Warning: SPOILERS for The Matrix Resurrections
Analyst, who had usurped the Architect. As such, things were different and society was seemingly based on 2021 rather than 1999 as it was in the original films, meaning there were no phone booths.
The green hue of the Matrix was largely absent until the film's climax, but that wasn't the only change to the simulated world. The film explicitly stated that phone booths (and other landlines) were no longer necessary to leave the Matrix. Instead, Bugs and the other Resistance demonstrated that mirrors, windows, and other reflective surfaces could now be used, and the group could even alter their size to fit into smaller objects. This was evidenced when Neo was able to escape the Matrix through a tiny bathroom mirror on a train.
The removal of phone booths may have made sense from a lore perspective, but it significantly damaged the film's sense of dramatic tension. The Matrix, the phone booth was always the end game. This created a sense of tension and audience excitement, as there was a clear goal that made leaving the Matrix seem like a struggle.
By contrast, Resurrections' use of mirrors and windows eliminated this tension. Though the characters acknowledged that advancements in technology had made leaving and entering the Matrix easier, the change nevertheless made the movie duller. This was only compounded by its lackluster action and lack of a great threat, as Jonathan Groff regrettably failed to bring the same level of gravitas to the role of Agent Smith that Hugo Weaving had over twenty years earlier.
Essentially, things were too easy for the of the Resistance in Resurrections, and the lack of phone booths made the stakes feel lower than ever. Even in the 1990s, phone booths were reasonably uncommon, and it was thus a struggle for Neo, Trinity, Morpheus and the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar to find one and escape the Matrix. Where the Matrix felt like a prison in the original trilogy, the ease with which the characters could leave it in Resurrections made it feel more like a digital playground. This was exclusively thanks to the heroes' many options for escape, as windows, mirrors, or other reflective surfaces were practically everywhere.
The Matrix Resurrections provided a fresh take on the iconic franchise, but the removal of phone booths and other landlines was a misstep; not because the audience had a nostalgic affinity for them, but due to their role in crafting genuine dramatic tension. Mirrors and windows simply didn't provide the same level of urgency. As such, Neo and Trinity's return to the Matrix felt just that bit less impactful.
