MAMORU OSHII

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BB.5. 

Alternate title:  Innocence: Ghost In The Shell

Japan, 2004.  Bandai Visual Company, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, DENTSU Music And Entertainment, ITNDDTD, Kôdansha, Production I.G., Studio Ghibli.  Screenplay by Mamoru Oshii, English version by Richard Epcar, based on the comic Koukaku-Kidoutai by Masamune Shirow.  Cinematography by Miki Sakuma. Produced by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Toshio Suzuki.  Music by Kenji Kawai.  Production Design by Yohei Taneda.  Film Editing by Sachiko Miki, Chihiro Nakano, Junichi Uematsu.  

Long awaited sequel to the seminal animated film, continuing the adventures of robotic detectives on the streets of Tokyo. It’s 2032, and a cyborg detective in the Section 9 anti-terrorist unit is sent out to investigate a spate of murders being committed by sex bots who are turning on their owners. The animation is as stunning as it was the first time, if not more so, and there is a wondrous sense of visual imagination, plus a terrific musical score, but director Mamoru Oshii assumes far too much patience on the viewer’s part based on the success of the first film; the plot moves at a drudge of a pace and most of the scenes are far too talky. It fails to capture the imagination the way it did the first time around, and for all the anticipation that the years of waiting for the sequel built, it amounts to quite a letdown.

Cannes Film Festival:  In Competition

Toronto International Film Festival:  2004