By Conor Gillingham, Buzz Editor
A lot of movies came out last month in December, but one of the biggest to come out was The Matrix: Resurrections. The last installment in the beloved sci-fi franchise was almost 20 years ago, so with its grand return, does it still hold up after all this time? Let's find out.
One of the big things that this franchise is known for is the abstract ideas and concepts they experiment with, though while being limited to the technology they had available at the time, there was trouble landing those ideas smoothly. In Matrix 4, however, the technology they work with is more developed than before, making the world seem like a world in the 21st century. They use tiny effects to make the matrix itself seem like a computer simulation in many places in the film. The most notable example is the effect they use with glass with tiny movements being made in the background, symbolizing the code running down a computer screen. This movie used one of its biggest risks from the last two films and made it stick as the effects really work now more than they ever did.
The most notable change to this movie is the characters that are present in this film. Like the other movies, this story still stars Keanu Reeves as Neo, and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity. This was a huge risk considering how the previous film ended with the death of both characters. While the idea of bringing them both back might cheapen their story, the way they did was handled great, with Keanu Reeves still showing how he can capture the role as great as he was able to back then. The film also includes some of the best set of characters, with Jessica Henwick as Bugs and Neil Patrick Harris as The Analyst. Their acting makes this movie feel really fleshed out, giving us both great world building and amazing characters.
While this movie has both great visuals and characters, the film does have trouble telling its story. The film has some really great scenes and plot points to be sure, but similar to the first Matrix movie, the movie does have to start off slow to give us time to process what is going on. This would be great and all but while the movie does give us some amazing buildup, it's unclear what the ultimate premise is and even what happens at the end.
While the movie does mix both good and bad ideas, this is a film that is an enjoyable watch with great characters and visuals, and having less pressure of being bogged down with the other films like The Matrix Revolutions did.