The Matrix favourite Hugo Weaving and Home and Away's Ryan Kwanten headline the first trailer for futuristic thriller Expired.

From Australian writer-director Ivan Sen, this one centres on hitman Jack (Kwanten), who meets the mysterious club singer April in Hong Kong (True History of the Kelly Gang actress Jillian Nguyen) before being struck by illness.

Weaving plays Dr Bergman, seen in the above trailer warning Jack of the deadliness attached to his new romantic interest.

ryan kwanten, expired
Lionsgate

Related: 16 huge new Home and Away spoilers for next week

Switching back to the iconic Matrix universe, fourth instalment Resurrections finally landed on the big screen last month, although Weaving's version of Agent Smith was nowhere in sight.

Reviewing the blockbuster – starring Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss – Digital Spy wrote: "For a series that defined action scenes as we know them, it's hugely disappointing. Too many of the fight sequences are choppily edited and filmed in close-up, instead of making the choreography the star.

"When the set pieces get bigger than one-on-one combat, there's nothing here that we haven't seen in numerous blockbusters in recent years.

If it's all some extremely meta commentary that uniformity has become king in modern blockbusters then fair play to Lana [Wachowski, director]. Yet while even the divisive sequels delivered something new, there's nothing of the sort to be found here.

hugo weaving, expired
Lionsgate

Related: The Tourist boss explains why The Matrix's Hugo Weaving was replaced by Mindhunter star

"One element of the sequels that is on display here though is the clunky exposition and overuse of techno-babble. After a magnificent first half, all momentum is lost when the explanations start coming and the final act is being set up. It's not confusing as such, but it's definitely convoluted and when it's delivered in big chunks, you'll need rewatches to fully understand," continued the three-star piece.

Expired heads to select US cinemas and on-demand from March 18, while a UK release date is to be confirmed.

Headshot of Dan Seddon
Dan Seddon

Reporter, Digital Spy 

Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment

In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.