Rating: ★★☆☆☆

After waiting eighteen years since the third Matrix film, fans have returned to the theaters with high anticipation for the fourth film, “The Matrix Resurrections,” which was released on Dec. 22. Like the prior movies, this movie was also directed by Lana Wachowski.

Despite the film starring famous returning actors, such as Keanu Reeves, who plays a computer hacker Neo, and rebel Trinity, played by Carrie-Anne Moss, the film presents itself as a non-innovative science fiction action thriller that leaves loyal Matrix fans disappointed.

“The Matrix Resurrections” continues the Matrix trilogy by introducing the main character, Neo, who was once the star protagonist of the previous movies but is now a game programmer as well as a depressed middle aged man living as Thomas Anderson. Neil Patrick Harris who plays Anderson’s therapist, begins to realize Anderson has discovered that he is living in an imaginary world. While he seeks to find true reality, he meets Trinity at his local coffee shop and begins to find purpose.

The movie stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and Jessica Henwick. In “The Matrix Resurrections,” Henwick plays a rebellious gunslinger called Bugs. She was previously a window cleaner, but when she witnessed Neo jump off a roof, she believed that the key to freedom from controlled reality would be to save Neo from the imaginary world. Many praised Henwick’s acting in the new movie as the most memorable ones, especially during action fighting scenes.

The movie itself left the impression of a mundane scientific thriller and after watching the previous Matrix films, Director Wachowski did not succeed in continuing her very own Matrix trilogy. Overall, I would not recommend watching “The Matrix Resurrections,” as the story plotline was predictable and the acting by the main leads of the movie was subpar. While the previous three films had been innovative and creative of its time, the fourth film seems to be focused on initiating a newer upcoming series.