After 1999’s The Matrix turned into an enormous hit, sequels became inevitable. In an ambitious move, the filmmakers put out two more chapters in 2003 to make this a complete trilogy: Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions.

Though both earned money, fans seemed less than enchanted with them. The trilogy finished, that felt like the end of the Matrix as a cinematic enterprise.

Not so fast! 2021 brought a fourth chapter with The Matrix Resurrections, an attempt to let us catch up with the characters now.

Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) created a successful video game series called The Matrix and now struggles to create a sequel. He also deals with issues related to how he perceives reality, a syndrome for which his analyst (Neil Patrick Harris) prescribes him blue pills to keep him grounded.

Anderson’s life starts to change when he encounters Tiffany (Carrie-Anne Moss), a married woman who seems very familiar to him. With the assistance of a young woman named Bugs (Jessica Henwick), Anderson begins to go through a reawakening to the notion that the Matrix is real and he’s actually a savior named Neo.

Though billed as a sequel, Resurrections can feel more like a reboot at times. Obviously it doesn’t formally qualify for that concept because it brings back some of the original leads as the same roles, but too much of Resurrections echoes the original that it can veer into remake territory.

Despite that, Resurrections portrays all this in a clever enough way to pique our interest. The “meta” elements can feel a bit forced and clever/clever at times, but they demonstrate enough spark to make them intriguing.

Unfortunately, this means the first act of the flick becomes its best. Not that Resurrections collapses after we buy into the new take on the Matrix universe, but I do feel the tale feels less compelling as it goes.

Really, the problem is that the original trilogy simply left the filmmakers little room to go in terms of the Neo narrative. Indeed, Resurrections needs to twist and stretch to find a reason to exist at all, since the conclusion of Revolutions seemed to tie up that thread with a pretty neat little bow.

Though Resurrections doesn’t go “never mind” and negate the conclusion to the trilogy, it dances around these issues as it attempts to justify its existence. Let’s face it: the Wachowskis clearly intended to finish the franchise in 2003, and Lana Wachowski acknowledges that she fought against the notion of Matrix 4 for years.

Wachowski, states that some personal issues led her to finally re-embrace the franchise, but I can’t help but believe that the buckets of money Warner Bros. threw at her acted as a significant motivator. In addition, the three films Lana made with sister Lilly after 2003 all disappointed financially, so some temptation to score another hit likely acted an enticement.

Which makes it ironic that Resurrections left Lana’s career in no better shape. Apparently Lilly didn’t work on the sequel due to other commitments, which might end up as a blessing in disguise.

I fear that these comments leave the impression that Resurrections offers a bad film, but I don’t want that notion to persist. As mentioned earlier, the first act seems involving – winking pretensions aside – and even though the movie sputters some as it goes, it still keeps the viewer interested.

But I want to be actively engrossed in a Matrix movie, not just “interested”, and this one just doesn’t get there. Even with the faults of Reloaded and Revolutions, they seemed eager to make their own identity, and they became ambitious enough to sustain the viewer.

On the other hand, Resurrections becomes so self-referential that it never quire finds its own way. Because the filmmakers go so meta, this prompts lots of active echoes from the prior movies.

While this can serve a narrative purpose, it usually feels more like that semi-remake territory I mentioned earlier. As hard as Resurrections attempts to make the links to the original movies seem motivated, these moments tend to come across more as a lack of inspiration.

As a fan of the series, I think Resurrections becomes a fairly enjoyable 148 minutes. However, it also seems like an unnecessary 148 minutes, as it boasts no real purpose or need to exist. It delivers a moderately engaging update on the franchise but it can feel like a superfluous extension of the universe.

Footnote: a superfluous but funny tag scene appears after the end credits.

The Matrix Resurrections appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Though not stunning, this became a largely positive presentation.

At all times, sharpness looked terrific. I noticed no signs of softness or tentative visuals here, as the movie was consistently tight and well-defined.

Moiré effects and jagged edges remained absent. I failed to discern any edge haloes, artifacts or print flaws in this smooth image.

Whereas the original trilogy films leaned toward hard/fast color schemes, Resurrections opened up matters more. While it came with some of the usual blue and green, it leaned more natural at times, and it delved into other stylized tones beyond what the prior flicks involved. Whatever the choices, the hues felt full and well-rendered.

Blacks were deep and dense, though they could veer a little crushed in some interiors. Shadows offered good delineation nonetheless. Overall, I felt pretty happy with the image.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, you’ll find many positives from the engulfing Dolby Atmos soundtrack of Resurrections. With a lot of action scenes at its disposal, the movie boasted many opportunities for immersive action, and it made the most of these.

