WizarDru
Adventurer
Watched it last night. Hmmm.
On the whole, the whole 'viral' approach to the Matrix franchise is very interesting. The Animatrix weaves in and out of the movies, with individual stories taking place during or prior to them. The animation is amazing at points, with the incorporation of cgi techniques being at times subtle and at others overwhelming.
As a whole, it was pretty entertaining. The tale of the robots rise and humanity's fall was...well, disturbing. Several of the tales have what I would consider to be ambigous endings, but I'll have to rewatch some of them. Commentary tracks are including for several of the shorts, in the original japanese with subtitles (which, for the record, I liked...although I've only watched one of these so far).
Anime fans will recognize plenty of names, here, as well as animation groups like Studio Madhouse. The stories run a pretty wide gamut, and pose some interesting questions. The inclusion of several name actors from the movies, specifically Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, lend a good deal of legitimacy to the project, as does the writing by the Brothers Wachowski.
As to the 'viral' approach...I rather like it. 'The last flight of the Osiris', which is the story of how Thaddeus and his crew discover that the robots are drilling down to Zion is a starting point. That leads to the video game, which covers Niobe's quest to obtain and release that information, which interlocks with 'Reloaded', where that action is acted upon. 'Kid's Story' tells the tale of a character in the movie that considers Neo to be his personal hero. The video game also intertwines with the movie, supposedly, taking place at the same time as the movie. It certainly seems to have succeeded as a strategy, and I'll be curious where it goes from here.
On the whole, the whole 'viral' approach to the Matrix franchise is very interesting. The Animatrix weaves in and out of the movies, with individual stories taking place during or prior to them. The animation is amazing at points, with the incorporation of cgi techniques being at times subtle and at others overwhelming.
As a whole, it was pretty entertaining. The tale of the robots rise and humanity's fall was...well, disturbing. Several of the tales have what I would consider to be ambigous endings, but I'll have to rewatch some of them. Commentary tracks are including for several of the shorts, in the original japanese with subtitles (which, for the record, I liked...although I've only watched one of these so far).
Anime fans will recognize plenty of names, here, as well as animation groups like Studio Madhouse. The stories run a pretty wide gamut, and pose some interesting questions. The inclusion of several name actors from the movies, specifically Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, lend a good deal of legitimacy to the project, as does the writing by the Brothers Wachowski.
As to the 'viral' approach...I rather like it. 'The last flight of the Osiris', which is the story of how Thaddeus and his crew discover that the robots are drilling down to Zion is a starting point. That leads to the video game, which covers Niobe's quest to obtain and release that information, which interlocks with 'Reloaded', where that action is acted upon. 'Kid's Story' tells the tale of a character in the movie that considers Neo to be his personal hero. The video game also intertwines with the movie, supposedly, taking place at the same time as the movie. It certainly seems to have succeeded as a strategy, and I'll be curious where it goes from here.
Beyond was also great, because it gives a glimpse into what life among the unawakened masses in the Matrix are affected by it in other ways. What is it with The Matrix and cats? 
