Keanu Reeves’ Neo is the main protagonist in The Matrix Resurrections, which is a role he has occupied all the way from the first movie. As The One, Neo has brought about events that saw the humans overcome the machines, with many instances where he’s acted like the hero he’s supposed to be.
Since the series stresses the fact that Neo is still human and capable of flaws, there are times where he’s also behaved in a cowardly fashion. The majority of times justify such behavior because of the way Neo has been manipulated, so it’s fascinating to see how and why Neo has fulfilled his heroic role while also portraying the human tendency of being fearful.
Hero
Neo's Rescue Of Morpheus
The Agents were quite clearly the most The Matrix when the series began, yet Neo showed no fear of them when he opted to save Morpheus. At the time, Neo didn’t have any of his powers, meaning he went for what should have been a guaranteed mission to end in his death to save his mentor from Smith.
It was what led to his powers slowly awakening, as Neo tapped into them when he had to dodge the agents’ bullets. Neo didn’t go through with the plan for that reason, though, as he just wanted to rescue Morpheus because of his innate sense of goodness.
Neo's Mission To Free People From The Matrix
After Neo accessed his powers of The One, he made it his mission to free as many people as he could from the Matrix, regardless of how the machines felt about it. Neo was aware of the conflict mankind had with the machines, so it was a brave move on his part.
Neo didn’t get anything of it, seeing as freeing people wouldn’t have made any difference in his life. However, he understood what it was like to feel trapped in a world where he didn’t belong and wanted to help millions of others who felt the same way and could be freed if he enabled them.
Neo's Face-Off With Smith Without Powers
There’s little doubt that is among Keanu Reeves’ best action movies, with the original really coming to life by the climax. Neo was cornered by Agent Smith when his escape from the Matrix was destroyed. Rather than run, Neo chose to fight Smith head-on.
It went to show the heroic spirit that the character possesses, as Neo had no chance against Smith at the time. Smith had Neo beat on multiple occasions, yet Neo rose back up once more to evade his foe, despite Smith having unlimited lives as he could jump into any person nearby.
Neo's Leap Of Faith With Trinity
The climax of The Matrix Resurrections saw Trinity and Neo arrive at the roof of a building while they evaded the Analyst’s forces. Neo knew he couldn’t fly anymore, yet chose to take a leap of faith with Trinity because he believed in the power of their love.
They had no idea if they were jumping to their doom, which signifies the courage that both Neo and Trinity displayed at that moment. Neo’s decision ultimately gave Trinity the empowerment she needed to tap into her newfound flying ability as the couple successfully escaped to reunite in the real world.
Neo's Sacrifice For The Humans
Not for nothing is Neo considered the series, as his selflessness is his most irable quality. By the ending of the third movie, Neo chose to go to Machine City itself to face off against their leader in what was a move everyone in Zion found ridiculous.
Neo knew it was a one-way trip because there was no way he would survive Smith even if the machines agreed to his deal. Neo ultimately braved through losing Trinity and accepted his death, giving his life to save humanity. As seen in The Matrix Resurrections, Neo’s sacrifice allowed mankind to thrive in Io.
Coward
Neo's Inability To Accept Trinity's Death
It turned out that the Architect was incorrect when he claimed to Neo’s choice of choosing to save Trinity would lead to extinction, but that’s not why Neo had made the decision. Neo had ignored the Architect’s warnings to do so because he couldn’t accept a world where his love was dead.
At the time, the only two options were to save Trinity or accept her death and rebuild civilization with select humans. Neo was too scared to face such an outcome, leading to him defying the Architect and putting humanity on the brink of extinction. Ultimately, Trinity died not long after, which confirmed that Neo had delayed the inevitable.
Neo's Fear Of The Real World After Being Unplugged From The Matrix
This is something that just about every person who is unplugged from the Matrix, so it’s justifiable that Neo acted as such. Upon being brought into the real world, Neo found the information too much to take in and went into a state of hysteria.
Neo even threatened the crew that he would attack them in his dazed state, which came across as out of character behavior on his part to be so scared. According to Cypher, he and the rest expected Neo to act in such a way because it had happened to the rest of them as well.
Neo's Unwillingness To Accept The New Matrix Is Not Real
In something of a reverse of what had happened to him the first time, the resurrected Neo was afraid of the possibility of there being more than the Matrix. He was unhappy as in the original, but Neo was more susceptible to the Analyst, who convinced Neo to be afraid of his “delusions.”
When he faced the new construct of Morpheus, Neo acted completely fearful of him, going so far as to flee Morpheus’ presence and hide behind his desk. This cowardly attitude was mainly a result of the Analyst’s manipulations, as he’d convinced Neo that giving into the reality of the Matrix was his mind playing tricks on him.
Neo's Insistence That He Isn't The One
Out of all the iconic characters Keanu Reeves has played over the years, Neo might just be the most powerful. However, he’s too scared to it that he is The One and keeps agreeing with Niobe that he doesn’t think he’s the man prophesied to take up the role.
Niobe’s lack of belief stems from her fear that she would have to place her faith in someone other than herself, but Neo has enough evidence to the fact that he is The One. Ultimately, he’s afraid to outright accept his place because of the fear that he might let people down, which is a cowardly move since he’s undermining his own worth and the faith people like Morpheus had in him.
Neo's Inability To Approach Trinity/Tiffany
Just about the whole plot of The Matrix Resurrections would have been avoided if Neo had summoned the courage to interact with Trinity in the last 60 years. Of course, it was designed in such a way by the Analyst that the two would be close but never together, although did have a choice in the matter.
It was only after he was forced to talk to her that he finally did, with Trinity known as Tiffany around this time as part of the fake life the Analyst had created for her. Neo wanted nothing more than to approach her but was much too scared to actually go through with it for several decades.
