Rating: 
Summary: Not Bad, but not as good as the original.
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Two great animated action flicks
Review: My review will seperate the two titles.Poly Matrix:
Our first movie to this double feature takes place on Mars. A detective from Earth named Ross Sylabus comes to Mars to help out with the police force and gets his first assignment the moment he gets off the plane. He also meets his partner, a sexy punk-girl named Armitage. The story centers around the war between human and robot rights for specific robots called seconds or thirds. However, Ross and Armitage have no idea what they're getting into. The movie is pretty good considering it was condensed from 4 OAV episodes and made into a movie for an American release. Elizabeth Berkley (Showgirls) and Kiefer Sutherland (24 TV series) do a good job, but they sound more depressed and robotic, for better or worse. Extras include two text interviews and a trailer. Overall, the animation is great, the action solid, the music smooth and the story is stellar. Recommended. Dual Matrix:
Years after Armitage and Ross get married, they have a child and name her Yoko. But all is still not right in the universe. A new law is being past for robot laws, but an edgy scientist doesn't want to risk anything on this law so he kidnaps Ross's daughter. And with two Thirds under his belt, he won't be taken lightly. The animation, when compared to the last movie, is incredible. Most of the CG reminds me of Sol Bianica. In fact, the shuttle at the end of the movie looks almost exactly like the ship from Sol Bianica. The new voice actor for Armitage (Juliette Lewis) does a good job and maintains Armitage's attitude. However, Ross sounds a bit too upbeat in this film. Another thing worth noting is that the actor of Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars does the voice of Mouse. He tends to go into Jar Jar mode a few times, but he speaks way less babble than he did in Star Wars. The music has been also been beefed up as well. There is some real nice guitar for the action scenes which I beleive does more justice to the film. The extras include a behind the scenes look at the making of Dual Matrix, three clean songs, trailer, production designs and Pioneer previews. Overall, I enjoyed Dual Matrix. It's an action movie with soul. And if thats what you like, by all means, buy this now.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Combo
Review: 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
Rating:
Summary: THE COVER OF THE DVD IS A CLUE OF THE QUALITY
Review: 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).
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good...but growing on me.
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh dear...what a shame
Review: The original Armitage series (not the hacked to pieces Poly Matrix movie version) was a work of art. A gritty cyberpunk thriller raising serious questions about the future of our society when technoloy loves, hates and fears. This sequel is almost unconnected. The characters of Ross and Armitage have become all but manequins, Ross stumbles around with nothing much to do, his police background is all but forgotten and there even seems to be no mention that he has an artifitical arm and leg, as his same hand gets injured. Armitage, a very strong and quite deep character has been rendered one dimensional, running around avoiding robots of different shapes and sizes, her motivation in the whole plot is shallow and unintersting. A weak plot and script can sometimes be saved by good animation and design, but Armitage Dual-Matrix just looks uninspired, CGI is used throughout and sticks out like a sore thumb, looking out of place and [inexpensive]. The characters themselves don't look quite right, Armitage seems to have bizarre lip growth most of the time and she's just lost her charm and grace. The dubbing is OK, though Juliette Lewis gives a wooden performance as Armitage (and you thought Elizabeth Berkley [was bad]?The original OVA voice was better than both movie versions. Japanese vocal is far superior. If you want cyberpunk anime, pick up the original series (now available on DVD) and avoid this cliche.
Rating:
Summary: Oh dear...what a shame
Review: The original Armitage series (not the hacked to pieces Poly Matrix movie version) was a work of art. A gritty cyberpunk thriller raising serious questions about the future of our society when technoloy loves, hates and fears. This sequel is almost unconnected. The characters of Ross and Armitage have become all but manequins, Ross stumbles around with nothing much to do, his police background is all but forgotten and there even seems to be no mention that he has an artifitical arm and leg, as his same hand gets injured. Armitage, a very strong and quite deep character has been rendered one dimensional, running around avoiding robots of different shapes and sizes, her motivation in the whole plot is shallow and unintersting. A weak plot and script can sometimes be saved by good animation and design, but Armitage Dual-Matrix just looks uninspired, CGI is used throughout and sticks out like a sore thumb, looking out of place and [inexpensive]. The characters themselves don't look quite right, Armitage seems to have bizarre lip growth most of the time and she's just lost her charm and grace. The dubbing is OK, though Juliette Lewis gives a wooden performance as Armitage (and you thought Elizabeth Berkley [was bad]?The original OVA voice was better than both movie versions. Japanese vocal is far superior. If you want cyberpunk anime, pick up the original series (now available on DVD) and avoid this cliche.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible action....
Review: This movie is not perfect by any means. But it certainly did some things right in my opinion. This movie wove some pretty intense emotion into its action. Sure there were parts of the voice overs that I didn't care for but as a whole, I thought that the animation was top notch as usual. There is so much poorly drawn Anime out there that it is nice to see some level of detail in a movie. I think what sold me on this movie was the action. Armitage doesn't hold back at all in this movie. I was drawn to her rage in the first movie. And to see it return get me to really enjoy this film. I wish they would have kept the same voice actors from the first for conistancies sake but I thought Juliette Lewis did a pretty fair job. A lot of hardcore anime fans will probably hate this movie (like they did the first one), but for some fans, this is EXACTLY the type of anime I like to watch. And NOT this dragon ball Z garbage that is flooding the market.
Rating:
Summary: Good Movie
Review: This production was better than Poly Matrix; the animation seemed cleaner and more alive. The story continues Armitage quest for a normal life, but it gets interrupted when she needs to seek revenge for some 3rd's that were murdered. The story is a little weak, and perhaps Poly Matrix had a better story line. The voice acting was more to my liking, the actresses for Armitage were about equal, though Ms Lewis was not as squeaky, but the actor for Ross was not as dark as Kiefer and this gives the film a less depressing tone. If you liked Poly Matrix, you will probably enjoy Dual matrix.
Rating:
Summary: Stay around for Dual-Matrix!
Review: This set packs both movies together which is the best way to go in my opinion. The first movie Poly-Matrix is nothing to get too excited about, it's not great only good. It lacks the amount storytelling and fight scene quality that the sequel has but still proves to be entertaining. Dual-Matrix is where it's at, the stories stronger in this installment(though i won't give any spoilers). The fight scenes rock so hard you have to see it for yourself. So buy this set because Dual-Matrix is a must have and you wouldn't want to watch before its predecessor Poly-Matrix even if it isn't as good as Dual-Matrix. A deal no anime fan should miss.
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