Happy New Year.
Without sister Lily, Lana Wachowski goes it alone to direct fourth in franchise.
Keanu Reeves - Neo/Thomas Anderson
Carrie-Ann Moss - Trinity/Tiffany
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II - Morpheus/Agent Smith
Jonathan Groff - Smith
Jessica Henwick - Bugs
Neil Patrick Harris - The Analyst
Jada Pinkett Smith - Niobe
Priyanka Chopra Jonas - Sati
Christina Ricci - Gwyn de Vere
Summary
60 years after the events of Revolutions, Deus Machine employee Neo (under his original identity of Thomas Anderson) has become famous for developing The Matrix video game trilogy.
What else?
After taking a red pill from another version of Morpheus, his mind is reopened to simulated reality.
Against Niobe's wishes, a group of rebel exile programs (Synthients) agree to help Neo rescue Trinity from cartoonish villain the Analyst.
Post-credits
Deus Machina employees declare media is dead and insist a series of cat videos (collectively dubbed The 'Catrix') is the way forward.
WTF?
New code, old ground
Original may have raped Ghost in the Shell, but shit revolutionized sci-fi.
However, nostalgic trip is a royal waste of time.
First half is basically the same principle as Wes Craven's New Nightmare, and for the benefit of those who can't remember, footage of previous outings is relentlessly displayed.
The rest is just fucking boring.
Gunplay and martial arts sequences grossly underwhelm, with nothing reaching the giddy heights of the highway chase in Reloaded.
Dialogue regularly slices cheese, acting is sub-par and apart from the blue-haired Bugs, I had little time for comedic majority.
Reeves and Moss enjoy a happy ending and literally fly away, but chemistry left me emptier than an unfinished painting.
In between anything and everything, a spectacular failure.
