Who Asked You...Movie Review - Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

Directed By Mamoru Oshii

It is quite simple, "Innocence" (the Japanese title for 'Ghost in the Shell 2') is a beautiful movie.

Set in the 2030s, "Innocence" follows the exploits of a hard-boiled cyborglike detective as he attempted to solve the mystery of why several of the same model robot have murdered their owners. I say cyborglike because the distiction of how much of our hero is mechanical and how much is human is very blurred. Blurred intentionally in fact. The story, at its deepest levels, deals with a future society in which the line between man and machine has become so tangled that philosophers (or at least pontificating laymen) question if the line even exists anymore.

The first act of the film is a clear 'noir' tale not unlike "Chinatown" or "LA Confidential". As the film meanders on however, more time is paid to short-term brainwashing achieved through viruses over the invisble net that seems to connect all cyber-organics. If that last sentence didn't make sense then blame the filmmakers who fail to clearly explain the technologies of the 2030s and seem to expect the viewer to already know about them.

The fancy yet unrealistic technological advances that are conjured up in the film present the artists with countless opportunities to wow the audience with an almost seamless coalescence of classical hand-drawn Japanimation and hi-tech CGI. Landscapes in the film will make the architect dream. Hot rods will make the car enthusiast drool, and there is a parade that will make the Macy's crowd bow their heads in shame.

Most American audiences have still not embraced Japanese Anime, and this film won't cause them to either. While the visuals are a tapestry of shapes, colors, and imagination, the story remains convoluted and difficult to follow for those not well initiated in science fiction.

There have been many fantastically drawn Japanese Animes that have made it to America already. The common fault of these films is that while the art it stunning the plot leaves much to be desired. Eventually, I do believe that an Anime will come along with a story that would be compelling regardless of the technology used to portray it. Such a plot contained in a film as remarkably rendered to the screen as "Innocence" will undoubtably rumble the box-offices throughout America. When this happens, the artistry and brilliance of Anime will be experience by many people who can't right now stomach the idea of going to see 'a cartoon'. This film however does not contain such a story.