Protraph
Lack of good storyline.
Cleveronix
A different way of telling a story
Ogosmith
Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
Aspen Orson
There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.
TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews
The eighth, and thus second-to-last short of the Animatrix ones, this is the only one quite like this. This takes two of the main types of filmed entertainment inspirations of The Matrix, and combines them unbelievably well. This is immensely faithful to the trilogy in that aspect, the tone. The animation is a gorgeous, breathtaking Animé. The style, which is omnipresent in this, is Noir. The plot is fitting, and the story-telling, as well, as the music, is spot-on. The sound in general is fantastic, and really helps solidify the mood and atmosphere, along with the drawings and designs. The voice acting is impeccable. This is one of only two where people also in the movies reprise their roles, and both have Anne-Moss, who is the only of them appearing in this. This is one of the best of the nine, and also one of my personal favorites. This is about ten minutes long. The pacing is perfect. It never slows down terribly much, but it's not overwhelming, either. The ending could not have been more appropriate for this. This shares a nine and a half-minutes long making of with Kid's Story, and it's well-done and informative. I recommend this warmly to any fan of the universe and the two genres that this is made up of. 8/10
william (willsgb)
This is one of the periphery stories told by the Animatrix that isn't directly relevant to the war stopping One glorifying plot of the films, but Trinity, voiced by Carrie, does appear in it. it features a private detective who is hired for big money to look for a hacker named Trinity. we see his search which features other PIs, only one who he meets, who has seemingly gone mad from his own experience trying to track Trinity down. eventually he makes contact with Trinity who he assumes to be a man of course - told in the narrative and something that firmly puts us in his own perspective despite what we already know - on a hacker chat-room, and solves a riddle which forces him in a hurry to catch a train. he forgets his hat but his faithful cat throws it to him in a moment of ludicrousness so absurd it's hilarious.he meets her on the train but the ruse is thereby revealed when agents attack; the agents were using him to get to Trinity and Trinity was trying to free the PIs sent after her, which he doesn't know of course, and which isn't explicitly stated in the animation itself, something common to film noir titles, which often hint at plenty of interesting back-story, subplots, developments etc. but don't show you more then the core story and a limited point of view to create an extra air of mystery and intrigue.almost everything in this short is in black and white, the music is reminiscent of film noir and the offbeat, old fashioned yet dedicated detective is the perfect protagonist for a film noir title. the trivia section of this title's entry on IMDb also helpfully presents a few references this title makes to hardboiled literature, something it also borrows heavily from, a genre of mysteries for detectives, gangsters etc. who engage in challenging conflicts readily and often. animated aptly by Studio 4°C and directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, it is an enjoyable variant on the usual matrix story.
highflying_falcon
Wow, its been quite a while since I've watched anything so mysterious in the way it is portrayed.A Detective Story uses old fashioned black and white images to portray a private investigator who dresses in an old fashioned trench coat and hat. The theme of this animation is reminiscent of that of Sam Spayed which was briefly mentioned by Ash.Sick of spying on cheating house wives because of his clients, Ash was offered a chance to track down a "computer hacker" which he thought was a worthwhile chance for a four figure sum he could not turn down and the rest is history.The ending was a little bit bland but still okay. For those out there who like old fashion stories this is the one for you.
bob the moo
Ash is a private detective who is down on his luck. Tired of investigating cheating wives for suspicious husbands, he stares at his empty bank account and empty fridge and he decides that this business is not for him. It is then he gets a call and payment from a mysterious employer who asks him to find the hacker `Trinity'.Opening with a great atmosphere of noir detective thrillers, this film continues in this vein until it turns into a confrontation on the train with some agents. 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 for me thanks to this same style. However the substance is also engaging even if it takes liberties at times, the length of time it takes the agents to come down the carriage for example, or the sudden semi-understanding that Ash seems to have near the end. Despite this, the plot still works pretty well - certainly enough to hold the style in check.Visually, the short is great. It creates a sense of period that isn't undone by the agents, guns or Trinity. It feels like it was charcoal drawn (it wasn't) and it really feels moody and dark. Also, out of all the entries in the series, this is the one that gets the look and feel of the agents down best. The voice work is good as well with good input from Moss; who's incarnation here manages to look feminine - a feat she failed to accomplish in the last two of the films!Overall this is a good film even if it loses it's way substance-wise at times. It is dark and brooding and has a conclusion that befits the look and feel of the film. All round one of the best of the series.