By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
There is still some life bubbling within the “Matrix” franchise and the fourth installment,
“The Matrix Resurrections” is proof.
This flashy, techno, actioner from writer/director Lana Wachowski is a high stakes thriller and love story, albeit a convoluted one.
Keanu Reeves (“John Wick: Chapter 4”) is back as Neo, only this time he’s living quietly and humbly in San Francisco as Thomas Anderson, a video inventor who has done quite well for himself with a Matrix type game he’s created.
There’s something going on with Neo/Thomas. He’s not himself and keeps having these odd dreams like he’s in another realm. The dreams have caused him to see “The Analyst” (a funny and crazed Neil Patrick Harris, “F is for Family”).
Something has taken over Neo beyond his control and these techno entities are trying to get him to help fight against the Matrix. They include Morpheus (the super cool, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, “Candyman”). Of course, Laurence Fishburne starred as the original Morpheus and is shown here in flashbacks.
Nothing is quite as it seems. Even Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss, “The White Tiger”) can’t tell the difference between reality and illusion. She’s married and has two kids, but her life is jolted when she meets Neo, and it triggers some memories she can’t shake.
Niobe (a terrific Jada Pinkett Smith, Uptown Saturday Night”) and the blue-haired Bugs (Jessica Henwick, TV’s “Blade Runner: Black Lotus”) have a major hand in the proceedings involving Neo and Trinity.
“The Matrix Resurrections” is loaded with plenty of fighting and dizzying gun action sequences that become numbing after a while.
Still, “The Matrix Resurrections” is meant for die-hard fans. If you come into this without any prior knowledge of the franchise, you’ll be lost, but nevertheless entertained by this slick, nostalgic and mind-bender of a movie.
“The Matrix Resurrections” is in theaters and currently streaming on
HBO Max.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Watch This Trailer For
"THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
