Review: 'The Matrix Resurrections' proves that Lana Wachowski's ideas — like stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss — haven't aged a day

It’s been 22 years since the Wachowskis first took viewers through “The Matrix,” and 18 years since we went in last, with “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” — which turns out to be exactly enough time away to appreciate a return visit, in “The Matrix Resurrections,” which puts the “trip” in “nostalgia trip.”

The new film starts with what looks like a familiar situation: A fast-moving woman with short hair is evading mean-looking agents in matching suits, and when she can’t run she fights using gravity-defying moves. But it’s not the Trinity we remember from the first films. This woman, we’re told, is named Bugs, and played by Jessica Henwick (“Love & Monsters”) — but she’s a believer in Neo, “the one” who can free the humans enslaved by robot invaders to fill the computer-program world of The Matrix.

Where is Neo, the savior of the earlier trilogy? He’s living under his old name, Thomas Anderson, a video game designer in a prosperous San Francisco software firm — and, yes, still played by Keanu Reeves. His most popular game, called “Binary,” has elements from Anderson’s imagination, such as a leather-clad heroine named Trinity.

Anderson’s business partner (Jonathan Groff) informs him that the parent company — he actually refers to Warner Bros., the company that released all the “Matrix” films (and put the franchise in the new “Space Jam” movie) — wants a sequel. This prompts a brainstorming session with the younger game designers and marketers to rant about how game-changing the first game was, in a clever bit of meta-analysis that shows director Lana Wachowski has more of a sense of humor than we realized.

Anderson tells his analyst (Neil Patrick Harris) that he sometimes sees flashes that suggest his world isn’t real — to which the analyst prescribes more blue pills. But then, in the coffee shop, Anderson sees a woman who looks oddly familiar, who goes by the name Tiffany (played by Carrie-Anne Moss). 

That’s about as close to the land of spoilers as I’m willing to go, except for one thing: There’s a character with a familiar name — Morpheus — but with a different face (the one he shares with actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). This Morpheus, like the last one, has a mission to bring Anderson back out of The Matrix, though things outside aren’t exactly what we might remember.

Wachowski, working with co-writers David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon, clearly is enjoying playing in this particular sandbox again. She deploys all the iconography, and sometimes actual footage, from the previous films, usually with a fond wink — but also repurposing the familiar into fresh new storytelling.

Some things can’t be duplicated, though. The absence of Hugo Weaving, the originator of the ruthless Agent Smith, is keenly felt. But what this movie does for a new antagonist is fascinating.

While some things change, it’s uncanny how much Reeves and Moss — ages 57 and 54, respectively — have stayed the same. They still have the kick-ass charisma and unflappable allure that was as important to the cool factor of the original “Matrix” as the trench coats and bullet-time effects. They are also the embodiment of a new truth to this franchise: That it’s not about The One, but The Two.

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‘The Matrix Resurrections’

★★★1/2

Opens Wednesday, December 22, in theaters everywhere, and streaming on HBO Max. Rated R for violence and some language. Running time: 148 minutes.