Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) 1) This is one of several animated short films that are based on the Wachowskis' "Matrix" movie. However, I have to say neither the characters nor the action made this really look like it belongs to the series except the fight in the first 2-3 minutes maybe. This lack of Matrix connection is not necessarily a criticism on these 10 minutes as the animation is fine and the story isn't bad either. The action didn't do much for me though, so I wouldn't recommend it. But then again, I am not a great Matrix fan anyway, at least this is a common denominator.2) This 9-minute short film from 12 years ago is part of the Animatrix series and also the first half of a two-part movie. Men become more and more angry at machines when these become more and more intelligent. The consequence is a bloody battle, especially for the machines. They leave and settle elsewhere, but decide to give mankind another chance as they return to the United Nations in a peaceful attempt, not be the last time they show up there. This was written by the Wachowski brothers (and sisters) and the director also worked on Tarantino's "Kill Bill" for example. Sounds like a good premise, but sadly, I was not really impressed by this one here. Lets hope that the second part turns out better.3) These 9 minutes continue where "The Second Renaissance Part 1" left off. Unfortunately it is equally forgettable just like the first part. Men rejected machines' peaceful attempt to return, so a war is unavoidable. And of course there can only be one possible outcome to that. So men want to destroy the sky? Another brilliant idea. NOT. I have to say I was never too big on "The Matrix", but these animated short films are even worse. And they almost have no reference to the films anymore at all. Not recommended. 4) One of the most popular segments of the Animatrix and this may be due to the fact that several actors from the live action movies do voice acting in here. The protagonist is a boy who manages to get out of the Matrix. There are quite a few parallels here between Neo very early in the first Matrix film and our hero here. I do not think the 15 minutes stated here are correct, this was certainly closer, maybe around 9 minutes. I enjoyed watching this one because it actually had a real connection to the live action "Matrix" films unlike most of the others. One of my favorites from the series and I recommend it. 5) "Program", a sequence from the Animatrix, was directed and written by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. It is an animated short film, obviously, and runs for roughly seven minutes. There was nothing truly outstanding here, but it wasn't bad either. It is all about the battle between the Cis and her frenemy Duo. He tries to convince her to get back to the Matrix and just live there like everybody else instead of constantly fighting against it. Pay attention to how Cis is depicted in white and Duo in black. First he tries to convince her with words, then with swords. Of course, she refuses to and in the end, good defeats evil. Or did it really? Solid short film, recommended. 6) The concept of sports in the matrix is actually a pretty interesting one in the face of achievements that you could describe as out of this world. Unfortunately, the only fairly interesting thing I took from these 9 minutes is basically the relationship between world records in the real world we live in and in the Matrix universe. This is not among my 3 favorite segments from the Animatrix, but also not among my least favorites. I am not familiar with the director or writer here, but it looks like they frequently work together. Anyway, I hope for them that this may be their most known achievement, but not their best.7) "Beyond" is one of the weaker segments of the "Animatrix" in my opinion. This is one of the longest episodes of the Animatrix. A girl's cat runs away and when she heads out to get her back the finds much more than just a lost kitten. I did not like the way the girl was animated at all. The rest was okay in terms of looks. The scene with the cat looking right at us before we see the mouse is a nice way from the director of playing with our brains. Not enough though to let me recommend it. One of the weaker Animatrix segments.8) I am okay with the Matrix and Film Noir, but not a great fan like some are. So I was very positively surprised that I managed to appreciate this Animatrix segment. It's probably in my top3 favorites and the reason may be that it was nice to see an actual character from "The Matrix" in one of these. It's not the only segment directed by Shinichirô Watanabe (also co-writer), but it's certainly his superior effort. The story was pretty good and the voice actor of the private eye also did a fairly decent job here. A pretty enjoyable and atmospheric watch of over 10 minutes I must say. Recommended.9) "Matriculated" is the last segment from the "Animatrix" movie. It is the longest at roughly 15 minutes and in my opinion, unfortunately, it is also the worst. I wish writer and director Peter Chung could have stayed a bit closer to the Wachowski movie. Also, it's not real anime anymore, but the style is not the problem. The problem is that there's no really fascinating story in here as there is in some of the other segments. I was a bit disappointed with this one as I hoped they could go out on a high note. Sadly, they did not. Not recommended.

