Watch The Second Renaissance Part II For Free

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It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

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

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Well.. actually the second of the second of the second, looking at the film's title. These 9 minutes continue where "The Second Renaissance Part 1" left off. Unfortunately it is equally forgettable just like the first part. Men rejected machines' peaceful attempt to return, so a war is unavoidable. And of course there can only be one possible outcome to that. Stupid men. So they want to destroy the sky? Another brilliant idea. NOT. The director is Mahiro Maeda again, who already worked with Tarantino and the script comes from the Wachowskis just like the script for the famous live action movies. I have to say I was never too big on "The Matrix", but these animated short films are even worse. And also, they almost have no reference to the films anymore at all. Not recommended.

The Second Renaissance was the best short on the Animatrix DVD. The first half was the stronger, showing the show and political world before the machines took over the Earth. But The Second Reaissiance is still pretty good.Part II tells the story of the war between humanity and the machines. The human nations attempt to nuke 01 but nuclear weapons have little affect to machines who are not living creatures. The machine quickly conquer the Middle East and Europe, and winning the war. The humans take the drastic action and block out the sun, believing they would take out the machines' energy supply. But humanity is still loosing the war, and soldiers even take solace in religion. There are many brutal battles and the machines force humanity to sign a humiliating peace treaty in the UN in New York before blowing up the city. However, victory seems hollow. The machines in the end have to enslave humanity by making them their power source; thereby forming the Matrix as a system of control.The plot and narrative is weaker in this short. This short is more about the action, with gory violence, and shows how bleak the world becomes. The style of the animation is beautiful and the action well down. There are also some interesting themes, like humans in their darkest hour look to religion, that victory can be hollow, the link between machines and humans and desperate actions humans may take. The signing of the peace treaty also reminded me of the Armistice between France and Germany during World War 2 where Hitler found the same train carriage where the Germans were forced to sign the armistice in World War 1. Cruel irony. It's only 9 minutes, it's worth watching.

Of the Animatrix shorts, this is the third, and, obviously, of The Second Renaissance, it is the second part. After the first one(which perhaps had more to say, but that is debatable) told us the events leading up to the war, this shows just that: The stand-off between the two forces. We already know the final result, so this is not about the destination, but the journey. The depiction is very dark, bleak and apocalyptic, and it achieves what was obviously one of the things they went for: It is not a pleasant sight. The irony is bitter and arguably cruel. The story-telling is similar. The animation is nice, with a well-integrated mix of 2D and 3D. Very effective direction and choice of color schemes. This has nudity or what comes very close to it, and definitely violent and disturbing images, and is not for the faint of heart. This is controversial, just as the one before it. On the DVD, there is a making of that goes over both, and is very informative and well-done, and a commentary track, not in English but with subtitles, and it is definitely worth taking in. I recommend this to any fan of the Matrix franchise, Part I of these(watching it is a must for the experience of this one) and/or science fiction in general. 8/10

Part 2 goes on where part 1 stopped (such a surprise!), as the machines feel they don't belong to the humans any longer and start their own country, zero-one. Their economy is growing and they become a threat to all mankind, so they bomb them with everything they got... but fail (as you would expect since otherwise there wouldn't have been a matrix).Part 2 is a bit more gripping than part 1, although I keep on wondering: is it really important for us to 'know' this? The animatrix series should be an extra for the matrix movies, and for instance 'Osiris' is just that... but Renaissance, whether it's part one or two, feels silly more than intense and pointless more than important... 5/10.