World Record (2003)

Best movie of this year hands down!

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Very interesting point: what does it take, precisely, to wake up from the Matrix? Does it require that red pill, or can it actually be caused by exertion of mind or body (or both) beyond the realm of possibility in the "real world"? These are the questions asked by both "The Kid's Story" and this short, "World Record". However, "The Kid's Story" is more like a back-story introduction to the character who appears in the sequels doggedly following Neo around like a lost puppy, whereas this short stands alone.The animation itself isn't quite as exceptional as the rest of the shorts, but it's interesting what it does with body and motion. As the narrative relies entirely on the workings of the main character's body, expressionistic use of his muscles are created by warping both while he's running and during his own backstory. It's actually a very interesting approach, and is slightly reminiscent of the much more caricaturistic "The Triplets of Belleville".--PolarisDiB

I am pretty surprised that this is one of the more berated of the nine episodes of the animatrix.There maybe a couple of reason why this mind set seems to manifest.First off.A lot of people seem to be watching this series as a "part" or a sequel or a prequel.Wipe those words off your minds when watching this.The Matrix movie was good.But I would consider the animatrix to be more definitive than the movie.The movies are appendages to this anthology and not vice versa.The matrix is not spelt out.Neither are transitions or visions of the humans unlike in the movies.They are episodes that happen.With this framework the whole series turns upside down with the movies losing their importance and the animatrix gaining centre-stage.But then looking at the comments of a lot of people lamenting that they do not get an "explanation" or "addition" to the storyline or plot,I believe the Wachowski brothers have done wise to make the easy to understand,toned down movie version first and not released the animatrix to an unappreciative audience.Okay now the world record itself.This is one of the most stylishly executed,simple themes in the series.The animation world class.The visuals highly heightened and the figures aquiline and straight.Unless you make the common mistake of saying the more human the animation the better you will be instantly captured by this short.The colours and non chronological narrative add in to change the perspective.The slo mo graphics and the revolving angles are absolutely brilliant.The machines' sense of humour is apparent in only this series.Not in any other series or movies has this aspect been touched upon.Those of you who have not given this short a second chance would be better off by doing so.

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.

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.