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Movies / On DVD / Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

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Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)

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Reviews Counted:89

Fresh:56

Rotten:33

Average Rating:6.2/10

Consensus: The animation is lovely, but the plot is complex to the point of inscrutability, leaving Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence both original and numbing.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for violence, disturbing images and brief language

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:Sep 17, 2004 Limited

Box Office: $856,451

Synopsis: Nine years ago, writer/director Mamoru Oshii's widely influential "Ghost in the Shell" burst onto the international film scene, becoming one of the most successful anime films of all time. Now,... Nine years ago, writer/director Mamoru Oshii's widely influential "Ghost in the Shell" burst onto the international film scene, becoming one of the most successful anime films of all time. Now, Oshii returns with the long-awaited sequel "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence." "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" is set in 2032, when the line between humans and machines has been blurred almost beyond distinction. Humans have virtually forgotten what it means to be entirely human in both body and spirit, and the few humans that are left coexist with cyborgs (human spirits inhabiting entirely mechanized bodies) and dolls (robots with no human elements at all). Batou is a cyborg. His body is artificial: the only remnants left of his humanity are traces of his brain…and the memories of a woman called The Major. A detective for the government's covert anti-terrorist unit, Public Security Section 9, Batou is investigating the case of a gynoid—a hyper-realistic female robot created specifically for sexual companionship—who malfunctions and slaughters her owner. As Batou delves deeper into the investigation, questions arise about humanity's need to immortalize its image in dolls. Together, Batou and his partner must take on violent Yakuza thugs, devious hackers, government bureaucrats and corporate criminals to uncover the shocking truth behind the crime. "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" is the story of a solitary cyborg who desperately wants to hold on to what's left of his humanity in a world where the worth of the human soul is fading almost into obscurity. "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" was written and directed by Mamoru Oshii based on an original story by Shirow Masamune. Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and Toshio Suzuki produced the film. It is the second anime film to be released under the banner of Go Fish Pictures, a division of DreamWorks Pictures. "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" was the first anime film ever to compete for the Cannes International Film Festival's coveted Palme d'Or. It also joined the ranks of such animated classics as "Dumbo" (1947), "Peter Pan" (1953), "Fantastic Planet" (1973), "Shrek" (2001) and "Shrek 2" (2004) to become only the sixth animated film to compete at Cannes. -- © Go Fish Pictures [More]

Starring: Atsuko Tanaka, Naoto Takenaka, Ruby

Starring: Atsuko Tanaka, Naoto Takenaka, Ruby

Director: Mamoru Oshii

Director: Mamoru Oshii
Composer: Kenji Kawai
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Dec 28, 2004

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Reviews for Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
01/14/05
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

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Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
01/17/06
Sydney Morning Herald
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
09/18/04
Boston Phoenix

Muddled up with philosophising about the relationship between mind and the material world.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
12/06/05
Independent

Oshii allows the plot to be overwhelmed by a slew of cockamamie musings on the nature of existence that wouldn't float in a late-night dorm room smokeout.

Full Review Source: Portland Mercury | comment Comment
12/06/04
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
Portland Mercury

While often strikingly designed, it suffers from the tedious exposition and static image flow that is frustratingly typical of much Japanese animation.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
09/17/04
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

Portentous and pretentious, Shell 2 crawls along like a machine on low batteries.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
09/17/04
Bruce Westbrook
Bruce Westbrook
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I never enjoyed a movie more that I understood less.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
09/17/04
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

Baits us with an involving film-noir murder mystery, then switches to all that man/machine consciousness mumbo-jumbo ... then splatters blood all over the place.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
09/16/04
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Devotees of anime deserve better writing, pacing and animation than this film delivers.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
09/21/04
Daniel Eagan
Daniel Eagan
Film Journal International

This sophomoric stuff is pure self-indulgence, a drone to accompany the admittedly eye-popping sound-and-light show.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
09/15/04
David Chute
David Chute
L.A. Weekly

Ingeniously crafted with flashes of intelligence, if not very memorable.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
09/16/04
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

Talky, repetitive and largely covering the same ground with no new thoughts.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/01/04
Derek Elley
Derek Elley
Variety

One could say that Innocence thinks so much that it ultimately has very little to say.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
09/12/04
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

There's only so much technobabble a person can take before you completely lose them.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
08/24/04
Eric Campos
Eric Campos
Film Threat

It certainly wasn’t worth the effort to pay the money to get in [and I got in for free].

Full Review Source: Greenwich Village Gazette | comment Comment
09/18/04
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

While one can’t accuse Innocence of being dim, it is certainly long winded and cliché.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
12/16/04
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

Pretty much impenetrable, but what makes it especially exhausting is a mountain of technical babble and long-winded philosophical reveries that slow everything down.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
09/17/04
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

A rehash that takes a timely theme, mankind's obsession with technology, and bloats it to the point of incomprehension, cramming meaning into dialogue that has none.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
09/16/04
Gary Dowell
Gary Dowell
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The plot is difficult to follow, but the imagery needs no translation.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
09/16/04
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
 
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Latest News for Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

January 22, 2007: "Ghost" in a Live-Action "Shell"?
This falls under the 'news before the actual news' category, but according to ComingSoon.net, Variety is reporting that Kodansha, the company behind the popular "Ghost in... More...

December 07, 2004: The Annie Awards Announce Their Nominations
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