A Detective Story (2003)

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Film noir meets anime... brilliant! This was one of the highlights of the surprisingly creative Animatrix shorts. This was one of my favorites if not my favorite (I also loved World Record). This is basically a reference to those classic film noir detective stories and movies of the 40s, except it's animated and involves the Matrix. But by being animated, it is able to take the extreme camera angles, the detective life style, the shadows, and everything film noir to an entirely new level. The Femme Fatale? Trinity. The detective in this story seems to be living in the 40s in his mind but stuck in a modern world, and everything becomes too much for him when his case suddenly involves science fiction and agents when a mysterious woman in black walks into his office...My grade: 9/10

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.

This is the fifth part of 'The Animatrix', a collection of animated short movies that tell us a little more about the world of 'The Matrix'. This time they introduce Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) in a story about a detective who is hired to find her. With great black and white animation and an interesting story this is again a great animated short from 'The Animatrix'.

This is one of nine shorts on the anime disk, "The Animatrix." It is my favorite. The artwork is amazing. The black-and-white, somewhat grainy texture perfectly captures the mood that the segment is trying to portray. The story is tight, and the ending is true to film noir.Overall, I gave The Animatrix a "7", but this particular segment deserves a "10."