What the heck, figured I'd throw a review up here and see if it sticks.
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence arrived on DVD with big shoes to fill. The original film topped the video sales charts on its release in 1995. While the sequel may not have stirred up quite as much commercial success, it has earned equally strong critical acclaim. It is an elegant treatise not as much on man versus machine but how much man is in the machine. This sophisticated sci-fi thriller explores robots’ ties with humanity, and their great proficiency with automatic weapons.
To go too deep into the tangled plot would be to do the viewer a great disservice, but it is very easy to give a general impression. In the words of many a B-movie cover, this film is Blade Runner meets The Matrix meets I, Robot. It is most clearly evocative of Blade Runner, with human police officers tracking down deadly robots. Toward the end though it branches out from this straight ahead detective story and plunges deep into Matrix style la-la land, to the effect that one isn’t really sure what reality is anymore. Much speculation is made over the true nature of humanity, and its distinction from robots. Director Mamoru Oshii explains that the principal theme is how man likes to recreate himself in his own image, specifically dolls and dogs and one supposes kids as well. How exactly this is worked into the story is considerably less clear. Indeed, I often found myself reaching vainly for a non-existent volume of Cliff Notes. Nevertheless, the movie is a most entertaining adventure with exciting action and gorgeous visuals. Just don’t leave your brain at the door. In fact, bring a spare.
On the futuristic Earth of Ghost in the Shell, people exist not only in the real world, but also as collections of memories on a universal computer matrix. Police detective Major Kusanagi, her physical body enhanced to the point that it lost its humanity, disappeared into the matrix at the end of the first film, but her former partner and cyborg Batou believes her soul or “ghost” still exists in some form somewhere. Batou and his new partner Togusa investigate a series of grisly murders committed by mysteriously malfunctioning sex robots. They turn out to be manufactured by a rogue producer that is infusing the androids with the souls of girls supplied them by the yakuza. This unique human quality makes these “gynoids” highly sought after and profitable. The detectives track down the factory where the gynoids are being produced and set out to shut it down, with help from an unexpected source.
Performances are generally strong across the board, but the robotic nature of many of the principals precludes any Oscar moments. Fans of the first film will be happy to be reacquainted with the fearless and alluring Major Kusanagi, although here she makes only a small and very unconventional appearance. It is Batou who is the star of this picture, and the only character the film really lingers on. We get to peer a bit into the day-to-day existence of a cyborg, and discover it to be filled largely with familiar activities such as shopping at the convenience store. Despite the film’s focus on examining the link between humanity and robots, Batou’s inner feelings remain an enigma for the most part, with dogged heroism being the only truly pronounced trait beyond his mechanically inspired dour efficiency. However, his inherent humanity is clearly suggested by his capacity for love, or some form thereof, for the Major. Togusa is also a bit of a blank. He provides the human quotient in their pairing, but he is generally restrained, and we learn little besides his preference for older women. To be fair, the film has its hands full with examining the complex world these two inhabit, and Batou is a compelling action lead with acting chops well beyond Robocop. Sorry, Murphy.
Innocence is brought to life through an interesting combination of CGI and cel animation. Most scenes are straight cel animation mixed with CGI, and look absolutely fantastic. The pure CGI moments are much less convincing though, and not too far beyond Xbox cut scenes. Overall the film is an enchanting visual experience, fun to just sit back and observe while your brain gasps and wheezes its way through the latest plot development. The look is another area where the film borrows heavily, and one might say blatantly, from Blade Runner with its dystopian urban landscape of neon skyscrapers and flying vehicles. Still, it remains a compelling vision, and there are some very original images worked in, including an outlandish parade that looks like Chinese New Year on acid. The film’s tour de force is, somewhat unexpectedly, Batou’s pet Basset Hound, which is the most realistic and endearing animated dog I’ve ever seen. You too will believe it can bark.
Traditional Japanese themes are very pronounced in the soundtrack, very heavy and somber with a reverential tone. The music does lend the film a unique and mystical nature, but it’s a bit stiff and self-important for my liking. Where’s Vangelis when you need him? I bet he’ll work cheap after that mother of a black eye called Alexander.
Innocence is a little light on action sequences, but when they hit they hit hard. The shootout between Batou and multiple assassins which tears apart the largely CGI convenience store oozes style, and the final gynoid melee in the dark bowels of a ship is engagingly creepy. The very physical realism of the action scenes indicates that the line between animation and live action grows ever thinner.
Most notable among the special features is a commentary from Oshii, which is the first such feature I’ve encountered in an anime film and a very welcome if long overdue addition. However, this commentary between Oshii and one of his animators is very technical, focusing almost entirely on how things were animated and who did what, including lots of tedious asides about co-workers. One often gets the impression they’ve forgotten an audience might actually listen to their ramblings one day. The discussion provides interesting insight on some of the animation choices made and the production process, but little on the film’s other aspects, including the story, which is where us mere mortals need the most assistance. The “Making of” featurette is generally superficial and again heavy on technical aspects, but it does touch briefly on the story, characters, and music. Astoundingly one feature missing from this disc is an English audio track. That makes another first for this viewer, and perhaps indicates that anime fandom is starting to emulate the foreign film crowd’s preference for subtitles. Or perhaps Sony just wanted to save some money, but either way it suits me fine. What I find less acceptable is the cheesy cover art used for the DVD, which would be far more fitting for G.I. Joe than for highbrow science fiction. No offense Snake Eyes.
Anyone who likes the first film, robots, or adult science fiction will thoroughly enjoy Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. Its inspirations are many, but it manages an original and fascinating voice all the same. Just remember that Batou is not Will Smith, and though there’s plenty of robot blasting on hand, your thinking cap is required.
