The first Matrix movie blew my mind. I’m pretty sure it had that effect on everyone. It was, after all, the effect it was meant to have. The movie had since prominently entered popular culture, you can talk about bullet time or déjà vu all over again or argue the nature of reality itself in Matrix-speak quite comfortably. In other words, it was an instant classic, a cinematic legend.
Because no one can ever leave things well enough alone, especially when they make oodles of money, it also spawned two largely unnecessary sequels to round out as a trilogy. The sequels failed to maintain the wild freshness of the original, but no fan of Matrix was able to avoid them. And then decades passed. A new era of nostalgia-driven media rolled in. The minds addled by social media and instant availability of everyone at all time - you want to know what your high school ex is up to? Easy, look it up. Eventually, you’re going to want to know what your favorite fictional characters are up to now and get frustrated that you can’t look those up. But wait, the powers that be are willing to accommodate you, because they sense the money-making potential of this passing-of-time-ignorant pruriency. Enter a number of dumb revisits to old dumb shows that no one needs and apparently enough people watch to warrant more, more, more… The new Matrix was ushered in by that flawed mentality, but it is a much worthier entry, simply because it’s a much worthier premise. And credit where credit’s due, the single Wachowski sister had done a credible job where Wachowski brothers duo excels before. While the first Matrix is prominently etched into my psyche and my memory, the sequels are but a distant dream. Nevertheless, I’d no idea where Lana Wachowski was going to take the next movie. And turns out, she did the best possible thing with it, she twisted it around onto itself. Neo/Mr. Anderson is still a man of confused personal duality. Is he a famous programmer/dumpy middle-aged man prone to mental slides and depression or is he a kickass revolutionary that looks like Keanu Reeves? Which would you choose - that’s a no-brainer. But he is confused and he needs some expert help of the fun-haired futuristic programmers/fans to guide him on his way. And the second he gets unconfused all he wants is Trinity, because, of course, he would. I mean, who wouldn’t. Plus, those two are soulmates whose powers activate together, they are literally lurv-powered supercharged couple of your wildest science fiction dreams. And Reeves and Moss reunite effortlessly, their chemistry Is perfectly intact, both had aged like fine wine and still got what it takes to thrill and look good doing it. And glibness aside, whatever you might think of this spectacle of a movie, it is first and foremost a love story, a credible sincere heartfelt love story between age-compatible adults, which is something you’re not likely to find in cinema these days. The new Morpheous is pretty awesome. I’m guessing they couldn’t have the old one back, the old Morpheous looks like he did nothing but eat since the last movies. Not a great look. Not everyone can age as gracefully as Carrie-Anne and Keanu. The new Smith is meh. But the chief new antagonist, the man behind so much of Neo’s confusion, is the overwhelmingly underwhelming NPH, cast here out of what one can only imagine is some bizarre personal favor. I mean, nothing against NPH and to his credit he does try his best, but this isn’t his world and this isn’t his role. He’s strictly a sitcom guy / award show host and his acting muscles simply do no stretch to major villainy in a major movie. It’s like he almost kinda makes it and then just snaps back into cute and campy. Tragic, really. Of all the actors out there who would have relished this role… Jada Pinkett Smith comes back in some genuinely excellent aged makeup and does a very credible job as an old lady, she is now a leader of different priorities, one whose authority gets questioned by her young rebel crew. The rest of the cast is so preciously multiethnic, multiaccented and multiracial, it’s almost as if someone tried to make a point. But it works and that’s all that matters. And then there’s the action…the action is WILD. The Matrix movies are known for their action and while once upon a time I may have appreciated, nowadays it doesn’t do much for me. Watching people shoot at each other is about as exciting as watching them chase balls across a field. In fact, the action scenes in this movie were my least favorite – something to sit through while waiting for the story to resume. Wachowski sister obviously still relishes the action and to be fair it did look pretty awesome back in the day, but now it has an almost fetishized quality to it, wherein everyone looks, dresses and has the hair done up in a wild range of styles that put one in mind of some trendy Euro dance club. And yes, that is the Matrix look, but the Matrix universe is about so much more than that. So much so that the action and the wardrobe eventually are mostly a distraction. Conceptually, the Matrix (the original, mostly) remains one of the smartest trippiest movies ever made. The movie that makes you question the very nature of reality and one’s personal responsibility/complacency in the face of it. It’s a movie about making a choice to live or exist. A movie about daring to take chances. It’s genuinely profound. Cinematically, all Matrix movies are spectacles and this one might be more so than most. But having that been said, if there had to be a fourth entry in the series…this is it. This is as clever and as good as you might have hoped for from a writer/director who clearly understands and loves this world. And so, it works, it’s fun. It’s crazy long. It’s a lovely nostalgia-lane trip to revisit with the beloved characters once more. But does it make you go…Whoa…in the best Keanu impression? That is the question.
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