WHAT I LIKED: Having only seen the first film, I went to see Lana Wachowski's 'The Matrix: Resurrections,' exclusively because some friends were going, and I understood very little of the plot. What I can tell you though is that, like the first one, it throws up questions about what it means to be alive and whether it matters if it's an illusion, by having everyone captured by aliens and plugged into some governed reality. Here, with Neo (Keanu Reeves) and everyone trying to prop that up or bring it down for various reasons, it makes for a very complicated way of playing through those themes (let's be real, 'Free Guy,' did it a lot more simply) but it is very cool with its 90s future-gothic style and funky characters.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: It really is a ridiculously overcomplicated plot, and that not only gets in the way of much meaningful character development, but it also neccessitates a whole lot of clunky dialogue. Beyond that though, even the visual execution leaves much to be desired, as - very unlike the first film - the endless action is ridiculously hard to follow.
VERDICT: 'The Matrix: Resurrections' plot may enable the exploration of some interesting themes, but it's also rather confusing to the uninitiated, and at the very least gets in the way of better character development or nuanced visual filmmaking.