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence arrived on DVD with big shoes to fill. The original film topped the video sales charts on its release in 1995. While the sequel may not have stirred up quite as much commercial success, it has earned equally strong critical acclaim. It is an elegant treatise not as much on man versus machine but how much man is in the machine. This sophisticated sci-fi thriller explores robots’ ties with humanity, and their great proficiency with automatic weapons.
To go too deep into the tangled plot would be to do the viewer a great disservice, but it is very easy to give a general impression. In the words of many a B-movie cover, this film is Blade Runner meets The Matrix meets I, Robot. It is most clearly evocative of Blade Runner, with human police officers tracking down deadly robots. Toward the end though it branches out from this straight ahead detective story and plunges deep into Matrix style la-la land, to the effect that one isn’t really sure what reality is anymore. Much speculation is made over the true nature of humanity, and its distinction from robots. Director Mamoru Oshii explains that the principal theme is how man likes to recreate himself in his own image, specifically dolls and dogs and one supposes kids as well. How exactly this is worked into the story is considerably less clear. Indeed, I often found myself reaching vainly for a non-existent volume of Cliff Notes. Nevertheless, the movie is a most entertaining adventure with exciting action and gorgeous visuals. Just don’t leave your brain at the door. In fact, bring a spare.
On the futuristic Earth of Ghost in the Shell, people exist not only in the real world, but also as collections of memories on a universal computer matrix. Police detective Major Kusanagi, her physical body enhanced to the point that it lost its humanity, disappeared into the matrix at the end of the first film, but her former partner and cyborg Batou believes her soul or “ghost” still exists in some form somewhere. Batou and his new partner Togusa investigate a series of grisly murders committed by mysteriously malfunctioning sex robots. They turn out to be manufactured by a rogue producer that is infusing the androids with the souls of girls supplied them by the yakuza. This unique human quality makes these “gynoids” highly sought after and profitable. The detectives track down the factory where the gynoids are being produced and set out to shut it down, with help from an unexpected source.
Performances are generally strong across the board, but the robotic nature of many of the principals precludes any Oscar moments. Fans of the first film will be happy to be reacquainted with the fearless and alluring Major Kusanagi, although here she makes only a small and very unconventional appearance. It is Batou who is the star of this picture, and the only character the film really lingers on. We get to peer a bit into the day-to-day existence of a cyborg, and discover it to be filled largely with familiar activities such as shopping at the convenience store. Despite the film’s focus on examining the link between humanity and robots, Batou’s inner feelings remain an enigma for the most part, with dogged heroism being the only truly pronounced trait beyond his mechanically inspired dour efficiency. However, his inherent humanity is clearly suggested by his capacity for love, or some form thereof, for the Major. Togusa is also a bit of a blank. He provides the human quotient in their pairing, but he is generally restrained, and we learn little besides his preference for older women. To be fair, the film has its hands full with examining the complex world these two inhabit, and Batou is a compelling action lead with acting chops well beyond Robocop. Sorry, Murphy.
Innocence is brought to life through an interesting combination of CGI and cel animation. Most scenes are straight cel animation mixed with CGI, and look absolutely fantastic. The pure CGI moments are much less convincing though, and not too far beyond Xbox cut scenes. Overall the film is an enchanting visual experience, fun to just sit back and observe while your brain gasps and wheezes its way through the latest plot development. The look is another area where the film borrows heavily, and one might say blatantly, from Blade Runner with its dystopian urban landscape of neon skyscrapers and flying vehicles. Still, it remains a compelling vision, and there are some very original images worked in, including an outlandish parade that looks like Chinese New Year on acid. The film’s tour de force is, somewhat unexpectedly, Batou’s pet Basset Hound, which is the most realistic and endearing animated dog I’ve ever seen. You too will believe it can bark.
Traditional Japanese themes are very pronounced in the soundtrack, very heavy and somber with a reverential tone. The music does lend the film a unique and mystical nature, but it’s a bit stiff and self-important for my liking. Where’s Vangelis when you need him? I bet he’ll work cheap after that mother of a black eye called Alexander.
Innocence is a little light on action sequences, but when they hit they hit hard. The shootout between Batou and multiple assassins which tears apart the largely CGI convenience store oozes style, and the final gynoid melee in the dark bowels of a ship is engagingly creepy. The very physical realism of the action scenes indicates that the line between animation and live action grows ever thinner.
Most notable among the special features is a commentary from Oshii, which is the first such feature I’ve encountered in an anime film and a very welcome if long overdue addition. However, this commentary between Oshii and one of his animators is very technical, focusing almost entirely on how things were animated and who did what, including lots of tedious asides about co-workers. One often gets the impression they’ve forgotten an audience might actually listen to their ramblings one day. The discussion provides interesting insight on some of the animation choices made and the production process, but little on the film’s other aspects, including the story, which is where us mere mortals need the most assistance. The “Making of” featurette is generally superficial and again heavy on technical aspects, but it does touch briefly on the story, characters, and music. Astoundingly one feature missing from this disc is an English audio track. That makes another first for this viewer, and perhaps indicates that anime fandom is starting to emulate the foreign film crowd’s preference for subtitles. Or perhaps Sony just wanted to save some money, but either way it suits me fine. What I find less acceptable is the cheesy cover art used for the DVD, which would be far more fitting for G.I. Joe than for highbrow science fiction. No offense Snake Eyes.
Anyone who likes the first film, robots, or adult science fiction will thoroughly enjoy Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. Its inspirations are many, but it manages an original and fascinating voice all the same. Just remember that Batou is not Will Smith, and though there’s plenty of robot blasting on hand, your thinking cap is required.
