Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

Section 9 agents Batou and Togusa are assigned to investigate a series of grisly murders, all involving a new model Android.  Batou has not been the same since Major Motoko Kusinagi vanished following The Puppet Master case.  As he begins to exhibit behavior similar to The Major before she vanished, Batou dives head first into the case that leads him and Togusa from the slums of the underworld to the outer frontier of the territory.  All the while, the two are being watched by forces who will stop at nothing to hinder their investigation.  What will Batou find at the end of this long and twisted road? 

I first saw Ghost in the Shell 2 back in 2004.  It was one of those rare occasions where the film debuted over that summer and made its way to the states in the fall, so a pretty quick turn around.  I had only just seen the first film really recently so I was hyped to see it.  And after I saw it, I dubbed it the Best Film of 2004.  Now, more then 10 years later, some thoughts and opinions may have changed, but I still think Innocence is an amazing movie and one of my all time favorite Anime films.

Most of that statement I back up with three areas: the animation, the music and the action.  The film is nothing if not a gorgeous piece of work, animation at its finest that still holds up even today.  I’m shocked the film never netted an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature because of the quality alone.  Theres a lot of CG in the film but I think it blends really well, much better than digi paint/3D collaborations like Full Metal Panic or X.  There isn’t a single frame of this movie that isn’t spellbinding and it’s easy to get lost in all of the visuals, especially when they start getting a bit preachy in several spots.  Combine that with Kenji Kawaii’s score and you’ve got a recipe for greatness.  Oshii’s long time friend and musical collaborator returns with tracks that feel like updates of ones from the first film, especially the opening.  Meanwhile, there’s some nice Jazz and Piano tracks from Kimiko Itoh thrown in that provide a surprisingly relaxing feel, particularly with River of Crystals.  Of course, the end theme, Follow Me, is equally haunting and saddening given the themes and images present in the story.  The film boasts more than twice the amount of action featured in the first film and, like everything else, it feels bigger and better.  Batou mowing down a Yakuza safehouse almost singlehandedly before storming a ship filled with murderous robots feels a lot like the action I expected to see in the first film, aka the film that heavily inspired The Matrix.

The focus on Batou is both the films greatest strength and also a bit of a flaw.  On the one hand, the happy go lucky Batou we know from the series and sort of in the first film gets a somber make over in this film.  His joke side does pop out every once in a while but for the most part, he is running through the same motions Motoko did in the first film, only he’s not questioning his humanity, he’s poorly masking how much he misses the woman he cares for so much.  The analysis of Batou’s new attitude is pretty deep, not surprising as most of Oshii’s Anime tend to be pretty damn deep.  Hearing him randomly throw out quotes from every existentialist on the planet is a bit much.  Actually Batou and Togusa seem to do that a lot.  It’s as if Oshii wanted the film to sound more philosophical about life and less about tech as in the first one, so he dug into a philosophy professors brain and made a greatest hits list from Milton to the Bible.  The film wants to sound incredibly profound and important but it definitely tries a bit too hard at times.  It's easy to get lost in the animation but that’s ok. It’s equally easy to get lost in the philosophical discussions and that can be hit or miss.  If you want a crash course in Psychology 101, you’ll be fine.  Otherwise, you might be bored to sleep by it all.  I personally don’t mind it, but I also find Innocence a bit more relaxing than it was likely intended to be. 

Going back to the visuals again, while I think the film is pretty much flawless in it’s design, there are a couple of sequences that I think might go on a liiiiitle too long.  The finger points mostly at the Dollhouse scene, where Batou and Togusa experience three separate incidents of déjà vu over the span of 15-20 minutes (it may be a lot less but it feels long).  It’s cool to go through each and find all of the easter egg differences, including a big call back to the first film.  But the segments themselves could have been a bit shorter after the first run through.  Other than that, the pace of the film can be slow at times but it’s hard to hate on that when the movie looks this good.  The parade in Etorofu, the moment Batou gets hacked in the convenience store, even the opening scene with Batou wandering into a dark alley after the Hadaly Doll, it’s all haunting and animated to a T.  If it’s definitely one area where Innocence surpasses it’s predecessor, it’s the Animation.  Flaws and all, this should be in a museum.

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence may not be as flawless as I remembered it being: it can drag, the quotes will go over everyones head and it doesn’t really reinvent the genre like it’s predecessor.  But still, this is a very important Anime film that should be seen regardless of expectation.  It’s definitely a thinking man’s Anime, a deep character study about belonging, the confirmation of a soul in your body despite a cybernetic form, and what do you do with your life after someone important leaves suddenly.  Plus legendary animation, a musical score that tells the story just as well and some solid action scenes (though few and far between).  Innocence is fascinating if nothing else.  If you liked the first film, you owe it to yourself to see it.  Ghost in the Shell never really needed a sequel (a TV series maybe but maybe not a movie sequel) but I’m glad Innocence was the movie we got anyway.  I may not understand it all (even after countless viewings) but it will always stand in my head as one of the greatest Anime films I have ever seen in my life.  Nuff said.

9.5/10

Now, can Hollywood finally get a live action Anime adaptation right?  Think I’ll be more upset if they screw this one up than I was when I saw Dragon Ball.  Check back this Friday for the Third Anniversary Special Review…of Ghost in the Shell.