| Great Animation |
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| written by ronoman1 |
May 5, 2006 - 12:14 PM PDT |
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1 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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| This was great. The interesting thing about this DVD is that each chapter was created by different animators so the visual between each chapter veries greatly. If you like animation- you will like what you see. |
| Wide range from great to aweful |
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| written by SeijinZero |
July 3, 2004 - 9:47 PM PDT |
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2 out of 6 members found this review helpful
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| the 2 part explanation of the history of the matrix world is essential to the matrix trilogy, and the "flight of the osiris" CG intro to the second movie was good too. but, the rest of the shorts kinda sucked. pointless, trippy, and cheesey... but the first 3 are awesome! |
| Warmed up after taking the Red Pill |
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| written by hneline1 |
September 11, 2003 - 1:42 AM PDT |
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6 out of 6 members found this review helpful
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This is a nicely put together DVD with the 9 featured shorts plus a ton of Extras. By now, you probably know the concept behind Animatrix -- the Wachowski brothers are big anime fans, so they jumped at the chance to work with a number of famous anime and animation directors to produce a series of shorts that expand on the universe of The Matrix.
Being an anime fan and a Matrix admirer, honestly, my first reaction was lukewarm when I saw these shorts. First, they're too short -- one of the things that I love about anime is the complexity of the storylines in an extended series, yet here the story ends as soon as I get a feel for a character. It's much more a "short story" feel rather than an "epic novel" feel. Second, the pacing and mood is not the same as the original -- two of the things that I love about The Matrixare the building paranoid tension as Neo's world falls apart and the fast paced martial arts action. I wanted to see more of that and only a few out of the 9 came close. Third, the combination of experimental anime styles and Matrix-inspired plots can be jarring -- some shorts are not quite anime, not quite western cartoons, and it's hard to pinpoint the underlying voice of the story.
But then I opened my mind. :-) Some of these shorts are amazing if you're not expecting anime or The Matrix. "Kid's Story", directed by Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop), has the most jaw-droppingly thrilling skateboard action sequence. "Beyond", written and directed by Koji Morimoto, recreates the sense of wonder caused by The Matrix in a story that is independent and poignant. "Program", written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust), contains some beautiful sword-fighting sequences.
And if you're interested in behind-the-scenes info, then the Extras are worth buying this DVD for. Four of the shorts have full director's commentaries ("The Second Renaissance Part 1" and "Part 2" by Mahiro Maede, "Program" by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, "World Record" by Takeshi Koike). There are 7 excellent, "making of" documentaries that cover all 9 shorts and 7 directors. There are brief bios of the directors and segment producers. And there is a lengthy "History and Culture of Anime" documentary that contains interviews with big names in U.S. anime research (Helen McCarthy, Gilles Poitras, etc), although I think that it concentrated too much in the action genre and only briefly mentioned that the anime world covers many other genres.
If you're interested in experimental animation, action anime, and are Matrix-obsessed, then you'll probably enjoy this DVD a lot. If not, just watch with an open mind... |
| The best OVA ever made |
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| written by larbeck |
July 17, 2003 - 10:37 AM PDT |
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4 out of 4 members found this review helpful
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The Brothers went to Japan for the premiere of the first "Matrix" movie. Ever mindful of their influences, they toured several of Japanese anime and video game studios and met with some of Japanese greatest anime directors and artists. This project can out of that meeting, a Woodstock gathering of some of anime's best from both side of the Big Ocean. No shortcuts were taken, no expense shared in bring these Dangerous Visions to this DVD. Every one is worthly of an Academy Award for short animated film. Every one is a treasure.
Also, we are treat to wonderful extras, interviews with some of the great involves and other people was well, like Todd McFarland and some Big Otaku's on the history of anime.
My only problems with the package is a) the Japanese seiyuu are not credited AT ALL - man, what disrespect! b) if you watch any episode individually, the exact same credit sequence is shown at the end, one huge credit sequence for all episodes. Eek.
Still, don't bother renting this if you love anime or the first Matrix movie - got out now and buy the sucker!
Note: some of these episodes are available for download from the Animatrix web site - but if you are a least bit otaku, you will want the Full Resolution of this DVD. |
| Animatrix,,better then Reloaded!! |
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| written by MScullari |
June 8, 2003 - 8:23 PM PDT |
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11 out of 11 members found this review helpful
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In my eyes, "The Matrix" was one of the best Sci-Fi movies of all time. So when "Reloaded" came out, I kind of figured they weren't going to be able to live up to the hype and give us a repeat...I was right!
In the first 30-40 minutes of "Reloaded" I almost thought that the Wachowski brothers might have struck gold twice and proved me wrong, but then the cold reality hit. The reality that some one, somewhere in Hollywood, a few years ago said, " Hey Wachowski brothers, we can make more millions with a sequel, heck you guys can make up what ever confusing story line and silly dialogue you want...the fans don't care..they just want more MATRIX!!!..Hell you can even just stop the movie in the middle of a scene and put "to be continued"...the fans dont care, they just want more MATRIX!!!"
After my sad journey home from the movie theater I got a copy of the ANIMATRIX...to be blunt, this DVD is all "Reloaded" should have been.
Great action, stories that make sense, great CGI, awesome anime, and what seems to be more care into what the fans would enjoy and not what the creators get off on...
Rent this DVD so you can feel good about the Matrix saga again. Dont let "Reloaded" spoil what was and is one of the best Sci-Fi creations of all time!!
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| Not just a glorified commercial for The Matrix Reloaded |
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| written by ColonelKong |
June 7, 2003 - 9:44 PM PDT |
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16 out of 16 members found this review helpful
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The Animatrix may appear to simply be a marketing gimmick for The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions, but there is some truly interesting work on display here. Like any anthology film of this type, some of the segments are better than others, but the good segments make it worthwhile, and if you get bored by any one segment, it's probably pretty close to being over. In some ways, this collection reminded me a little of the anime anthology Robot Carnival (which I'd love to have on DVD).
My favorite of the short films was Detective Story, a wonderful little noir tone poem from Cowboy Bebop director Shinichiro Watanabe. I also liked Mahiro Maeda's The Second Renaissance quite a bit, it gives a brief history of how the Matrix came to be, and feels a bit like a book from a new Bible of the distant future (and rather presciently alludes to recent events). Peter Chung's Matriculated is probably the weirdest of the films, and possibly the most unlike anything we see in the Matrix films.
I found a few of the films less interesting than others in this collection (Final Flight of the Osiris, Program, World Record), but I was entertained by all of them. The contrast in styles between the films is very interesting and shows that Japanese animation isn't easily pigeonholed. They range from the traditionally "anime" style of Yoshiyaki Kawajiri's Program, to full CGI in Final Flight of the Osiris, to a style somewhat similar to Richard Linklater's Waking Life in Shinichiro Watanabe's Kid's Story.
The extras on this disc are worth perusing, they include a brief history of anime and manga (it's really fascinating how artistic influences have bounced back and forth between America and Japan), making-of docs of all of the films, director bios, and commentaries for The Second Renaissance, Program, and World Record.
In short, I would say that this is essential for anyone with the slightest interest in things Matrix related. |
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