Plagued by strange memories, Thomas Anderson's life as a successful video game designer begins to unravel when he stops taking his blue pills. Suddenly, a new version of Morpheus offers him the red pill, reopening his mind to the world of the Matrix. Now, Neo must choose to follow the white rabbit once more to infiltrate a stronger, more dangerous reality and rescue the one thing that matters most: Trinity.
Information |
|
|---|---|
Language |
English |
Country |
United States |
Premiere date |
December 22, 2021 |
Running time |
148 minutes |
Genre |
Action Sci-Fi |
Budget |
$190,000,000 |
Box Office |
$157,400,000 |
Crew |
|
Directed by |
Lana Wachowski |
Produced by |
Lana Wachowski Grant Hill James McTeigue |
Written by |
Lana Wachowski David Mitchell Aleksandar Hemon |
Music by |
Johnny Klimek Tom Tykwer |
Cinematography |
John Toll Daniele Massaccesi |
Edited by |
Joseph Jett Sally |
Production Co. |
Warner Bros. Village Roadshow Pictures Venus Castina Productions |
Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
Official Trailer
The Plot
The Loop in the Modal
In a simulated environment known as a Modal, a digital loop of the past plays out as a young captain named Bugs and her operator, Sequoia, watch from the shadows. They witness a reenactment of Trinity’s famous escape from the police, but the simulation is flawed. A version of the simulation’s Morpheus, who is actually a program coded with the personality of both Morpheus and Agent Smith, discovers the truth of his existence. As Agents close in, Bugs is nearly caught, but she manages to lead this "Smith-Morpheus" to a room resembling Thomas Anderson’s old apartment. Bugs explains that she saw the legendary Neo in the Matrix years ago, which allowed her to see through the illusion. Morpheus, having discovered lines of Matrix code in the reflection of water, accepts a red pill from Bugs. Together, they navigate a series of reality-bending doors to escape the simulation just as the system attempts to purge them.
The Quiet Life of Thomas Anderson
In the physical world of the Matrix, Thomas Anderson is a world-renowned video game developer at Deus Machina, famous for creating the "Matrix" trilogy of games based on what he believes are his own vivid hallucinations. Thomas discovers an anomaly in the Modal he secretly runs, but he is interrupted by his colleague Jude. Over coffee at a shop called Simulatte, Jude pushes Thomas to interact with a woman named Tiffany, a mother of three who frequently visits the shop. Thomas feels an inexplicable, soul-deep connection to her, though she has no memory of him. Back at the office, his business partner, Smith, delivers shocking news: their parent company, Warner Bros., demands a sequel to the Matrix trilogy. This news triggers a violent hallucination for Thomas, where he envisions Smith’s jaw being sealed shut, mirroring his repressed memories of the past.
The Analyst and the Blue Pills
To cope with his deteriorating mental state, Thomas regularly visits his therapist, known as the Analyst. The Analyst keeps Thomas grounded with a steady supply of blue pills, explaining that his "memories" are merely symptoms of a nervous breakdown. Thomas tries to focus on the production of "Matrix 4," but the lines between reality and his game design begin to blur. He finds himself drawing inspiration from old kung fu films and his own sketches of "Trinity." Eventually, Thomas decides to stop taking the blue pills, causing the world around him to fracture as his subconscious fights to reclaim the truth.
An Unexpected Extraction
During a chaotic office day, Morpheus and the crew of the ship Mnemosyne—including Lexy, Berg, and Ellster—infiltrate the building to rescue Thomas. A fierce firefight breaks out between the crew and SWAT teams, while Thomas stands frozen, convinced he is having another breakdown. Even as Smith picks up a gun and begins to show flashes of his original persona, Thomas refuses to believe what he sees. He is eventually pulled back into a session with the Analyst, who uses his black cat, Deja Vu, to help Thomas center himself and remain within the safety of the illusion.
The Red Pill Choice
Driven by despair, Thomas stands at the edge of a skyscraper, contemplating a jump to test his reality. He is stopped by Bugs, who reveals herself and confirms that he is indeed the legendary Neo. She leads him through a portal in Tokyo to an abandoned theater. There, the Mnemosyne crew projects Neo’s old memories onto a shredded screen, forcing him to confront his identity. Morpheus offers Neo the choice between the blue and red pills. Just as the Analyst’s Bots and Agents begin to swarm the theater, Neo takes the red pill. The crew narrowly escapes through a portal in a subway bathroom mirror, leaving the simulation behind forever.
Resurrection in the Machine City
Neo awakens in the real world, gasping for air inside a mechanical pod. To his horror, he sees Trinity in a twin pod directly opposite his own, both located in a specialized tower called the Anomaleum. Before he can reach her, tame Machines named Octacles and Cybebe intervene, detaching Neo and carrying him to the Mnemosyne. As the crew nurses him back to health, they realize Neo’s body has been meticulously repaired and maintained by the Machines for decades. In the Construct, Morpheus explains that while Neo's sacrifice sixty years ago brought peace, a subsequent Machine civil war changed everything. Neo’s powers have faded, and during a training session in a dojo, he is forced to rediscover his strength through a violent, telekinetic outburst that levels the structure.
