World Record

Usually it takes a great mind and intuition to realise what the matrix is without assistance. However it can also happen for other reasons. For Dan it happens as a result of him pushing himself to his physical limits in an attempt to prove the world wrong in their accusations of drug abuse.

When his muscles fail during a race, Dan keeps going. He pushes his mind beyond the physical restrictions of his body and it shows him the truth - that his body as he knows it is not real. Part of the series of animations making up the Matrix companion piece `The Animatrix', I saw this as a stand alone piece recently at a festival of shorts and animations and it stood out as being of a rather more basic visual style than some of the other shorts.

The plot took a minute to settle as it messed around with back story but, once it got into the race it became more interesting as I realised why the runner was able to learn of the matrix (as described above). The animation is not quite as good - by which I mean, not to my tastes. The bleak shadowy effects are interesting but at times it was a bit too extreme. The cross over into the real world was well handled but the touches added to the agents didn't work for me and over-elaborated on characters who were perfect in the film simply because they are meant to be unmemorable and blend into a crowd.

Overall this is good as it is interesting but it is not the best of the series. It is worth seeing once simply to expand on the Matrix experience but it could have used a bit more substance in place of the athlete's back story which was unnecessary and unused.

No matter what, the Animatrix delivers some really cool ideas and concepts, even though you might not always like the other elements it presents. World Record is interesting in its idea of breaking the Matrix, but it has a lot of elements going against it that raise it over other shorts. The animation style wasn't for me, some subpar voice acting and not really feeling the weight of the introduction all affected my overall reaction, but the premise alone makes me like it.

An athlete competing in running is about to experience what can happen in the Matrix.

I was not a big fan of the animation style. It was either too stiff or too moving. I found it not that pretty to look at, but it's probably more of a style thing. It just didn't speak to me.

Some of the voice acting isn't the best here either, with some very read performances.

I think the biggest letdown was my disinterest in the main character and his conflicts. They try to set up our main character a bit, but it never really got to me. Neither for having later sympathy nor the explanation to the twist.

But the concept is still amazing. Any idea that showcases the Matrix in a different light or with different aspects is amazing, and this is one of those shorts that really does that greatly.

World Record is such a mixed bag, but I need to still give my praise. The overall idea is so great, but the surrounding execution is what takes it down a peg or two, sadly.

When I heard the title "World Record" as part of a collection of short movies in the matrix universe, I was quite enthralled. There is a lot of potential here. Could it be about an outsider like Neo & friends achieving a world record for fun? Could it be about a person who loses their perspective of reality and does impossible things? What is it about?

The answer is something close to the latter. It's about an athlete who gets too focused on his desire to achieve a record. Or something. Quite frankly, the story is poorly told, interwoven, trying to be very clever and ending up being awkward. The animation shows craftsmanship, but at the same time, it looks surprisingly ugly and basic. But the real crux is the story - admittedly, I would not have understood it without watching a making of or a directors commentary or whatever it was, explaining a few of the final scenes. The movie, perhaps like the athlete's life, or at least his run, is a blur.

The sad thing is all the wasted potential. Where "Beyond" takes a simple idea - a glitch in the matrix producing a haunted house - and turns it into something truly special, this short movie takes a special idea - an athlete breaking the laws of the matrix by sheer willpower - and turns it into something so convoluted it's disappointingly boring.

5/10

On the Animatrix disc, this is the sixth short. I'm sorry to say, but this is my least favorite. I can appreciate that the animation is interesting and different. The concept is definitely deserving of attention. The voice acting is very good. However, with all the time spent on back-story, and an execution that just did not grab me(which I am willing to grant may have more to do with personal tastes), this just doesn't seem that great, especially considering what the other ones are like. This just comes off as having wasted a lot of potential. The visual style is like a grotesque caricature, and it is similar to Aeon Flux. Strangely hypnotic. It is unpleasant to watch, one bit in particular, and I would say that that is intentional. This is almost nine minutes long. The story-telling utilizes a non-linear time-line, and you have to pay attention to follow it. The DVD holds a making of, seven and a half minutes, and it, along with the commentary(not in English but with subtitles), are worth taking in. I recommend this to fans of The Matrix universe and/or science fiction. 5/10

This is the eighth part of 'The Animatrix', a collection of animated short movies that tell us a little more about the world of 'The Matrix'. Again with a new style in animation. We see how an athlete frees himself from the matrix during a 100m. run. Although the premise is very good the short itself was a little disappointing. Still entertaining though.