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Today I just watched the new Matrix and the movie wasn't bad but unlike any other Matrix film. It's at least a Matrix sequel finally worth watching.
I don't think a single person actually dies in the entire film. I mean I literally think this movie could be rated PG. It's been a few years since I've seen the original Matrix but I remember Mr. Smith being a serious, imposing, straight-up villain? By the end of the film, I'd even say Neo and Mr. Smith are actually friends? Which I actually like, I like villain redemptions, but it's just like wow this is so sanitized for a Matrix film that even kids could watch it. There's even a cutesy robot that looks like it was made to sell toys.
Mr. Smith is also very quippy and humorous throughout his butting heads with Neo, which is... Not at all how I remember Mr. Smith? Lol. Maybe I just don't remember correctly but yeah. In fact every single character in this film is quippy, nobody seems to truly be taking things seriously. Which I like? But moody, grungy teens from the '90s who liked the dark aesthetic of the Matrix probably won't. Even the main baddie, Neil Patrick Harris, doesn't seem all that bad and is lighthearted. Of course he doesn't die, because nobody dies in this lol. Which again I quite like, it just took me by surprise how PG this film is.
They confirm the theory that the red/blue pills are placebos. I kinda liked it being an evidence-based theory film students would point out and people would go "oh yeah that makes sense, interesting, I can see that" but now it's unambiguous which is... Fine, I guess.
They also literally say that the Matrix is a allegory. 'Cause see Neo is a game designer and the 3 irl Matrix films are video games in this movie. They even happen to be exactly 3 video games called the Matrix Trilogy, like gee, what a coincidence! And the graphics are... Not even graphics, they're literally just clips from the films lol. Same story, same everything, Neo turned his experiences into the games. I've never seen a film lean so heavily into the "we're making a sequel/reboot/remake nobody asked for but we're acknowledging it so that makes it ok" trope that's so omnipresent nowadays. But considering the thematic nature of the Matrix on reality, maaaaybe it gets a pass? Y.
It's taking itself so unseriously that it's impressive. But I love it for that. This film also reconfirms my belief that I like blue-haired tomboys, like wow, idk why they're so common in movies/tv .
