Having just re-watched the first 3 over the past few days, I was acclimated with the uber-slick techno action franchise. I had been both reborn in the fun and wonder of the first and had that promise slowly stripped away by the non-animated sequels. So, when I got jacked in again for one last go, I was hoping for a true resurrection; an emergence from the mediocrity grave that had buried the spectacular promise of the original. But, I found myself once again droning on that treadmill, recycling stock footage and retreading plot beats for what one would assume was to be an expected nostalgia dopamine rush but I only found a jaded re-husk, tired and lacking in the enthralling excitement of even the worst of the series.
This was an unique experiment in a franchise sequel in some ways. It is EXTREMELY meta, letting the story of the film franchise exist within the world, and a re-entering being doubted and poked at as cynical and unnecessary. In a new time for a new generation, the original films are winked at as being somewhat trashy, low-brow, simplistically philosophical and bygone. Those acknowledgements and framing was somewhat enjoyable for a time, but it quickly became monotonous and grating. Once there was a further integration of distinctly recent bile from the digital world of now, the totality lost even more luster. Chad, sheeple, the co-opted red pill, and the innate awfulness of modern existence felt less like knowing critiques and more just tired off-putting embracement. I would assume that these instances would be much easier to sweep away if there was truly much fresh or exciting going on to grasp fruitfully.
In much the same way as other nostalgia-fueled bites at a rotten apple like SW the Force Awakens or the most recent Ghostbusters: Afterlife, we are inundated with an unvaried repetition of the same story cadence, character tropes, and specific scenes as mainly the original but also some of the sequels. I really would have liked something original and provocative - ya’know, the heart of The Matrix ethos.
That isn’t to say that there aren’t some new things that have varying levels of vague interest. But even those possibilities are left unfulfilled, such as the nano-species (completely unused in the 2nd half and certainly lacking much explanation) or the ‘Bullet time’ script flip (a theoretically effect plot device that served as a fun nod but gets completely neutered without any effort or elucidation. Just token newness that goes nowhere, and certainly not worthy of a sequel in and of themselves.
Is there fun to be had? Some, being mainly the echo of the originals. But, especially after my recent re-viewings, I found it oddly barren when it comes to drama and meager in its action. There was a lack of scope and a looseness to the fighting that made it all feel perfunctory and unenthusiastic. There isn’t a single action pulse that stands out nor any proper framing of the choreographed violence. Similarly wasted are any of the new characters, being either impersonal cogs or mechanical vacancies. The “Smith” of this film is a zilch and makes no sense beyond someone to punch & provide a deux ex machina, while the main antagonist is more of just an exposition faucet, with requisite non-agency.
It provided a pleasing impetus to explore those films from 20 years ago, but I don’t believe it stood on its own in any reliable sense and was but a pale shade on the cave wall. It felt more like seeing friends from decades ago; you used to be close but you have grown so far apart and one you get past the introductions, there really isn’t much to say.