Sequel to the 1995 hit manga, Ghost in the Shell (the movie that allegedly inspired the Wachowski Brothers to create The Matrix),
the follow up anime is a visual masterpiece that weighs on the mind with
great thoroughness long after the credits have rolled. And for some,
this may not be a good thing; it's themes may be too complex; it's
metaphors too abstract to be of any entertainment. But there is plenty
of good old fashioned action and ultra-violence too, which contrasts
very nicely with the more pondering, thoughtful and prolonged periods
of dialogue. I'm getting ahead myself though, and probably confusing you. First, the background story: The original movie, Ghost in the Shell,
centred on Major Kusanagi, one of the most awarded agents from the
Section 9 group, which itself is a team of bad-ass law enforcers who
are called in when things get political (and when the police and the
military can't deal with a given situation). Kusanagi seemingly
disappeared into the 'Net at the riveting conclusion of the first film,
herself essentially a cyborg with the only remaining humanity being her
soul, or 'ghost'. In the future, one's ghost can be transferred to
different media, and though Kusanagi's cyborg body was left in tatters
after she ripped her own arms off, her ghost lived on within the vast
digital world. It's 2032 and Ghost in the Shell 2 begins with Kusanagi's former partner, the gargantuan semi-cyborg Bateau, attending a siege situation. As
it turns out, the riot police have cornered a 'doll' who appears to
have malfunctioned and killed its owner and two police officers. This
'doll', or gynoid (specifically built for sexual activity) is
eventually decommissioned via Bateau's deadly assault rifle. The murder
of the doll's owner is one of several related to this new gynoid model,
which kick starts a series of events that will lead both the
protagonist and viewers into a place that pokes and prods at issues
that are perpetually confounding - but ultimately intriguing. Combined
with a sometimes eerie score, it's an audio-visual treat of magnanimous
proportions that would easily justify purchasing an expensive new home
entertainment system, complete with a high def flat-screen LCD TV,
digital audio and a snow cone maker, just for good measure. Combining
traditional hand-drawn Japanese animation styles with rendered computer
graphics, the effect is spellbinding, and I don't mind admitting that I
watched the movie three times prior to writing this review: the
attention to detail is gob smacking (and the dialogue is often very fast
paced). It's also quite violent at times and enjoyably inventive. I
particularly liked it when Bateau and his new partner Togusa
"investigate" a Yakuza hangout and Bateau proceeds to open fire on his
foes. Then he seemingly disappears and mows through the enemy ranks,
but as we later learn he simply hacked into his enemy's optic implants
and erased himself from their vision. If your a fan of the
cyberpunk genre, you'll love this. While Ghost in the Shell 2
is a visual masterpiece, I actually preferred the original movie to
this one. Don't get me wrong, this is great anime and will delight
art house and manga lovers out there, not to mention the curious. But
the constant use of philosophical quotes by the film's characters gives
it a pompous feel at times, where a simple "She wanted to die" or "How
ironic" would have been sufficient. The original, in my humble opinion,
can be enjoyed by viewers of all types, while this one takes itself
more seriously, which is great for intellectuals, but unfortunately
not so good for the rest of us. Another point of difference between the two films is that the sequel and film in question, Ghost in the Shell 2,
has a much slower pace than its predecessor. While this gives the film
a more majestic feel, I personally preferred the more frenetic pace of
the original. Beyond the two detractions of philosophical quotes and slow pacing, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is
an entirely engaging movie. Sometimes I didn't know why I was so
engrossed in the lengthy dialogue about dolls always being created to
look like humans, or how to find immortality, but I had a lot of fun
watching this DVD for the simple fact that it is something new,
something very clever and something with such visual style and grace,
it's hard to look away. Though it won't be everyone's cup of tea, Ghost in the Shell 2 is a great film, and amazingly realised. If you liked thought provoking films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Matrix, and Waking Life, you should grab a copy of this and put aside a half day to watch it three times over. DVD Extras The
Extras are pretty sweet in this 2 DVD pack, featuring both English and
Japanese soundtracks. And for true fans, watching the Japanese language
version will be the way to go (and the English subtitles come in handy
here). There's an audio commentary by the director, Mamoru Oshii and
another guy who was integral to the feature. Though it's a bit boring
to start with, Oshii and his sidekick provide an interesting insight
into how and why the shots appeared as they did. They're both more
concerned about how the feature looks from a stylistic point of view
than the message it's carrying across and philosophy behind the film.
Personally, I would have much preferred that they explain the
motivations behind the characters and what the dolls stood for and what
the director was trying to achieve when he dissects what it is to be
human, to have a soul and conscience.
Other extra bits include a
'making of' featurette, which is pretty cool and well worth checking
out, and there's even stand alone interviews with the director, Oshii,
the publishers president, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, which are exclusive to
Australian versions of the DVD (or so we're told) and do a better job
at explaining some of the ideas behind the story. There's also some
useless stuff, like trailers and the like. All up, a healthy collection
of DVD extras. Conclusion:
Movie 80% Extras: 70% 
|
