Lana Wachowski’s “The Matrix Resurrections” is not your average Hollywood sequel or soft reboot. Typically, big budget sequels to beloved franchises mirror the events of their original films and desperately try to offend as little people as possible, i.e. Star Wars: The Force Awakens or Jurassic World. The Matrix Resurrections is the complete opposite as the director of the original Matrix, Lana Wachowski, chooses to take this sequel in a completely different direction. This boosts the film and will keep audiences hooked in for most of its runtime, and credit is deserved for simply being daring in storytelling. However, this does not save Resurrections from becoming overly convoluted by the story’s end and ultimately unsatisfying in its conclusion.

With most Hollywood reboots/sequels, a major flaw is their lack of new and original ideas, but this is not the case at all in Resurrections. The film chooses to take a wildly different direction and tone than the original trilogy did, opting for a more self-aware and thought-provoking matrix that our characters live in instead of the dark, cold, and mysterious matrix of the originals. Characters in the film openly talk about iterations of The Matrix storyline in video games and our protagonist, Neo, is caught in a battle between what he sees as fiction and reality. In sharp contrast to most other reboots, this is an engaging and fresh premise that does not rely on nostalgia and instead hooks the audience in from the start.

The technical aspects, score and production quality of Resurrections are stellar as well. The effects are convincing and used to good effect in some of the more gory, horrifying action scenes in the film. Instead of the heavily green-filtered color palette of the original trilogy, Wachowski instead opts for a brighter, more sunny yet still surreal landscape that works quite well. The music is used perfectly to make scenes of major exposition, action, or big reveals far more intense.

The characters and cast in The Matrix Resurrections are absolutely a mixed bag. Some of the new additions from the real-world scenes, such as Jessica Henwick as Bugs, are interesting and fun to watch, but ultimately never amount to 3-dimensional characters. Jonathan Groff’s character takes bold directions and introduces thought-provoking ideas, but he is not used enough in the climax in the film, leading to his inclusion feeling pointless and a waste of time. Yahya Abdul-Mateen’s version of Morpheus is used well, and his fresh take on the character is a welcome inclusion and a nice expansion to the lore of the Matrix Universe. Jada Pinkett-Smith is a welcome surprise for all fans of the originals, but she, like Groff, is not used enough in the climax of the film. Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss are outstanding as Neo and Trinity, and they pick up right from where they left off, bringing tons of charisma to their roles as the protagonists of this series. However, the real standout of Resurrections’ characters is Neil Patrick Harris as the analyst. While it is difficult to discuss his role without spoiling the film, potential viewers should know that it is a big departure from Harris’s usual roles and his character is one of the best parts of the film.

However, after all this praise, The Matrix Resurrections is ultimately mediocre and disappointing. After many intriguing ideas are set up in the first two acts, the film ends up climaxing in a boring and confusing action slugfest with no meaning behind it at all. Many characters are robbed of their true potential in this final act, and even Neo himself, the main character of this series and the chosen one, does not have any agency, impact or stakes in the final battle besides his love for Trinity. This is incredibly disappointing, as Neo’s inner conflict was the heart and soul of the original trilogy. The villains of the film are wasted and simply left behind in the bombastic conclusion, ruining potentially intriguing conflicts. Trinity herself is the only character who receives a concrete and satisfying resolution in the end, but even this feels cheap and unearned, as almost every other character was robbed of agency in order to give her more attention.

The Matrix Resurrections is far more engaging and fresh in its direction than most other Hollywood sequels/reboots. It takes the world of the Matrix franchise in intriguing, unexplored directions that could have made an incredibly satisfying sequel. However, the film falls apart in its final act. It ends up feeling muddled, disorganized and ultimately a waste of potential. While The Matrix Resurrections sets up some interesting ideas, its conclusion and the film itself are ultimately unsatisfying.

Grade: C+