Program (2003)

"Program", a sequence from the Animatrix, was directed and written by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. He may be known to anime lovers, but to general audiences not really. I never heard the name either. It is an animated short film, obviously, and runs for roughly seven minutes. There was nothing truly outstanding here, but it wasn't bad either. Not at all. The beginning reminded me of "Apocalypse Now" and I especially liked the way they depicted the defeated horsemen early on as numbers when the female protagonist killed them. After that, it is all about the battle between the aforementioned Cis and her frenemy Duo. He tries to convince her to get back to the Matrix and just live there like everybody else instead of constantly fighting against it.Pay attention to how Cis is depicted in white and Duo in black. Also goes for the horses. He is the antagonist. First he tries to convince her with words, then with swords. Of course, she refuses to and in the end, good defeats evil. Or did it really? In order to really get "Program", you should have seen at least the first Matrix movie from the Wachowskis starring Keanu Reeves. Otherwise, you will probably wonder what all this is about. Solid short film recommended. I just wonder why Cis does not wear a heavy uniform like her opponent early on and wears even less near the end of the short film.

This is the fifth on the disc of Animatrix shorts. It's seven minutes long, and thus shorter than the usual(which is about nine), and every moment is intense. This manages to not slow down for a second without overwhelming the viewer, as well as provide some food for thought, around one of the themes also explored in The Matrix(the first film as well as the franchise). The action is exceptionally well-done, engaging and fun. The animation is impeccable throughout. The visuals are stunning, and the choreography leaves little, if anything, to be desired. The dialog is well-written and also nicely delivered. The plot is well-done and the story-telling is strong, offering so much in this amount of time, and the ending adds a whole additional layer to it. The drama is powerful. The audio is well-done, with great voice-acting and sound effects. There is a six-minute making of, well-done and interesting, on the DVD, as well as a commentary track, not in English but subtitled, and worth it to hear the thoughts of those who made it. I recommend this to any fan of science fiction, Animé and anyone who likes what they watch to give them something to think about. 8/10

Inside a fight training program outside of the matrix, two warriors continue their games. When one reveals that he has struck a deal with the agents to return the matrix, he offers his female partner to come with him. When she refuses he has no choice but to begin a fight that only one of them will survive.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. The film gripped me immediately with it's visuals - very stylish, very manga in it's style. The plot was slick as well as being involving - the two protanginists talk until the point where it is obvious that there is only one way to resolve it. It is very enjoyable right until the epilogue that occurs outside of the training programme - that is poor and takes away from the short.The film may have more in the way of style than substance but it does well enough to support the visuals with a basic premise that is interesting. It is flawed of course, but I have found that many of those who criticise the shorts that make up the Animatrix have not seen a great deal of short films or animations. With only a few minutes to do it's job, this short does well despite a rather bad conclusion that just spoilt it a bit for me.

This is a very good effort, one of the most enjoyable shorts that make up the Animatrix.The story begins with a fight, indeed the entire story is a fight, between a girl and her friend or mentor, within a training programme, or perhaps it is a recreation programme, who knows? Either way, her opponent begins to display a more sinister side: He feels just like Cypher in the original Matrix, and asks her to join him in an effort to be reinserted, or die...The animation is great, the story is thrilling and overall this is definitely a good short movie, fitting in very well in the Matrix-universe8/10