The Bastion of IO
Neo is taken to IO, a new human city led by an aged Niobe. She reveals that Zion was destroyed during the Machine power shortage and that humans now live in harmony with "Synthients"—sentient Machines. Niobe is protective of the peace they have built and forbids Neo from attempting to rescue Trinity, fearing it will provoke the Machines. She imprisons Neo for his own safety, but Bugs and her crew, feeling a higher duty to the man who freed them, break him out. They prepare a daring heist to re-enter the Matrix and find a way to liberate Trinity’s mind.
The Merovingian and the Return of Smith
Upon re-entering the Matrix, the crew is ambushed in a derelict building by the Merovingian and a horde of "Exiles"—obsolete programs living in the shadows. Simultaneously, Smith appears, fully self-aware and no longer bound by the system’s rules. He explains that he and Neo are inextricably linked; as long as Neo is a prisoner, so is he. A brutal battle ensues where Neo’s combat instincts begin to return. After a grueling struggle, Neo overpowers Smith, and the crew manages to drive off the Merovingian’s forces, allowing them to proceed toward Trinity’s location.
The Analyst’s Masterpiece
Neo finds Trinity at her motorcycle shop, but the moment they touch, time slows to a crawl. The Analyst appears, revealing himself as the architect of this new Matrix. He explains that he resurrected Neo and Trinity after their deaths because their combined essence is the greatest power source the Machines have ever known. By keeping them close enough to yearn for each other but far enough to never be together, he generated a massive energy surplus that saved the Machine world. The Analyst mocks Neo with "bullet time" manipulation, proving that he can freeze reality at will, and warns that any attempt to free Trinity will result in her death and a system reboot.
Sati’s Plan
Back in IO, Neo meets Sati, a program he once knew as a child. Sati reveals that her father helped build the Anomaleum where Neo and Trinity were housed before he was purged. She proposes a plan: while Neo distracts the Analyst within the Matrix, the Mnemosyne and a specialized machine named Kujaku will physically extract Trinity’s body from her pod. The stakes are absolute; if they fail, the Machines will destroy IO and everyone within it.
The Ultimatum at Simulatte
Neo meets the Analyst at Simulatte for a final negotiation. He proposes a deal: if Trinity chooses to leave the Matrix of her own free will, they must both be set free. If she chooses to stay, Neo will return to his pod without resistance. The Analyst, confident in his psychological manipulation, agrees. Trinity arrives, appearing as "Tiffany," accompanied by her simulated husband, Chad, and their children. At first, she seems ready to leave with her family, but as she reaches the door, she turns back. She realizes "Tiffany" is a lie and Chad is a fiction. She finally recognizes Neo, reclaiming her identity as Trinity.
The Swarm and the Sky
Enraged by his loss, the Analyst attempts to kill Trinity, but the situation descends into chaos as Smith intervenes. Seeking his own revenge, Smith attacks the Analyst, allowing time to return to normal. The Analyst activates "Swarm Mode," turning every "Bluepill" in the city into a suicide-bomb bot that rains down from buildings to stop the pair. Neo and Trinity engage in a high-speed motorcycle chase through the city, with Neo using his telekinetic powers to deflect bullets and explosions. They are eventually cornered on the roof of a skyscraper as helicopters surround them.
A Leap of Faith
With no other exit, Neo and Trinity hold hands and leap off the skyscraper. As they fall, Neo expects to fly, but he finds himself flailing. Instead, it is Trinity who suddenly suspends them in the air. Having fully realized her own power within the Matrix, she takes flight, carrying Neo through the sky to safety. In the real world, the Mnemosyne crew successfully disconnects Trinity from her pod, and the two are finally reunited in the flesh, sharing a tender moment of victory amidst the crew's cheers.
Remaking the World
Sometime later, the Analyst sits in his home, only for Trinity to fly through his window and brutally confront him. She and Neo, now fully empowered and united, inform the Analyst that they intend to remake the Matrix as they see fit, turning it into a world of freedom and color. The Analyst warns them that the "sheeple" want to be controlled, but Trinity and Neo laugh off his cynicism. They thank him for the second chance he unknowingly gave them before flying together into the sunlit sky, ready to begin their new era.
The Final Word
In a final meta-commentary on the nature of their reality, the development team at Deus Machina discusses the future of the Matrix game. They conclude that movies and games are dead, and the only way forward is "The Cat-rix," a series of videos featuring cats, signifying the triviality the system often forces upon great ideas.
Top Cast
- Keanu Reeves as Neo / Thomas Anderson
- Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity / Tiffany
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Morpheus
- Jessica Henwick as Bugs
- Jonathan Groff as Smith
- Neil Patrick Harris as The Analyst
- Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Sati
- Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe
- Lambert Wilson as The Merovingian
- Christina Ricci as Gwyn de Vere
Movie Collection
- The Matrix (1999)
- The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
- The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
- The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
