The Matrix Regurgitated

Hello Hivers I had been holding off from watching The Matrix Resurrections for fear of disappointment, but I eventually took the red pill and went down the rabbit hole, hoping I would party like it was 1999. I hate to say it, but the party is well and truly over: The Matrix Reloaded peed in the punch, and Revolutions made a right royal mess of the bathroom, but Resurrections calls the police, who break down the door and arrest everyone for disturbing the peace. In short, a good time is not had by all.

Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Eréndira Ibarra, Jessica Henwick, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

Keanu Reeves, sporting his strange half-beard and lank hair, once again plays Neo, who has been resurrected by the machines and plugged back into the Matrix as top games designer Thomas Anderson, famous for his groundbreaking Matrix series (how meta!). Thomas is approached by some alternative types with stupid names and stupid hair who convince him that his life is a lie and extract him from the matrix. After regaining his mojo (kung fu skills and stopping bullets in mid-air), Neo and his new pals attempt to rescue Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), who is still being used as a battery by the machines.

Part four in the franchise, directed by Lana Wachowski, should have been called The Matrix Regurgitations for it is content to deliver exactly the same kind of nonsense as seen almost two decades ago in Reloaded and Revolutions, namely lots of shooting, lots of fighting, lots of explosions, lots of CGI, and an incomprehensible load of old cyber-crap masquerading as a plot. In short, it's a big case of déjà vu (see what I did there?). Hugo Weaving and Laurence Fishburne had the good sense to stay away from this embarrassing attempt to flog an old horse to death; I bet Christina Ricci and Neil Patrick Harris wish they had followed suit.

                                          ⭐ 3/10