World Record

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

Really ?

After all the good stories, this just felt a bit overkill and simplistic. Sorry, I don't think it is good.

Visually, it was good like the other episodes,

I didn't like this part...

Oh my, it's another one of those Animatrix shorts. And it's yet another disappointing one.

Dan breaks the world record 100 meters but is accused of taking drugs to enhance his performance. One day he decides to fight back and go for it again. While his muscles snap and his bones break (well, something to that extend anyway), his willpower keeps him going on. Which, obviously, in a 'real world' could not happen.

Looking at it like this, it sounds like a great story, but I was left disappointed. The animation is not my taste (to say the least) and the story somehow isn't told very well. Very confusing. Not to the point. Could have been better all around.

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.

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.