Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Straight from the creators of the groundbreaking Matrix trilogy, this collection of short animated films from the world's leading anime directors fuses computer graphics and Japanese anime to provide the background of the Matrix universe and the conflict between man and machines. The shorts include Final Flight of the Osiris, The Second Renaissance, Kid's Story, Program, World Record, Beyond, A Detective Story and Matriculated.
The Animatrix is a genuinely singular anthology — a rare case of a major Hollywood franchise handing its mythology to world-class anime directors (Kawajiri, Watanabe, Morimoto, Oshii collaborators) and letting each pursue a distinct visual and narrative style. Cinematography/animation earns a 4 for the sheer variety and ambition: The Second Renaissance's harrowing historical epic, Beyond's dreamy surrealism, and Kawajiri's noir Detective Story are all visually distinctive. Novelty is equally high — there is nothing quite like this as a franchise expansion artifact; it deepens lore while being genuinely artistic. Plot is uneven across the eight shorts — The Second Renaissance and Matriculated are conceptually rich, while others like Kid's Story feel thin; a collective 3 is fair. Acting (voice work) is inconsistent and occasionally weak, dragging to a 2. The anthology format means endings vary wildly — some haunting, some abrupt — landing at a collective 3.