matrix movies? Is it better than </strong></em><a href="https://bagogames.com/spider-man-no-way-home-review-the-webslinger-gets-risky/"><strong>Spider-Man: No Way Home</strong></a><em><strong> as a film with returning characters? Let us know in the comments below.</strong></em></p>
<div class="jeg_review_wrap">
 <h3 class="jeg_review_subtitle">The Review</h3>
 <h2 class="jeg_review_title">
 The Matrix Resurrections
 </h2>
 <div class="jeg_reviewheader clearfix">
 <div class="review_score score_good">
 <span class="score_value">8</span>
 <span class="score_text">Score</span>
 </div>
 <div class="desc" style=''>
 <p>A fitting cage-rattler of a sequel that decontrusts the Matrix franchise wonderfully.</p>
 </div>
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 <div class="jeg_reviewdetail clearfix">
 <div class="conspros">
 <h3>PROS</h3>
 <ul><li><i class="jegicon-check"></i> Grand philosophical ideas.</li><li><i class="jegicon-check"></i> Fascinating meta commentary.</li><li><i class="jegicon-check"></i> Exciting action sequences.</li></ul>
 </div>
 <div class="conspros">
 <h3>CONS</h3>
 <ul><li><i class="jegicon-cross"></i> Settles too easily on its theme in the second act.</li><li><i class="jegicon-cross"></i> Few mind-blowing action sequences.</li></ul>
 </div>
 </div>
 <div class="jeg_reviewscore jeg_reviewbars clearfix" data-scoretype="point">
 <h3>Review Breakdown</h3>
 <ul><li>
 <strong>Final Score</strong>
 <span class="reviewscore">8</span>
 <div class="jeg_reviewbar_wrap">
 <span style="width: 80%" class="barbg"></span>
 </div>
 </li></ul>
 </div>
 
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BagoGames > Articles > Geek Culture > Movies > The Matrix Resurrections Review – A Perfectly Meta Sequel
The Matrix Resurrections Review – A Perfectly Meta Sequel
The Matrix is deconstructed well in this long-awaited sequel.
- Categories: Geek Culture, Movies
- Tags: Movie ReviewMovie Reviews
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