The first sentence of my review of the original The Matrix, in 1999 stated: From the beginning we know The Matrix is a fantasy treat.
This new version has little or no life in it. Yahya Abdul-Mateen who replaces Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus offers red or blue pills as decision makers for Neo (Keanu Reeves) that offer options in a film that has beautiful special effects but a muddled script and a constant changing of the motivation of characters.
The discussion of free will vs destiny may have some influence in the writing but mostly we see only hand to hand battles and spectacular image.
This confusing mess of a film lacks the grace and beauty of the original. Filled with a raining of used bullet casings and the death of
numerous police and even more of their challengers, it quickly begins to numb any thought of a quality sequel.
If Neo and Trinity (Carie-Ann Moss) are together again will the world of The Matrix revert to the spectacular world of the 1999 quality work. A shot at that comes in the end, but is it real?
Neil Patrick Harris as the analyst (on the surface) is in a position to learn the meaning behind the dreams and determining what is real, has a greater role in the plot than one would expect early on in the film. Most characters appear to be just filler.
The beauty and spectacular look of the special effects must be admired, but the script is as confusing as the Abbot and Costello “Who’s on First” routine. In this Matrix we are not sure who is on first or what is on second?