yakkowarner's Full Review: Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
I have recommended that people see the first Ghost in the Shell several times through to take in all of the different facets and nuances of that movie. Well it doesn't get any better with this film. It is a deep and thought provoking film that can be confusing if you're not ready for this type of movie (this author puts himself in the category the first time he saw it.) This is not a movie you sit back and watch casually while eating chips like you would during a football game. You really need to concentrate on what is going on. And sometimes you are sprinting (or hitting the jump back button) just to keep up with the story and all of the ideas/quotes they are throwing at you. Just be warned, this is not a simple movie to grasp.
Before I begin I want to let you know that this movie and the first Ghost in the Shell movie are in a different universe from the Stand Alone Complex series. They are the same characters, same manga, just in a different time line. That holds true for the Stand Alone Complex movie. So you will recognize the characters if you are familiar SAC.
In this time line the Major has gone on her own path, leaving section Nine (this happened at the end of the first film). Section 9 lists her as missing (although they don't specify what that means.) So the movie is now about Bautou. He is basically the second in command and one tough Cyborg. He still has his human brain but is basically a robot when it comes to the rest of his body. Think of a terminator wearing body armor yet thinks like a cranky human. In this movie he is partnered with Togusa who is almost all human and has a family of his own. Mild mannered and caring, kind of a complete opposite from Bautou but they partner up well, and both have respect for one another.
Both of these guys work for a government agency in Japan called Section 9. Section 9 is an agency in a future Japan that investigates terrorist threats and other issues related to national security. They are all highly skilled in their own way, which makes them a very diverse unit that is difficult to handle if you're a bad guy.
The movie is absolutely gorgeous. I have both the first DVD release (which I do not recommend getting because it isn't dubbed) and I just received the Blu-Ray version. Watching it on Blu-Ray on my wide screen computer monitor is a treat. It is rich and beautiful to watch. Like a piece of art.
The writing is twisted. This movie tells the story through the dialog, not action. It uses a lot of quotations from famous people, and not so famous, to make some of their points. And the point is the question; the question is what is life. What is the soul
One of the things I like about these two movies is they make me think. And no matter how much I watch them, I still don't have an answer. Only questions. For me it is about the soul, or as they say "our ghost". I believe we have one but I can't tell you what it is. Philosophers and theologians and talked about it for centuries, so this idea is nothing new; but no one has yet to full describe what it is, or if it truly exists.
The character development was not as good as it should have been. They focused more on the development of the relationship between Togusa and Bautou instead of the individual character development of these two individually, and I'm fine with that. I highly recommend seeing the first movie before seeing this one anyways. Character development is done much better in the first film.
The action scenes are well choreographed and entertaining. People blew up, dolls were blown up, arms lost, eyes hacked, and claws ripped off. Each scene was unique and entertaining in its own way. These scene, though few, were well scripted out and played out in an entertaining manner. But action scenes seemed to few and too far apart from each other for my taste, but I also love action.
The pacing was not that good. There were too many times that they choose to have an artistic moment that had nothing to do with the film. The movie is a work of art and should be viewed as such. They didn't rely on matte paintings, instead the people in the background actually moved. The making of said the director wanted at least 10% of the background moving. So this made more work for the animators but the product they produced is rich and beautiful. I have a hard time saying that they should have edited out these parts because they are so captivating to watch. They made a choice to put the priority on the artistic beauty of the movie and not on the telling of the story. This reason alone is why you should only buy this movie on Blu-Ray.
Replay value: Holy cow. This really depends on who you are. If you have a short attention span and don't want to think during a movie then this is not a movie for you. It is not non-stop action. Rather it is deep in so many other levels. I've watched this some 10 times between the DVD subtitled version and this the Blu-Ray English language track; and I still do not claim to be an expert in this movie or capable of teaching a college class on all of its intricacies and underlying themes. Now don't let this scare you, it is still a fun movie to watch even if you are not an English major, but just don't expect to understand this movie the first time you sit and watch it. Now lets get back to replay value. If you love movies then I can guarantee you will watch this movie several times over the next year or next decade. If you're a casual viewer then you will just see it once, maybe twice. This movie is not for the casual 13 inch viewing crowd. Oh ya, if you're an Anime fanatic then you must own this version of the film.
Ratings Yahoo users: B Yahoo critics: B Metacritics users: 7.8/10 Metacritics critics: 66 Rotten Tomato community: 81% Rotten Tomato critics: 63% My score: 4.84
MPAA rating: PG-13
Running time: 99 minutes
Year released: 2004
My End Line. This is a movie for those that love art first, then it is a movie for those that need to think. Yes it does have action and a good story, but those are only secondary reasons to see this film. It is one of my personal favorite films but it is not for the pedestrian movie goer.
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