Anyone who thought The Matrix Resurrections would be your run-of-the-mill sequel (or, ‘requel’, to quote the newScream) clearly hadn’t been paying attention. The Wachowskis don’t do anything by halves – even when it’s just one Wachowski (here, Lana, who directs and co-writes without sister Lilly for the first time). And while reactions to the fourth film in the sci-fi cyberpunk saga have been polarising, its opening sequence is packed with thrills. If you want to talk tumbling down the meta rabbit-hole, Resurrections is an absolute headtrip right from the off. Whether you already caught the film on the big screen, or have been waiting to watch it at home, check out the full, uncut opening 10-minute sequence here.
Resurrections begins, then, as a Matrix movie. Or, specifically, exactly like The Matrix. Except the leather-clad hacker at the keyboard isn’t Carrie-Anne Moss’ Trinity, but some kind of look-alike, and onlooking new hero Bugs (an excellent Jessica Yu Li Henwick) correctly comments: “This isn’t the story we think it is.” From there, it only gets wilder – a take on the rooftop chase with a different outcome, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II playing a hybrid of Morpheus and Agent Smith, and a tense conversation between Morph-Smith and Bugs in Thomas Anderson’s old bedroom… To know exactly what’s happening here and why – and how it connects to Keanu Reeves' Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss' Trinity – you’ll have to check out the full film.
The clip arrives ahead of the digital Home Premiere rental release of The Matrix Resurrections next week – it’ll be available as a premium rental from Monday 31 Jan, good news for anyone desperate to take the red pill once more.