Unfortunately, the only way to see “Final Flight of the Orisis” on the big screen (and believe me, this is the only way you should see it) is to pay admission to see the dreadful film “Dreamcatcher.” However, it is all worth it to watch this nine-minute tour de force of computer animation.
The story is actually rather simple. The crew of the Osiris, a ship fighting against the machine army, has discovered a new super weapon that the machines have developed. This super weapon is designed to drill four kilometers into the ground to wipe out Zion, the last human city on earth. Joann, one of the Osiris crew, is given the mission to enter the Matrix and warn the human resistance movement.
This basic story line is an obvious lead-into this summer’s highly anticipated sequel, “The Matrix Reloaded.” Still, the first half of the film doesn’t even deal with the plot at all. However, this is all forgivable because the film opens with Joann sparring with Thaddeus (the captain and the one she’s hot for), and they are both damn sexy. The fight sequence between the two appears to be a demo reel from Square USA, who have further perfected their photo realistic animation techniques we first saw in “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.”
There are still some obvious gives in terms of identifying the images as CGI, but it is some of the most sophisticated work ever.
Fans of “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” will recognize obvious improvements in the emulation of flesh and muscle. Square USA took to heart some of the errors in generating the characters in their groundbreaking film. A pet peeve of mine was that Dr. Aki Ross’s butt never really quite worked. It just seemed to fold in the wrong places. Many people must have complained about this, considering there is one hell of a gratuitous butt shot of Joann in a thong – with so much detail filling the 20-foot high screen that you can even make out glimpses of stretch marks and moles. Very, very realistic.
The film is only nine minutes, and it is basically an extended action sequence. But you ain’t watching this film for the plot. The animation is astounding, and the fight sequences are almost as cool as the original. Plus, as the Osiris is chased by an army of sentinels, these computer generated machine bad guys blend seamlessly with the slick, CGI ship – something that the original film didn’t quite achieve (mainly because it wasn’t completely computer generated).
The bottom line: “Final Flight of the Osiris” is a great way to whet your appetite for the new Matrix feature films this year. Cough up the eight bucks to see it on the big screen in front of “Dreamcatcher.”
Read the reviews for Second Renaissance Part I and Program>>>
