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Ghost in the Shell 2 - Innocence Actors: Akio Ôtsuka, Atsuko Tanaka, Tamio Ôki Director: Mamoru Oshii Number of Items: 1 Format: Animated, Color, Widescreen, Dolby Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Running Time: 100 minutes Studio: Umvd/Dreamworks Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2004-12-28 Buy from Amazon |
 "Art movie"An artistic animated movie. This is what Ghost in the Shell II is in a nutshell. Having watched the first movie and the series I am a big fan of both. However, the second film is practically devoid of plot and binds the viewer only to the artistic animation which is extremly well done. Like everyone else I was enthralled by the visuals, but they are nothing without an engrossing storyline. This film could have been so much more if the two main elements of a good anime film were joined. I watched the film twice in a row and still had difficulty wrapping my head around the obscure themes the writer was trying to convey to his audience. The two main characters would go off on confuscious-like conversations about abstract elements of humanity that had nothing to do with the plot and could only be digested by the writer and maybe his mom. This was a major flaw too, there was nothing in the film to tie the audience and get interested in the story other than the fantastic visuals. Strip away the animation and you are left with a Haiku. If you are a Ghost in the Shell fan this could definately be passed up and if you are concerned about missing any information from this movie let me just sum it up. Cyborgs get pissed. Major comes back and inhabits one of the cyborgs to help out the two main characters. The End. There...now you didn't miss anything. I wanted to give it 2 and a half stars, but slid over to three because as an artistic visual film it succeeds and everywhere else it fails. I would recommend picking this up only if you are interested in seeing astounding visuals and animation. If you are looking for anime film with a plot look elsewhere.  "Great movie horrible DVD"Its a great movie but with the lack of a dub I say you might as well just get the animanga. You'll get the same feel, and a better presentation of the movie. WE NEED A SPECIAL EDITION MANGA IS GONNA DO AN ENGLISH AUDIO TRACK IN THE U.K. we should get one here. Every other ghost in the shell merchandise in the U.S. has the english audio tracks, movie series and both games! dreamworks doesn't care for fans... I want a special edition with charactor BIOS and other things I want to know what was on the 5 disc set released in Japan! we got the shaft over here. Thanks for nothing... "No English Audio Track?"This movie looks amazing. Great CGI animation and backgrounds. I only wish I could watch the movie instead of reading the subtitles. You spend so much time reading, they might as well give you a book instead of a DVD. It's a sad state of affairs when an animated movie with no actors onscreen cannot be dubbed in English for a DVD release. I'm glad I didn't buy this DVD.  "Better than the 1st"I loved this movie more than the 1st one, because it had more suspense and dialogue in it. The animation is amazing. The music, especially the music from the part where they go in that house where everything stops in time is suspenseful and beautiful. "Still the "bungled" version"I give the movie a 5-star rating. It has it weaknesses, the end being one of them. Oshii seems to have given up on humanity and also on storylines. He as a Message though. For some viewers that may be ok, for others not. But if you will, this is Oshii's "Stalker" with the setting of "Blade Runner". Reviews can be found a-plenty right here and on the net, e.g. the animenewsnetwork.com. About the DVD then: The one I got from Amazon (July 2005) is the "bungled" version. Personally I can live with that. Others still have to enrol into the DreamWorks DVD exchange program, as described Douglas' review. Only people living in the US and Canada may apply! One can read: If "v4" is printed on the package spine, you already have English Language subtitles." So there. |
