Brand names sure can sell a product quick. Just slap the "Ghost in the Shell" label on anything and it'll probably sell like hotcakes. GITS trading cards, GITS lunch boxes, GITS cologne.
And of course, any wise prophet of the industry would tell you that the "Ghost in the Shell" brand name would sell its own sequel instantly. I mean, how could anyone miss seeing the sequel to the critically acclaimed Ghost in the Shell?
Yup, I was sold instantly, and as I popped the DVD in, I took a deep breath and calmed myself down.
The opening of Innocence, Ghost in the Shell 2, features an enhanced CGI rendition of the girl android getting assembled underwater. It's just like the opening of part 1 and is backed by another haunting choir & Koto drum score. Those first five minutes seem to say, hey, you're in for one heck of a ride!
Make room for disappointment because the other 95 percent of the movie is pretty dull. Sure, Innocence has some spotty moments of well done animation, but the story isn't so good. A virus has infected a cartload of pleasure-droids making them homicidal. Special agent Batou, a tough as nails android, and his squeamish human partner investigate the situation and find that it leads from one bad guy to another. After overcoming some flimsy obstacles, Batou makes his way to the last stage and beats the boss, all the while listening to his partner groan about the burdens of human life. That's really all there is to the story.
The same kind of story and growing pains partner situation can be found in the Lethal Weapon series. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Lethal Weapon. That's because they flesh out the generic storyline with witty humor that's fun for the family. Innocence fleshes out its generic video game kill-the-boss story with long drawn out scenes where nothing really happens. The original GITS breathed with life because it introduced us to a world inhabited by trash men who didn't know they were robots and a villain who lived in the Internet. It asked the big cognitive science questions with style. By the time we get to Innocence, all the characters are moaning and groaning in the rain. Horray.
While "Ghost in the Shell" was appropriately named for the subject matter it dealt with, I'm still at a loss why the sequel was called Innocence. Was it because of the piles of dead Yakuza members? I would have called it "Cut out my good parts and compress me into 15 minutes."
JY
Jimboduck-dot-com
And of course, any wise prophet of the industry would tell you that the "Ghost in the Shell" brand name would sell its own sequel instantly. I mean, how could anyone miss seeing the sequel to the critically acclaimed Ghost in the Shell?
Yup, I was sold instantly, and as I popped the DVD in, I took a deep breath and calmed myself down.
The opening of Innocence, Ghost in the Shell 2, features an enhanced CGI rendition of the girl android getting assembled underwater. It's just like the opening of part 1 and is backed by another haunting choir & Koto drum score. Those first five minutes seem to say, hey, you're in for one heck of a ride!
Make room for disappointment because the other 95 percent of the movie is pretty dull. Sure, Innocence has some spotty moments of well done animation, but the story isn't so good. A virus has infected a cartload of pleasure-droids making them homicidal. Special agent Batou, a tough as nails android, and his squeamish human partner investigate the situation and find that it leads from one bad guy to another. After overcoming some flimsy obstacles, Batou makes his way to the last stage and beats the boss, all the while listening to his partner groan about the burdens of human life. That's really all there is to the story.
The same kind of story and growing pains partner situation can be found in the Lethal Weapon series. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Lethal Weapon. That's because they flesh out the generic storyline with witty humor that's fun for the family. Innocence fleshes out its generic video game kill-the-boss story with long drawn out scenes where nothing really happens. The original GITS breathed with life because it introduced us to a world inhabited by trash men who didn't know they were robots and a villain who lived in the Internet. It asked the big cognitive science questions with style. By the time we get to Innocence, all the characters are moaning and groaning in the rain. Horray.
While "Ghost in the Shell" was appropriately named for the subject matter it dealt with, I'm still at a loss why the sequel was called Innocence. Was it because of the piles of dead Yakuza members? I would have called it "Cut out my good parts and compress me into 15 minutes."
JY
Jimboduck-dot-com