[.ca] Armitage: Dual - Matrix (Full Screen Special ...

From Amazon.com:
This sequel offers little of the Blade Runner-influenced vision of a despotic future that made the original OAV and previous feature so popular. After living peacefully under assumed names on Mars, Naomi Armitage and her husband Ross Sylibus are drawn into a standard anime plot involving a sinister corporation's efforts to create artificial humans. The curvaceous Naomi is actually a "Third," the most formidable type of cyborg. (She's even borne a child, which suggests just how sophisticated her circuitry is.) Naomi takes on the duplicates of her that the evil Demetrius Mardini has created, in a series of gunfights, fistfights, knife fights, and explosions. Despite the film's promising origins, clumsy storytelling and director Katsuhito Akiyama's tendency to stage many of the battles in dim dramatic lighting hurt its impact, as it's difficult to follow what's happening. Rated 16 Up: Graphic violence, violence against women, nudity, profanity. --Charles Solomon

Not as good...but growing on me.:
The first time I saw this DVD sequel to one of the best animes of the '90's on the shelves, I was skeptical. When I saw that Juliette Lewis was doing the voice for super-sexy robot ...Naomi Armitage, my feelings were mixed, knowing her to be a competent actress with a sexier voice than Elizabeth Berkeley (and certainly sexier on screen). When I finally watched it...I was disappointed. And yet...I watched it again, and I liked it a little more, despite the flaws. As a sequel, it's pretty standard. It acknowledges the events of the first movie (except of course for the funny plot hole of why nobody on Mars recognizes Ross or Armitage when they figured to be such prominent characters in a government conspiracy in the original). The sequel expands (not answers, but expands) on certain questions from the first, like how does a robot have the ability to conceive human children? The action is pretty good, almost as good as the original, and it wrap things up nicely in the end. The major flaws with this sequel are inherent in the animation. It's just not nearly as good. The animators went a little overboard with the use of CGI for some of the vehicular chase scenes (which were pretty cool, but obviously out of place with the rest of the animation). The panning is far less smooth than in the original, probably another result of CGI...it just doesn't look the same. The character design is updated slightly to give a sense that the characters have matured slightly. The backgrounds and setting aren't all that great either, but...it is mostly on Earth, not Mars. Maybe they just didn't want to go too far with it. There's also a problem in the plot, which is almost a direct rehash of the original, only instead of the government being behind it, it's the big robot-producing corporations that have a lot to lose if robots are allowed to be treated as human. Politics come into play a little more this time around, but that hardly helps the case the plot is pretty much the same. Also, the cliched plot devices of taking the child hostage and of a mother protecting her child is played out in perfect form here. Armitage could take out an entire army to protect her child...and she pretty much does (well...two ultra violent clones of herself, which is pretty much the equivalent of an army...and those clones laugh way too much, you just wanna bash their heads in). The pros of this movie are that in spite of these little details, it's still a far better sequel than most Hollywood sequels attempt to be. As I said, the action is really good. The extended fight between Armitage and Ross and her two clones is pretty good, especially considering that the clones are more than just programmed soldiers...they seem to have a sadistic side, laughing almost every time they think they're about to kill someone...which was annoying, but it does helping you to hate them. The additional characters like the daughter Yoko and Mouse the Repairman are pretty enjoyable too. Yoko plays out like a typical kid in anime movies, but she's far less annoying than you'd expect. The little twist near the end when we see what makes her more than just an ordinary human is well integrated, especially after the villian made a big deal about not finding anything special about her. Mouse is just funny. The music by Julian Mack is different...still electronic-based, but more orchestral elements are introduced, and the presence of a female voice in the theme is rather interesting. All-in-all, the sequel did what it sought out to do, and while it's certainly not as good as the original, it does at least hold a candle. I hated it at first, but the more I watch it, the more I enjoy it, and the more I feel it's actually a pretty good sequel. This is just my opinion, so feel free to disagree, but I think "Armitage: Dual-Matrix" is pretty good.

