Ghost in the Shell 2 - Innocence (2004)

Buyer Beware: No English Dub!

This movie looks good but is unwatchable due to the lack of a English vocal dub, what a disaster. Sub-titles are one thing, but, come on now, not on anime of this quality, there is too much visually to take in besides reading dialogue! Oof! September 27, 2008

Not as good as the first.

The thing that bothered me the most about this movie is the PG-13 rating, which you can tell in the movie they strived for. No gore at all! Not that gore is the number one factor in an anime, but it feels like a more kid friendly version of the first movie. Also, with Studio Ghibli being involved, I thought the animation would be better. August 17, 2008

I'm Not Going to Complain About the Captions....

...because I returned the DVD and got a non-captioned version. So to all you people who insist on filling up page after page of complaints about the captions...STOP IT! I went scrolling through the 1-star reviews looking for differing opinions on the movie, and all people could talk about was Dreamwork's screwup.
Let me also preface this by saying - I don't mind that there's no English dub. And no, I don't speak Japanese, but I like the sound of it. Would hearing dozens of Confucian-lite quotes in English over and over really have made for a better experience? I mean really, it's not like people spend the whole movie talking. I'd be willing to bet only about 50% of the movie has dialogue. I got an idea - why don't we just put an English dub on every great foreign film ever made? Seven Samurai, Breathless, Fellini's 8 1/2. Why not? Gotta make 'em palatable for Americans, right?
Some of you people make me sick: "If I wanted to read, I'd get a book." Truth is, if you read books - EVER - subtitles aren't that hard. The amount of time it takes your eye to scan down and quickly go over a line of dialogue is not that long. But seriously, on to talking about the movie, 'cause I'm getting a little pissed here.
Like many people upon first seeing this, I was just in awe. The melding of CG with the 2D animation is top notch. Look at that scene in the beginning when Batou is walking down the alley and tell me that's not photo-realistic!
However, I watched the movie with a more critical eye lately, and plot-wise, there are a few problems. One, the dialogue. Entire conversations between characters are made up of quotes and parables. I mean, does everyone in the 21st century walk around with a copy of the Tao Te Ching in their pocket? Two, there is this feeling of malaise throughout the whole thing. Obviously, Oshii is trying to carry over the feeling of what is real/what is a soul? etc. from the first film. But there is no resolution to this conflict. The pedantic existentialism mostly revolves around "the soul of a doll" (Oshii even mentions this in the extras). The monologue of the Puppet Master in the first movie is much easier to take than all the crap that pours out of the hacker Kim's mouth.
Third and final point - the last half of the movie absolutely drags, basically everything after Batou decides to go North. The overlong parade sequence, the slow walk into Kim's place. It's like they took the sequence from the first movie when the Major is on the boat looking at the Tokyo skyline and stretched it to absurd lengths. Don't get me wrong, it all looks beautiful (especially the parade stuff) but to what end is it serving? I mean seriously, the last half of the movie is like Valium in DVD form. And the mediocre action at the end doesn't make up for it. I don't feel that threatened by a whole army of killer nymphet cyborgs.
So in conclusion, this is not a hands-down great film. It has great execution, but the ideas ultimately come off half-baked and unresolved.
And a minor quibble, but what does the word "Innocence" in the title have to do with any of this? July 11, 2008

Collage of Episodes

If you've seen the first series, Stand Alone Complex, this movie will bore you. If you've only seen the movie and are looking for another one, then it's ok to watch once.

Most of the movie is a collage of ideas from SAC. Worth watching, once, or if you just have to have every DVD which sways "Ghost in the Shell" on it. Otherwise, shrug it off. There isn't a single original idea in here. June 12, 2008

OK, But...

I have to agree with the folks who complained about the fact that the ONLY version we got of this feature-length animation film is one in Japanese with subtitles... to Everything. There is too much going on in this movie to have to pay attention to Reading for almost two hours! Grrr. And you have to read Fast! Because the lines go by so fast that I sometimes had to hit the pause button just to make sure I could read what was on the screen before it moved on to the next line. Imagine watching a whole movie via Pause-Play-Pause... A real drag. And not very entertaining like the first GITS movie was.
I am Really Upset that I paid money for this that I can't get back because I opened the durned thing.
So my advise to those English-speaking consumers out there who are interested in getting this is to wait to see if a version comes out With English voice-overs. Just like the First GITS movie. April 30, 2008

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