From vehicles to explosions to gunfire, a variety of action elements filled the room and created a great sense of place. The elements seemed well-placed and blended together in a clean way to occupy all the front and rear channels with lots of engaging information.

I also felt the quality of the audio satisfied. Speech was distinctive and crisp, without harshness or other concerns.

Music appeared vivid and full, while effects came across as dynamic and bold. We got plenty of tight, deep bass response in this consistently strong soundtrack.

The disc boasts a mix of video features, and No One Can Be Told What The Matrix Is goes for eight minutes, 52 seconds. It brings comments from actors Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick, Neil Patrick Harris, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Daniel Bernhardt, Brian J. Smith, Chad Stahelski, Jada Pinkett Smith, Toby Onwumere, and Lambert Wilson.

The cast members attempt to offer a recap of the first three Matrix movies. It seems more cute than efficient, so if you want a solid summary, look elsewhere.

Resurrecting The Matrix spans 30 minutes, 44 seconds and involves Reeves, Moss, Henwick, Groff, Abdul-Mateen, Harris, Pinkett Smith, Wilson, Smith, director Lana Wachowski, writers David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon, production designers Hugh Bateupm and Peter Walpole, producer James McTeigue, VFX supervisor Dan Glass, director of photography Daniele Massccesi, martial arts coach Tiger Chen Lu, stunt choreographer Joshua Grothe, stuntwoman Jade-Eleena Dregorius, and composer Tom Tykwer.

“Resurrecting” looks at the roots/development of the sequel as well as story/screenplay, design choices and photography, stunts and action, and music.

Despite its relatively brief running time, “Resurrecting” packs a pretty good level of information. At times it leans too heavily toward happy talk, but we still get a lot of useful notes.

The San Fran Jump fills seven minutes, 56 seconds with info from Wachowski, Reeves, Moss, McTeigue, stunt coordinators Keir Beck and Scott Rogers, and executive producer Garrett Grant.

Here we learn about aspects of a big stunt sequence. Though we get more self-praise, we also find a nice investigation of the topic.

Next comes Return to The Matrix, an eight-minute, 16-second piece that involves Reeves and Moss. They talk about their relationship and various memories. Nothing fascinating emerges, but it’s nice to see them chat together.

Allies + Adversaries goes for eight minutes, 27 seconds and features Chopra Jonas, Reeves, Henwick, Smith, Abdul-Mateen, Glass, Onwumere, Harris, Groff, Mitchell, and actor Eréndira Ibarra,

This featurette looks at new characters and actors. A few decent insights occur, but a lot of this feels superficial.

After this comes Matrix 4 Life, a six-minute, 19-second segment that offers material from Moss, Reeves, Bateup, Stahelski, McTeigue, Wachowski, Chen Hu, and unit production manager Toby Pease,

“Life” discusses the reunion of cast/crew. It tends to lean toward “it’s so great to be back” without much substance.

I Still Know Kung Fu runs four minutes, 56 seconds and brings info from Moss, Reeves, Harris, Abdul-Mateen, Henwick, Stahelski, Chen Hu, Groff, and martial arts stunt coordinator Jonathan Eusebio.

Here we get a little about the fight scenes. This mostly praises those involved, so don’t expect much value.

Lastly, The Matrix Reactions gives us nine segments that occupy a total of 48 minutes, 38 seconds. In these, we hear from Reeves, Mitchell, Hemon, Wachowski, Bateup, Walpole, Eusebio, Henwick, Groff, Abdul-Mateen, Pinkett Smith, Chopra Jonas, Chen Wu, Glass, Smith, Rogers, Onwumere, Moss, Grant, Beck, costume designer Lindsay Pugh, editor Joseph Jett Sally, additional visual effects supervisor Tom Debenham, and actors Andrew Caldwell and Max Riemelt.

Each of the nine sequences digs into various movie scenes with moderate levels of depth. These mix the usual insights and happy talk, but they give us some good material overall.

18 years after the franchise apparently ended, The Matrix returned with a fourth chapter appropriately called Resurrections. While the movie maintains viewer interest, it feels unnecessary and fails to expand the series in a particularly inventive manner. The Blu-ray brings very good picture and audio as well as erratic but generally informative bonus materials. Resurrections doesn’t sully the Matrix series, but it also fails to revive the property in a particularly satisfying manner.