This movie looks absolutely amazing. I wasn't impressed with the original's visuals (perhaps it would have been better in the theatre; I saw it on TV) but this one is amazing, full of utterly gorgeous images. My girlfriend, who had never seen anything anime and isn't into action movies was quite enthusiastic about the look of this movie.
Unfortunately, like the first one it is a jumble of sophomoric philosophizing on the nature of humanity. Characters go on and on in a way I expect more from French filmmakers like Truffaut than from the Japanese. The movie thinks it is profound and so does a lot of its audience but this is very much existentialism lite. The plot seems a little less incoherent than the first one but you have to pay sharp attention and I think I'd need to see it at least once more before I could fully piece together the story, but I have the feeling that if you know exactly what was going on you could poke holes in the plot. It's all kind of interesting, at least.
If you are into anime, or just like striking visuals, this is worth looking at, but like the original, this movie is far less brilliant than anime fans would have you believe.
Unfortunately, like the first one it is a jumble of sophomoric philosophizing on the nature of humanity. Characters go on and on in a way I expect more from French filmmakers like Truffaut than from the Japanese. The movie thinks it is profound and so does a lot of its audience but this is very much existentialism lite. The plot seems a little less incoherent than the first one but you have to pay sharp attention and I think I'd need to see it at least once more before I could fully piece together the story, but I have the feeling that if you know exactly what was going on you could poke holes in the plot. It's all kind of interesting, at least.
If you are into anime, or just like striking visuals, this is worth looking at, but like the original, this movie is far less brilliant than anime fans would have you believe.