Plot
In the year 2032, Batô, a cyborg detective for the anti-terrorist unit Public Security Section 9, investigates the case of a female robot--one created solely for sexual pleasure--who slaughtered her owner.

Release Year: 2004

Rating: 7.5/10 (13,362 voted)

Critic's Score: 66/100

Director: Mamoru Oshii

Stars: Akio Ohtsuka, Atsuko Tanaka, Tamio Ôki

Storyline
Batô is a living cyborg. His whole body, even his arms and legs, are entirely man-made. What only remains are traces of his brain and the memories of a woman. In an era when the boundary between humans and machines has become infinitely vague, Humans have forgotten that they are humans. This is the debauchery of the lonesome ghost of a man, who nevertheless seeks to retain humanity. Innocence... Is what life is.

Writers: Masamune Shirow, Mamoru Oshii

Cast:
Akio Ohtsuka - Batô (voice)
Atsuko Tanaka - Major Motoko Kusanagi (voice)
Kôichi Yamadera - Togusa (voice)
Tamio Ôki - Section 9 Department Chief Aramaki (voice)
Yutaka Nakano - Ishikawa (voice)
Naoto Takenaka - Kim (voice)
Gou Aoba - (voice) (as Go Aoba)
Eisuke Asakura - (voice)
Robert Axelrod - Koga / Lin (voice: English version)
Richard Cansino - Man / Security 1 / Wakabayashi / Yakuza 1 (voice: English version)
Joey D'Auria - Kim (voice: English version)
Erik Davies - Azuma (voice: English version)
Stoney Emshwiller - Guard / Terrorist (voice)
Richard Epcar - Batou (voice: English version)
Crispin Freeman - Togusa (voice: English version)

Taglines: Sore wa inotchi innosensu ('Innocence is Life')

Official Website: Go Fish Pictures - Teaser Site [United States] |

Release Date: 6 March 2004

Opening Weekend: $317,722 (USA) (19 September 2004) (47 Screens)

Gross: $7,850,644 (Japan)

Runtime: 100 min

Trivia:
The 5-minute parade sequence took a year to complete.

Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): During the forensics examination, one of the computer screens misspells "research" as "RESAERCH".

Quotes:
Lin: We got loyalty even in my line.
Bateau: There's loyalty that protects secrets and loyalty that projects the truth. You cannot serve both masters, so which loyalty is yours?

For those who rather see the characters waxing philosophical for an hour....

Rating:

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. I went to this movie worried that it would end up like just about every Peter Framptom Album after Frampton Comes Alive; they were all pitiful albums only because Frampton comes alive did not leave much room for improvement. The original Ghost in The Shell is a classic. It was a good action film that had some deep undertones. Well made to say the least, full of memorable characters.

Ghost in the Shell 2 was so different that there could be no comparison. As opposed to an Action film with deep undercurrents, this is a philosophical film that occasionally had some action sequences. The basic plot is very simple: Android created for pleasure killing their owners. Cyborg cops trying to get to the bottom of these strange crimes. The cops, section nine operatives Batou and Togusa spend more time quoting everything from Bazooka Joe to Milton as long as it serves a purpose. This is not Ghost in the Shell. This is a Mamorou Oshii original, with his own ideas and philosophies not being bound by the original manga.

I venture to say that I actually prefer Innocence to the first one, because it struck chords in me the first one did not. Somebody who has a different outlook on everything, however, would disagree. If you have seen the first one, remember how there is more or less a quest for humanity? THis one takes an opposite spin on things. As well as takes a look at how humans feel this need to immortalize their own image.

The animation was enough to prove that traditional and computer animation could work together and create a beautiful picture. However, the underwater and in air scenes seemed to rely too heavily on the computers, which then completely made up the world. The world itself was not the world I remember from Ghost in the Shell. THis was a whole new futuristic world as opposed to a slightly more advanced modern setting. This film also focused a lot on the relationship between Batou and the now 'missing' Kusanagi.

This film seemed to be lost on many. There are many scenes of complete silence, which are intended as 'breathing time' and and other points really to build tension. The film also slows down at a few points so that the audience can absorb the scenery, and gives extra time for the audience to catch the symbolism. The film ended with so many angry groans. It would seen that the film was lost upon those who wanted to see a sequel to Ghost in the Shell with the same themes and ideas. The only similarity to the first film would be that most of the story is superficial, and what the film is really about is the deeper meanings.

This was an excellent film, and though it can be seen as superior, it will never be as well known and recognized as the first film. Though this is not just a sequel: This is a whole new Ghost in the Shell altogether.

**** out of ****

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