Horst in Translation ([email protected]) The concept of sports in the matrix is actually a pretty interesting one in the face of achievements that you could describe as out of this world. Such an achievement we have here by a 100-meter runner who keeps breaking world records. Unfortunately, the execution did not really convince me. The only fairly interesting thing I took from these 9 minutes is basically the relationship between world records in the real world we live in and in the Matrix universe. Is under 9 seconds possibly anyhow? Early on, it sounded already like under 9.8 was unique, but Usain Bolt got there already. So how far can we go (or jump), how high can we get? How fast can we be. It will surely be interesting to watch this short film in a couple decades from now and see if we got close to the protagonist's achievement. Anyway, this is not among my 3 favorite segments from the Animatrix, but also not among my least favorites. The Wachowskis did not write this one here. i am not familiar with the director or writer here, but it looks like they frequently work together. Anyway, I hope for them that this may be their most known achievement, but not their best.

bob the moo 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.

natezoid I've looked at the other comments on this animated short and, while I do agree that the animation was bizarre and surreal, I also thought that it was complete eye candy. Furthermore, I do NOT think that the story was bad. I thought that it was that it was simple, yes, (yet not even as simple as "A Boy's Story"), but told with fearless broad strokes and SPOILER.... .... even the ending where Dan didn't succeed in breaking free of the matrix was satisfying. Not everyone who comes close to tearing their mental bonds with the matrix, gets completely loose. That explains why insane people exist in the matrix. They know something's wrong with their reality, but they can't quite think their way fully out of the box.SPOILER FINISHED... the powerfully animated slow-mo sprint is the centerpiece for the short. The other scenes give background and depth to the characters in it. The way they intercut these non-chronological scenes was a great idea. The director, in an interview on the DVD, says that this was going to be done differently at first. I'm glad they did it this way. This way you can pack a whole lot of info in a short amount of time without losing track of what the main theme is: Dan's latest attempt to beat the world record. This short is a Demi-God of animation and should not be even slightly critiqued. I found the story even more solid and well rounded than "The Last Flight of the Osirus" (and a lot more than the super-weird, but fascinating "Matriculated"). World Record was my favorite short on the DVD.

PlanecrazyIkarus 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