Audiences have a hard time embracing conclusions, always calling for more. You might have moved on as a creative, with new projects on the horizon, yet still, audiences want more stories, or at least a supposed better conclusion. In 2021, after some personal tragedy and a hefty dose of soul-searching, Lana Wachowski returned for one last outing of the Chosen One, in The Matrix Resurrections.

Thomas Anderson might not be The One, instead, he is a video game designer. The Matrix was a revolutionary set of video games. Now his partners pressure him to make another one, with Anderson’s precarious mental state. He also crushes deeply on the divorced mother who frequents his local coffee shop, and who looks a lot like Trinity. All that goes out the window when Morpheus comes through the looking glass, saying that this is all an illusion and offering a red pill, but can he be trusted? Is he just a delusion of his fragile, overworked mind? When the supposed delusion starts getting more violent, Neo will have to regain his skills and fast, in the faces of foes, who would like to make another matrix.

The Matrix, like a lot of Cinema’s greatest works, feels personal yet enjoyed by many, and after its conclusion in 2003, the franchise has meant a lot, to all walks of life, for different reasons. With Resurrections, there’s a lot of self-referential enjoyment to behold The Matrix 2.0, far removed from the late 90s aesthetic (replaced with more sunset-like browns). Clever call-backs and meta-jokes weave perfectly in the film, reflecting on the behind-the-scenes discussions, surrounding the return of the franchise and large fan expectations. As a legacy sequel at heart, this is to be expected, along with the film feeling like it covers the classic beats of the original with some new twist thrown in between. Fan’s fears should be allied, the action is still fun, and philosophical questions are still challenging.

While still keeping busy with the action blockbusting John Wick franchise, and the Cyberpunk showstopper, Cyberpunk 2077, Keanu Reeves makes a grand return as Neo/Anderson. It is also great to see Carrie-Anne Moss return as Trinity, even after her character’s sacrifice over a decade ago. Although not everyone returns; Hugo Weaving and Laurence Fishburne are just some noticeable absences, even though here characters thankfully are back. Fresh off of Hamilton and the gripping Mindhunter is Jonathan Groff, who plays Smith, a financier whose name similarities to the Agent might be just coincidental. He is joined by Newcomers such as Bugs, a blue-haired, action star, who has a lot of fun too. Also, Neil Patrick Harris is the mysterious Analyst who seems more than to shoot down any of Andersons’s alleged emulsions. Returning characters, Like Niobe, are also present, offering representation of all parts of the trilogy.

The Matrix Resurrections asks a lot of questions: When is, enough, enough? When do we walk away? Is it a reboot, a sequel? But when it comes to the legacy sequel, Resurrections stills shows how much fun can still be had with the inventive characters and the well-realised world that The Wachowskis have crafted. The wit that perfectly accented the franchise also perseveres, as does a lot of the impressionable action, and interesting designs. It’s not exactly subtle, damn subtlety, in this personal hurrah, with new and old returning to celebrate a franchise that still speaks to generations that were born just after its conclusion. Instead of agonising over the Blue or Red pill, The Matrix Resurrections lives up to the best of both worlds.

If you want more positive reviews delivered to the e-mail box of your choice, you can click on that little text bubble at the bottom of the screen. Do you agree or disagree? or have a suggestion for another pop-culture artefact that needs a positive light shone on it? Leave a comment in the comment box below! But remember to keep it positive!