Damien Flood

For anyone thinking about whether this movie will be for them or not, the short answer: don't waste your time. I am an avid fan of the original Matrix and a huge lover of the cinematography and choreography of the sequels, even if the stories aren't as strong. For anyone saying this movie can rank anywhere close to any of the original 3, it absolutely cannot. Lackluster and disappointing, I went into this movie with a relatively low bar of expectation, and came out feeling robbed of even that. There is no plot reason for "finding Neo and bringing him back" other than to reunite with an old friend (just...one old friend mind you) I imagine most of the original actors took one look at the script and passed immediately. I so hoped to see a humanity threatening catalyst as to why Neo was needed again, but instead we got the love story that never had to be reimagined, with a timid Neo, and a confused Trinity. Martial arts scenes were almost indefinitely filmed at chest level with flailing moves that whizzed off the screen so much you could barely tell what part of the body was being thrown, and Neo's fights and action essentially boils down to him using Force like powers as if he were reincarnated as Luke Skywalker. Can Neo stop bullets? Yes. Does he do it by channeling a barrier to stop them? No. He LITERALLY hacks the Matrix to bend it to his will. All semblance of the untouchable, suave and near-godlike Neo were stripped, and the producers just gave back the bits that could keep him alive long enough to keep filming. I can't even start on the new cast. A Niobi ripoff that wears a Morpheus sweatshirt, but should have no right to be as confident as she is. A litetal Morpheus replacement that has...no plot.relevance whatsoever, and a "new look" for Smith that is neither necessary, needed or an upgrade. Every character feels like a complete shell.of their former selves, and the world is empty of any life. No emotional attachments are made, I literally don't even remember the names of the new crew members - even the captain lady - and the music is non existent. For anyone saying the soundtrack fits well and is reminiscent of the originals - don't kid yourselves. Long speech scenes are backed by silence, and the action has no callback to the kung-fu movie sound effects and action packed back tracks that made the original so iconic. All in all - one huge waste of time and a completely unnecessary reboot of what should have remained a classic Trilogy. If this is ever revisited and "resurrected" again, I hope it resembles more than a bad April fools joke. Movies like this need to stop being allowed to exist and do so well at the box office. It's embarrassing.