Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely amazing...and I'm not even into anime!, 2 May 2006
I went to see this film in the cinema in France out of curiosity and I was blown away by it. The animation is absolutely superb; a faultless mix of 2D cartoon characters with realistic 3D CGI backgrounds and objects. It sounds like it shouldn't work, but it does, in fact on several occasions I even forgot I was watching an animated film!
As for the story, although it seems like every other line is a proverb, it is very thought-provoking and will keep you thinking long after you have watched it. It deals with existence, humanity , animals, memories and artificial intelligence. Prior knowledge of the story isn't necessary - there is a brief recap at the beginning. Having since watched the first installment, I can safely say that, while the first film had great animation for its time, this version is infinitely better visually and, I might add, has no gratuitous breast shots or close-ups.
Ghost In The Shell Innocence is of a different style to the first film; it has fewer action scenes, focusing more on visuals and the numerous dilemmas thrown up by the question of artificial intelligence, human rights and the laws of robotics. That's not to say that there isn't tension or excitement. A gunfight with the yakuza and souless robot drones are also thrown into the mix. I'm not a fan of anime, but I loved this film - highly recommended.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very different to the original, but no less brilliant., 12 Mar 2007
The first thing I ought to say here is that if you expect a similar film to the first Ghost In The Shell, you're going to be disappointed. However, if you want a more thought-provoking, visually involved film then you're definitely in the right place.
As I've said, it's not much like the first film. Although the plot retains the same pacing and tension, and the visuals are in the same style, the star of the previous film (the Major) is mostly absent, and instead the plot focuses on Batou, her former police partner. There is still the odd fight scene, but mainly this film focuses on what happens between the violence. Some people may find this offputting, but many will appreciate this change of focus, particularly in an anime film.
However, the film is not worse because of this. Innocence gives insight into a very different mind; this is reflected in the more philosophical plot, and bleaker locales. It develops characters in a far more subtle way to the original, which was fairly subtle already, and gives a genuine insight into the viewer's own life- more so than any other film I have seen.
The imagery used in Innocence is definitely among the greatest that I have seen. The blend of 2D cel animation and 3D CG materials is seamless and they always complement one another to a very high degree. The music is also used to great effect, and the ending theme suits the film perfectly.
Although this is very different to its predecessor, it is still a breathtaking masterpiece, which will stay with you for a very long time. If you haven't seen the original, or if violence is all that it takes to satisfy you, there isn't much here to like. But for everyone else this is a essential purchase.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not for me., 19 Jun 2007
I want to start by saying that I loved the first Ghost in the Shell movie. I thought that it was brilliant, funny, very cool and had my eye balls cemented to the screen the whole way through. This however, did not.
Right from the get go I felt like this film was missing something. It just didn't grab my attention like the first one and it never did. There is far too much talking for one thing. That's not a bad thing though. In fact, a lot of my all time favourite films are ones where nothing ever happens. But that only works with a good script and this film just didn't have one. There is far too much debating of philosophical issues, interesting to some i'm sure, but not my thing unless it is done very well. It wasn't and I have to say this film was a dissapointment.
Some people will love and that's great for them. It just wasn't my cup of anime.
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