http://www.amazon.com/Animatrix-Kevin-Michael-Richardson/dp/B00008LDPU
Great Companion Piece, June 3, 2003
By truster38 - See all my reviewsThis review is from: The Animatrix (DVD)
It can be argued that this collection of 9 animated shorts based on the world of The Matrix was as anticipated as Reloaded. I, for one, was incredibly intrigued just by the concept. I asked myself "could any movie actually pull this off?" The Animatrix answers my question. The world that The Wachowski Brothers have created truly is the Star Wars of this generation. It is a cutural phenomena, and the quality of the 9 shorts that comprise The Animatrix show the impact of The Matrix. Here's a review of each short:
1) Final Flight Of the Osiris-This is the only short film to be done in 3-D. It was done, in fact, by the team behind the 3-D movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. It looks great and incredibly realistic. The story directly relates to the events in Reloaded. A great way to kick off this collection because it is the most familiar in style and feel.
2 & 3) The Second Renaissance-This two-parter tells the story of how man and machine came to fight against each other. Probably my favorite of all the shorts story-wise, because it gave me chills and also made me think way too much about the possibilities it presents. Be warned, this is probably the most violent of all the short films here.
4) Kid's Story-Another story that directly relates to something alluded to in Reloaded. Remember the annoying kid Neo encountered in Zion who always followed him everywhere? This is your chance to see what that was really about.
5) Program-This short deals with the training process people who have been freed must go through. It has absoutely breathtaking animation, and is the most "anime" of the 9.
6) World Record-This story shows the possibilities of being "plugged-in." Think that the only way someone can be freed is by taking the red pill? Watch this. The most interesting and inventive story as far as I'm concerned, coupled with a unique style of animation.
7) Beyond-This short deals with how the machines handled glitches in the system. It has gorgeous animation, with bright colors and a thoroughly Japanese look.
8) A Detective Story-Remember Trinity's legendary hacker status, alluded to in the first movie? This is the whole story. This one has a very unique style that I think fit the feel of the story well, and it's nice to see Trinity when she was still the baddest hacker on the block.
9) Matriculated-Can the machines be convinced to join the human side? After all, if humans were batteries and if machines have A.I., doesn't that make both man and machine connected in some way? This last short, with the best-looking animation out of the 9, answers those questions. Just as The Second Renaissance will make you feel for man, this one will make you feel for the other side.
Overall, I'd say The Animatrix succeeded what it set out to do. This was never meant to be enjoyed on the same level as the movies, it was meant to give everyone a further understanding of what The Matrix is and provide a more detailed backstory to complement the movies. It is great to see how the animators do sometimes recreate such effects as bullet-time. It comes very very close to being as dazzling and visually stunning as the movies themselves. The stories are a little sad, but they also kind of have to be. The root of why The Matrix is so popular is because there is nothing as painful for humans to watch than well, ourselves. The Matrix is spectacular and impossible, and at the same time the emotional impact of these 9 shorts, as well as the movies, is what really keeps the audience watching.
As for the DVD itself, the menus are at once cool and a little bit overdone (navigating them can be a little weird the first time you pop it into your DVD player). There are few extras but nothing fancy, although the commentaries included on The Second Renaissance 1 and 2, Program, Beyond from the creators offer insight into the stories as well as the conceptual process (don't worry they are subtitled in English).
Overall, if you are a fan of the movie, or of animation, you owe it to yourself to check The Animatrix out. The stories are great, the animation is both varied and beautiful, and the whole thing is, quite simply, cool. In a word: whoa.
PS:DVD神马的直接无视吧，反正我看迅雷上下载的很不错...
Great Companion Piece, June 3, 2003
By truster38 - See all my reviewsThis review is from: The Animatrix (DVD)
It can be argued that this collection of 9 animated shorts based on the world of The Matrix was as anticipated as Reloaded. I, for one, was incredibly intrigued just by the concept. I asked myself "could any movie actually pull this off?" The Animatrix answers my question. The world that The Wachowski Brothers have created truly is the Star Wars of this generation. It is a cutural phenomena, and the quality of the 9 shorts that comprise The Animatrix show the impact of The Matrix. Here's a review of each short:
1) Final Flight Of the Osiris-This is the only short film to be done in 3-D. It was done, in fact, by the team behind the 3-D movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. It looks great and incredibly realistic. The story directly relates to the events in Reloaded. A great way to kick off this collection because it is the most familiar in style and feel.
2 & 3) The Second Renaissance-This two-parter tells the story of how man and machine came to fight against each other. Probably my favorite of all the shorts story-wise, because it gave me chills and also made me think way too much about the possibilities it presents. Be warned, this is probably the most violent of all the short films here.
4) Kid's Story-Another story that directly relates to something alluded to in Reloaded. Remember the annoying kid Neo encountered in Zion who always followed him everywhere? This is your chance to see what that was really about.
5) Program-This short deals with the training process people who have been freed must go through. It has absoutely breathtaking animation, and is the most "anime" of the 9.
6) World Record-This story shows the possibilities of being "plugged-in." Think that the only way someone can be freed is by taking the red pill? Watch this. The most interesting and inventive story as far as I'm concerned, coupled with a unique style of animation.
7) Beyond-This short deals with how the machines handled glitches in the system. It has gorgeous animation, with bright colors and a thoroughly Japanese look.
8) A Detective Story-Remember Trinity's legendary hacker status, alluded to in the first movie? This is the whole story. This one has a very unique style that I think fit the feel of the story well, and it's nice to see Trinity when she was still the baddest hacker on the block.
9) Matriculated-Can the machines be convinced to join the human side? After all, if humans were batteries and if machines have A.I., doesn't that make both man and machine connected in some way? This last short, with the best-looking animation out of the 9, answers those questions. Just as The Second Renaissance will make you feel for man, this one will make you feel for the other side.
Overall, I'd say The Animatrix succeeded what it set out to do. This was never meant to be enjoyed on the same level as the movies, it was meant to give everyone a further understanding of what The Matrix is and provide a more detailed backstory to complement the movies. It is great to see how the animators do sometimes recreate such effects as bullet-time. It comes very very close to being as dazzling and visually stunning as the movies themselves. The stories are a little sad, but they also kind of have to be. The root of why The Matrix is so popular is because there is nothing as painful for humans to watch than well, ourselves. The Matrix is spectacular and impossible, and at the same time the emotional impact of these 9 shorts, as well as the movies, is what really keeps the audience watching.
As for the DVD itself, the menus are at once cool and a little bit overdone (navigating them can be a little weird the first time you pop it into your DVD player). There are few extras but nothing fancy, although the commentaries included on The Second Renaissance 1 and 2, Program, Beyond from the creators offer insight into the stories as well as the conceptual process (don't worry they are subtitled in English).
Overall, if you are a fan of the movie, or of animation, you owe it to yourself to check The Animatrix out. The stories are great, the animation is both varied and beautiful, and the whole thing is, quite simply, cool. In a word: whoa.
PS:DVD神马的直接无视吧，反正我看迅雷上下载的很不错...