A Great Combo:
Poly-Matrix: Armitage has long been one of my favorite animes. It's hard to describe much of the story without giving away at least small bits of the plot, I'll be rather brief. The basics of the story is about a cop, Ross, who travels to Mars and meets a female officer named Naomi Armitage. They get involved in solving a murder case involving a famous country singer. The singer is found to be, shockingly, a machine. Issues are brought up about robots and the rights of machines. The robots are divided into various types, Seconds and the rumored mysterious Thirds take center stage. Many questions are raised and debated as the story progresses, it's very well written and thought out. Ross himself is pretty much a normal Earth cop. He's calm and calculating where Naomi is quicker to act and fight. They make quite a great team. Ross pretty much gets dragged into the whole mess and keeps things well grounded. He stays cool under pressure and generally makes for one tough cop. Naomi is from the very outset a hardcore energetic fighter. She gets the job done using her own methods and lets no one stand in her way. If you make it through this movie without a soft spot for Naomi, you need to watch it again. As the story progresses, clues appear and we dig deeper into the backgrounds of Ross and Naomi. The characters forge a friendship with new characters and enemies become clear and yet mysteries shroud everything. It will keep you guessing all the way through. All in all, It's a very interesting anime that has managed to stay one of my absolute favorites for many years. It's well written, has plenty of action, and very memorable main characters. If you've never seen it, give it a shot. You'll have a great time. Dual-Matrix: Be warned, this will spoil some of the story to the original movie, Poly-Matrix. If you haven't seen that movie, I recommend you watch it first. Now, moving on the sequel we have Dual Matrix. Dual Matrix is set many years after the events of Poly-Matrix. Ross and Naomi did indeed have a child and named her Yoko. She's about 7 years old by now and completely unaware of her parent's past. They've changed their names and identities and are living on Mars trying to keep peaceful lives. However, a horrible attack occurs killing several humans and robots. One of them contact Armitage before death, sending her its memories. She then quietly goes on a mission to find out just what's going on and take care of those responsible. Ross in the mean time is dealing with his own issues on Earth with Yoko. Suffice to say when the action gets started it's just as good as old times. There are twists and turns that keep it interesting throughout, as well as a few new characters. Almost all the old favorites return and keep things interesting. Naomi has changed a bit and isn't as hyper as she was the first time around. However, what she's lost in nubile cuteness over the years is more than made up for in experience. She's more of a hardcore fighter than ever before. Dual Matrix starts off somewhat slow, but quickly picks up into a very worthy sequel to the original movie. The highlight of the movie is the ending and I assume its namesake. Naomi and Ross must survive a brutal fight against two enhanced Terminator style Armitage replicas while protecting Yoko. It's a dramatic and power set of scenes that will have Naomi fans beside themselves. If you liked Poly-Matrix, give this one a shot as well. You may enjoy it just as much or even more. - Rirath.com

THE COVER OF THE DVD IS A CLUE OF THE QUALITY:
Take a good look at the cover of the ARMITAGE-DUAL MATRIX DVD, for this is what the animation is like: Animation that many people like, and many people hate (this applies to the regular DVD version; where I rent, the store doesn't carry the special edition, but this doesn't change anything I have said, although the cover is different, and looks a little better on the special edition). Some think it looks "inexpensive," has slipped back to older, poor-quality animation. Some think it is wonderful. Some think that the dubbing by Juliette Lewis is bad. In my neighborhood, I haven't talked to one person -- so far -- that doesn't think the animation is fantastic, as is Juliette Lewis. Most agree the story line is weak, but some think it is great all the way around. So, what is going on here? The people who made the film made an artistic decision that not everyone likes; they took a risk. In some ways, they -- in the CG World -- would be considered minimalists: Instead of flashy, bright colors, they chose to use colors -- especially on the characters -- that are very soft, but richness in colors is still there. The colors are such that at times it is very similar to turning the color down on your TV. But there is a smoothness and evenness throughout. Some of the buildings and structures and the night scenes of the city are breathtaking. There is a flatness similar to what could be achieved by hand, but still obvious that CG was used. Some scenes look like paintings. But three-dimensional-CG approach is there as well. Yes, some of the scenes are very dark-to the point where you can barely tell what is going on. In one of the scenes, you can't see anything at all. This obviously was intentional. When you see Armitage later, she looks she as if she is barely holding it together, but determined to protect her family, especially her daughter, if it kills her. There were some complaints about things being left out. There wasn't suppose to be any reference to Armitage's husband being a former police officer -- but it is there, in the scene where he steals the car and says he is a police officer, with a hesitation and adding "former police officer." So, with some seeing the same things as good/bad, what is one suppose to do? Rent. That's what I did. I found the movie difficult to watch, and difficult to follow (a lot of work). I like it. Not enough to buy at this point. But it pointed me to the reviews, which pointed me to the OVA, which is to be released soon, which I plan to buy. Possibly, after that, depending on how much I like the OVA, I might buy ARMITAGAE-DUAL MATARIX (SPECIAL EDITION).

Not Bad, but not as good as the original.:
Let's face it, the story, animation and character development was better in the first Armitage film. BUT, this film is a decent sequel. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being anything related to Pokepuke, I give this film a 6.5.

Human or ...:
What on the surface appears to be a political conflict between the Martian colony and the terrestrial parent government turns out to be an corporate economic struggle over the ability to make robots, and the rights that near human (or better) intelligences deserve to have. Demitrio Mardini, of Earth Robotronics has devised a plan to use third generation cyborgs as breeding vessels for enslavable humans. His ruthless plot puts one of the thirds, Naomi Armitage, her husband Ross Sylibus and their daughter Yoko square in his sights. This is a pure techno-thriller. Mardini kidnaps Yoko to force Ross to vote against the robot rights bill, and pry the secret of the thirds' ability to procreate from Naomi. The couple fights back with everything they have, culminating with a series of tightly choreographed fights between Naomi and several of her evil twins. In addition to the primary plot, the nature of being human is an important subtext, which finally reveals itself to be the primary theme. It takes a robot to teach a human about love. How much you like this feature may depend on how familiar you are with previous Armitage stories. On its own, it is an interesting story with good artwork and animation. Technology, of course, is ever present, but it doesn't overwhelm the more human aspects of the story. Yoko's active role keeps centering the story back on its core values. But the film is a bit flat and two dimensional when compared to previous Armitage efforts. My guess is that long time fans will be less satisfied than newcomers will be. Actually, the film relies very little on its precedents, so it is a good starting point. I liked it, although it didn't blow me away - 'Dual Matrix' is certainly worth a look.