Armitage III: Poly Matrix (1997) (V)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Takuya Sato

Writer:

Chiaki Konaka (writer)

Release Date:

4 August 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

If mankind hates me...then why did they create me?

Plot:

A policeman, Ross Sylibus, is assigned to a unit on a Martian colony, to find that women are being murdered by a psychotic named D'anclaude...

Plot Keywords:

Cyberpunk | Anime

Cast

Elizabeth Berkley	...	Naomi Armitage (voice)
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Ross Sylibus (voice)
Dan Woren	...	D'Anclaude (voice)
Wanda Nowicki	...	Julian Moore (voice)
Mike Reynolds	...	Lieutenant Randolph (voice)
Bryan Cranston	...	Eddie (voice)
Stephen Apostolina	...	Chris (voice)
Barry Stigler	...	Dr. Asakura (voice)
Doug Stone	...	Coroner (voice)
Dorothy Elias-Fahn	...	Kelly (voice) (as Dorothy Fahn)
Steve Blum	...	Kelly's Manager (voice: English version) (as Steven Blum)
Anne Sherman	...	Jessica Manning (voice) (as Riva Spier)
Ellyn Stern	...	Rosalind (voice)
Debra Rogers	...	Model (voice) (as Debbie Rogers)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve Bulen	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Richard Cansino	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Richard Consino)
Jonathan David Cook	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Bambi Darro	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Dyanne DiRosario)
Michael Forest	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Wendee Lee	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Joan-Carol O'Connell	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Michael Sorich	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Skip Stellrecht	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Paul St. Peter	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Kirk Thornton	...	Additional Voices (voice)

Also Known As:

Armitage III: Polymatrix

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Japan | USA

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Canada:18+ (TV rating) | UK:18 | Germany:16 (video rating)

Company:

AIC

Quotes:

Ross Sylibus: Armitage, don't let bitterness change you. Come back, please.

Movie Connections:

Edited from Armitage III (1994) (V)

Exciting, thoughtful...but a bit confusing

Having seen both the 4-episode OAV version of Armitage III and the Armitage III Polymatrix DVD, I note some interesting differences between the versions. Particularly interesting is the fact that the Polymatrix cinematic movie version was done _only_ in English, and subsequently subtitled for Japanese viewing--that's how the Japanese wanted it. There is no corresponding subtitled version of Polymatrix; it's an English-only film.

Polymatrix alters the storyline of the OAV series slightly, cutting a few scenes and adding a bit of new animation. It also adds two new voice actors, replacing the OAV dub cast: Kiefer Sutherland and Elizabeth Berkley as the two leads. For the most part, these cuts are acceptable; they improve the pacing of the movie at the cost of some additional story and characterization. While I was watching, I hardly missed what was cut. (For those who are concerned with seeing the whole story, the four OAV episodes should be viewed, preferably in the subtitled versions.) The ending is also changed slightly, and seems to me to make more sense in this version.

The storyline of Armitage III is set on a colonized Mars, and concerns itself with a new third generation of robots ("Thirds") that can actually think and create. A madman by the name of Renee D'anclaude has found out about these Thirds and is going around killing them. What is less clear, and somewhat confusing even when it is explained late in the movie, is _why_. It took repeated viewings of the OAVs, then finally the movie itself, for me to figure out the full political motivations behind the murders--and why it was that the Thirds stood in the way of an important political treaty between Earth and Mars.

Although Armitage III becomes somewhat confusing in the last twenty minutes, it nonetheless is an interesting and thought-provoking movie that should not be missed.