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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
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Reviews for Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
Muddled up with philosophising about the relationship between mind and the material world.
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.
While often strikingly designed, it suffers from the tedious exposition and static image flow that is frustratingly typical of much Japanese animation.
Portentous and pretentious, Shell 2 crawls along like a machine on low batteries.
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.
Devotees of anime deserve better writing, pacing and animation than this film delivers.
This sophomoric stuff is pure self-indulgence, a drone to accompany the admittedly eye-popping sound-and-light show.
Ingeniously crafted with flashes of intelligence, if not very memorable.
Talky, repetitive and largely covering the same ground with no new thoughts.
One could say that Innocence thinks so much that it ultimately has very little to say.
There's only so much technobabble a person can take before you completely lose them.
It certainly wasn’t worth the effort to pay the money to get in [and I got in for free].
While one can’t accuse Innocence of being dim, it is certainly long winded and cliché.
Pretty much impenetrable, but what makes it especially exhausting is a mountain of technical babble and long-winded philosophical reveries that slow everything down.
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.
The plot is difficult to follow, but the imagery needs no translation.
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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- Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence at Rotten Tomatoes
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