A spoiler-free look at the movie everyone’s talking about right now. 

Everyone in our office is a fan of the Matrix franchise, but none more so than Mr Sato. The Matrix is his all-time favourite movie out of all the movies he’s ever seen in his life, and he’s lost count of the number of times he’s watched it, along with its subsequent films, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions.

So when Mr Sato heard that now, over 20 years after the first film was made, there was going to be a fourth instalment, called Matrix Resurrections, he was first in line to book a ticket for its debut screening in Japan. And to prepare himself for the event, he went back and rewatched all The Matrix movies again, cementing the worlds of Neo and Trinity firmly in his mind.

When the debut date of 17 December rolled around, Mr Sato arrived at the movie theatre and he could hardly contain his excitement. He’d deemed this to be such a major movie event that he even splurged 5,000 yen (US$44.12) on a Platinum Seat ticket for the first time in his life, and he made sure to stop by the lobby shop to purchase a booklet for the movie before he made his way to his couch-like seating.

▼ In the same way theatres sell programs for plays, Japanese cinemas sell booklets for movies, which are filled with photos and background information for fans.

Like many fans of the franchise, Mr Sato wasn’t sure how the new film would pick up the story of The Matrix, seeing as the conclusion seemed to be so finite at the end of the third film. He also had fears that this new instalment might sully the perfect beauty of the first three films if it didn’t live up to everyone’s high expectations.

Still, he pushed those concerns aside and put his faith in the team that created The Matrix, sliding into his comfortable couch seating and settling in for 148 minutes of pure excitement.

When Mr Sato reappeared into the daylight and stepped back into his familiar world, which he now couldn’t entirely say for sure wasn’t the Matrix, what was his verdict on the film?

▼ “It was…amazing!!!”

Mr Sato found himself smiling involuntarily throughout the film, due to the appearance of some long-missed familiar faces…and some surprising new ones as well. He’d love to go into more detail and tell you exactly why he loved the movie so much, but out of respect for the film and its fans, he doesn’t want to reveal any spoilers.

However, he did say something that surprised us, when he mentioned that he doesn’t think Matrix Resurrections will be a big hit.

When we asked why, he said there were a couple of reasons. Firstly, if you watch the movie without having watched any of the previous Matrix films, you won’t be able to keep up with what’s happening, especially in the first half, when you have to understand the world view to understand the story. Mr Sato says there were some parts where even he, a self-proclaimed master on all things Matrix, found himself struggling to understand.

Some of the questions addressed in the film resolve themselves as the story progresses, but if you don’t know the origin of Neo and the people around him, you may end up totally confused.

Confusion and the Matrix tend to go hand-in-hand, though, and some would say it’s what makes these films so riveting. However, Mr Sato reckons that some reviewers, when looking for something to critique, might take issue with the fact that there were a number of scenes that were just too complex for the viewer to understand with just one viewing, which might detract from the enjoyment of the film.

If reviews emphasise the complexity of the film, first-time viewers might opt out of watching it, stopping it from becoming a big hit.

For diehard fans like Mr Sato, however, Matrix Resurrections will reignite your imagination and fill that part of your soul that’s been craving a mind-bending return to the Matrix. This newest journey is like The Matrix on steroids, challenging audiences to delve deeper into the meta matter, decipher more cyphers, and wade through more exposition than ever before. Whether that’s a good thing or not, in terms of box office revenue, well, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Mr Sato thoroughly enjoyed the film, and suggests viewers watch the first three works before going to see this new instalment, so they’re up to speed on all the details and can step right into the story again with the same ease as Neo entering a portal.

Or the same ease as Keanu Reeves posing like a ninja with Kyary Pamyu Pamyu for our cameras on his last trip to Tokyo.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]