Review: 'The Matrix Resurrections' lacks the dramatic tension of its predecessors

The Matrix Resurrections
3 out of 5 Stars
Director: Lana Wachowski
Writers: David Mitchell, Aleksandar Hemon
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Rated: R for violence and some language

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) – Synopsis: Resigned to design video games based on the lingering details of dreams, Mr. Anderson pines for a life more fulfilling.

Review: Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve officially run out of ideas. All that sits before us on the cinematic menu are meta, self-aware versions of past classics that exist only to smirk at how clever we think we’ve become.

We’re not that smart. Or, at least, “The Matrix Resurrections” isn’t as it plays like a band’s greatest hits album that replaces the original versions of the songs with newly rearranged recordings. We’ve been here before, and I realize that is the point, but it was done far better the first time.

I'm being a little hyperbolic and over dramatic. The sky isn't falling. But is the sky really the sky?

“The Matrix” was an amalgamation of cyberpunk fiction and philosophical musings about the emptiness of uninspired day-to-day life. And while it owes a considerable debt to the likes of William Gibson and Philip K. Dick, it worked brilliantly and famously introduced the “bullet time” visual style that changed the course of cinema. The sequels weren't nearly as good. They weren't nearly as bad as some have suggested.

“The Matrix Resurrections” is surprisingly lacking in style. It’s action sequences are rarely interesting as they half-heartedly attempt to replicate the look and feel of the original trilogy. It just feels incredibly plain even when it is pretty. A photocopy of what came before. That’s the last thing I’d expect from a film made by either of the Wachowski siblings.

The ideas behind the narrative aren’t bereft of promise. It is entirely probable that the false reality of the Matrix would be resurrected with humankind again reduced to being a source of electrical power for the machines. What worked once could easily work again. Also, putting the love story between Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) also has possibilities. It almost makes the film optimistic in a way that the original films could never be. The new characters are underwhelming. Unfortunately, this doesn’t add up to something special. It’s mediocre. Not terrible. Not great. Mediocre.

It is likely that my opinion of the film will slightly rise with additional viewings (I’ve pushed my initial star rating up from 2.5 to 3 to reflect that). That won’t change the fact that “Resurrection” doesn’t really have a reason to exist. Where original films felt prophetic, this film reactionary. Reflective, rather than forward leaning. The urgency is missing. Happily ever after seems guaranteed.

Love conquers all, apparently.