Innsmouth_Apprentice The 9 segments that comprise Animatrix can be thematically divided into 3 groups. Group 1 is a 2-part historical excursus regarding the creation of A.I. and an army of robot workers, their fight for their rights, and their eventual showdown with their former human masters. Group 2 deals with events taking place in our future, on the scorched surface of the Earth and thereabouts, involving the human survivors and the now-dominant robots. Group 3 - arguably the most interesting and creative - deals with various microscenarios taking place inside the illusory world of the Matrix.If you're like me, you admire the motion picture The Matrix, and detest the shallow cash-grabs that are its two repulsively primitive and conceptually throw-way sequels. The Animatrix, unlike the two disgusting piles of CG kungfu garbage that are these sequels, is a magnificent anime anthology, with most of the key work done by some of the most brilliant Japanese masters in the field.I want to single out "Beyond", written and directed by Koji Morimoto, as my favorite piece from the bunch. It's actually difficult to pick one, but Beyond is just too dazzling visually, intoxicating viscerally, and beautiful in every aspect. It is a very simple story about a glitchy urban area of the Matrix, with a bunch of kids having a blast with the altered and shaky rules of gravity, and reality in general. The genius is in how immersive and mesmerizing the segment is, placing you alongside the protagonists as they bathe in sunlight and bounce on the asphalt, enjoying the dash of magic suddenly presented to them by the previously-familiar city. Together with Morimoto's piece "Dimension Bomb" from the Genius Party anthology, this is maybe my favorite ever piece of animation.On a slight downside, The Second Renaissance segment, chronicling the robot uprising, has a somewhat infantile and implausible storyline. It looks gorgeous, - as does all of The Animatrix, - but story-wise, it's difficult to take TSR very seriously. So if I have any complaints about this fantastic collection, it's that the plot of The Second Renaiisance could have used a little more work.9/10; very highly recommended.

Angels_Review It's rather hard to talk about a show like this because it's mostly like a range of different episodes. They may all contain the Matrix like style but there really isn't much that connects them. From the story to the animation, each part is different and told in its own way. The movie gets more and more confusing as the stories keep going, making it hard to get what is going on. There isn't an indication of if you are inside the Matrix or outside it. All I could understand was how pretty the animations were at points and how 'crappy' they were in others. The whole mix of samurai to space age, to computer simulations that look so real that it could be live action, all of that just seemed a little overboard.Question, why does it start out with a man and women undressing each other with katanas? Is it just for sexual looks or is there actually a reason for it? Can someone answer this part for me? The animation was all over the place from CG to Cartoon, to whatever. I felt rather bombarded by all the different art styles just as it happened in 'Dante's Inferno: An animated epic'. The only thing that saved this a little was that the stories were not all linked to one storyline like Dante. When I say Crappy artwork, I don't mean bad artwork. I just mean stuff that really doesn't look right in my eyes. The style that is so loaded with detail that you can see almost every line in the face right next to stuff that is very simplified. I may not be using the right word for it but I have no other idea what to use for it. Now the detail work pretty much is nice in the CG part, but I thought it never worked in the cartoon part of the show.The voices are actually pretty well done and one of the only fluid parts of the show. They have voices that work out rather well for the mood that the 'scene' is trying to show. If it's intense, it sounds intense, if it's slow, it has that feeling. Some of the characters sound like they were voiced by some of the voice actors that were even in the matrix itself.

mrnettek2000 I gave this a 7/10, but there is no reason it shouldn't have been 10/10. I'm a Matrix fax, but the flow of the Animatrix is all outta wack. They startoff with a scene where the people are in the Matrix/where the Matrix already exists...I don't believe that should have been the first animated movie/scene. The whole story would have been better if they started off with just humans...building the AI, and slowly, and gradually the AI took over. That's my only real gripe...lack of even flow of the storyline. But, nonetheless, it was good; must see.There are multiple scenes that are just stunning...especially the graphics.