Ghost in the Shell 2 - Innocence | 
| Director: Mamoru Oshii
Actors: Akio Otsuka, Atsuko Tanaka, Koichi Yamadera, Tamio Oki, Yutaka Nakano
Studio: Dreamworks Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.99
Buy Used: $2.98
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New (39) Used (44) from $2.98
Rating:  207 reviews
Sales Rank: 7587
Format: Ac-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Japanese (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D91757D
ISBN: 1417011491
UPC: 678149175721
EAN: 9781417011490
ASIN: B0006A9FMI
Theatrical Release Date: 2004
Release Date: December 28, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: **NO ARTWORK - NEW BLANK CASE** Guaranteed to play. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Mamoru Oshii's landmark Ghost in the Shell (1995) largely defined the cyberpunk genre and influenced the Matrix films in the U.S. The long-awaited sequel continues the adventures of Batou, Major Kusanagi's former assistant, who was left behind when she disappeared into the cyber-realm of the Net. With his new human partner, Togusa, Batou investigates a series of bloody murders involving gynoids, robots with sexual functions. The case leads them to the headquarters of the Locus Solus company, where Batou uncovers the evil secret behind the creation of the gynoids. Innocence includes some staggeringly beautiful CG images, especially a parade depicting characters from Chinese mythology. Oshii contrasts this glittering beauty with a Blade Runner-esque dystopia. But even his skill as a director can't disguise the fact that the underdeveloped story and flat characters are far less interesting than the opulent visuals. (Rated PG-13: graphic violence, violence against women, brief nudity, profanity, alcohol and tobacco use.) --Charles Solomon
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| Customer Reviews: Read 202 more reviews...
 "Who can gaze into a mirror without becoming evil?" February 20, 2005
Marc Ruby™ (Warren, MI USA)
28 out of 29 found this review helpful
This may be hard to believe, but I can think of no anime/CGI film I've seen since Ghost in the Shell that has anything like the impact of Innoncence. This is certainly one of the best of its kind. Unfortunately, lacking the sexiness and high energy of Ghost, it has gone largely unnoticed. I can only point out that the deep layering of not only the visual work, but music, dialog, and plot, demonstrate an almost infinite level of detail. In many ways, this reflexion is what Mamoru Oshii was striving for - a film that challenges not only the viewer's definition of reality, but stretches the meaning of human beyond all comfortable boundaries.
Three years have passed since Major Motoko Kusanagi entered the Net, leaving Batou, her partner, alone in a world where few have the mental cognates to understand what life as a 'ghost' really means. A series of horrific killings spread across Tokyo. Violent, arbitrary slayings by a new series of 'dolls' - robot toys for men. Aramaki assigns Batou and Togusa to the investigation as partners. Togusa is uncomfortable in this role because he is a full human. 'I have a daughter back at home,' he says.
The story ranges from bloody crime scenes to a Yakuza showdown as Batou allows himself to be hunted in an effort to find the threads of the crime. Lurking in the shadows are the manufacturers of the dolls, but Togusa and Batou must visit an eerie city that resembles a Hong Kong straight out of Bladerunner and a trip to a hacker's mansion where death, rebirth, and illusion are the stock in trade. In the end it is not clear if they are searching for proof or for a deeper truth.
The artwork and animation are so brilliant, and one can miss the a level of dialog where quotations from the Bible, Milton, and Japanese philosophers are commonplace, and Batou's interrogations are essays in the real subjects of the film. The problem with dolls is not that, unlike the life they reflect, they can reach perfection. The only thing that might spoil their mechanical grace and attention is the injection of a human consciousness. Dolls, dogs, and children, director Oshii suggests, are our toys - made to imitate what we like best in ourselves.
This is a dark film. It frightens because the acts that open the layers if the case are unbound by human considerations. Even when the motivations are good. When Kusanagi's consciousness makes its appearances she can only offer Batou hope if he is willing to leave his human framework behind. Only then can she be with him.
Available only as subtitled Japanese, with a brilliant 'making of' and a full length commentary by Oshii as extras, this is still a DVD you will want to own. Wherever you look there is more to seen, a brilliant script with interlocking references, and music that is a further refinement of what was done in Ghost in the Shell. The more you watch it, the better it gets.
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