The 2020-2021 Film Journal Entry #40: "The Matrix Resurrections"

2020-2021 Film Journal Entry #40

by Xavier E. Palacios

"The Matrix Resurrections"

4 out of 5

Directed by Lana Wachowski

Premise: Decades after the conclusion of The Matrix trilogy, this sequel sees the series' central protagonist, Neo (Keanu Reeves), who sacrificed himself in the previous installment to bring a peaceful end to the human and machine war, resurrected with a new, amnesiac identity in the Matrix: a simulation of contemporary reality used by the artificial intelligences to imprison much of humanity. Neo is tormented by vague visions, really memories of his past life, and his longing for a stranger: Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), his true love also returned to life and the Matrix with no memory of her former self. When a team of humans and machines, led by Bugs (Jessica Henwick) and a program named "Morpheus" (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), help free Neo back into the real world, he seeks only to bring Trinity with him. This romantic mission will force him and his allies against deadly opponents: devious programs who rule this latest version of the Matrix and will do anything to keep Neo, The One, in their control. A strong return of this classic science-fiction series with captivating filmmaking craft and a storytelling spirit worthy of being the final entry of this Film Journal.

"R"

My Thoughts

Part 1: "A world where anything is possible . . ."

When I was about twelve years old, I caught the middle of the first act of 1999's The Matrix on TV. I knew absolutely nothing about the film, despite my childhood exposure to the massively popular series, (if any kid on my elementary school's playground was going to pull off an acrobatic stunt in a game of dodgeball, they would first scream the battle cry, "MATRIX!"). So all I could understand was that Men in Black-looking agents were pursuing the film's protagonist, Neo, a cubicle worker going by his computer hacker alias, while he is on-call with a mysterious man named Morpheus; his key to solving a mystery that is a splinter in his mind, driving him mad: what is the Matrix?

Having missed the film's clue-filled start, I had no inkling of any answer, nor the nature of the very unreal things happening to Neo. I sat on the edge of my couch as the answers came closer and closer, my heart beating with anticipation. Finally, as the first act closed with Neo awakening from the Matrix system and out of his gelatin-shelled pod, the truth is revealed. His consciousness has been living in a computer simulation of the modern world. I was magnificently stunned! Never had I ever considered the idea of reality being a fake! My inherit curiosity, fear, and compulsion towards cosmic, ethereal mysteries were ignited by the film's philosophical questions about the nature of reality. Akin to my experience in discovering Dune, (also around that age), watching The Matrix was one of the times I was utterly blown away by a story as if I had never heard another tale before.

Due to The Matrix Resurrections being the hopefully final act in this twenty-two-year-old series, (making the piece another saga-of-old flick), I will be divulging on the series and film's spoilers. Otherwise, discussing Resurrections' content in-depth and its impact upon me while dodging the core details will be too tricky and unfulfilling.

Spoilers Begin Here and Will Remain for the Entry.

So, for the uninitiated and because this question is significant to examining this film, what is the essential story of this convoluted yet rewarding series?