When Japanese director Mamoru Oshii's SF anime feature Ghost
in the Shell (1995)
debuted in the USA, it became a hit, an instant classic building on the success
of an earlier, equally classic Stateside SF anime release, Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira (1988),
opening the door for wide acceptance of this genre art form in the Western world.
Nine years later, the long-awaited follow-up to Oshii's ground-breaking film
arrives: Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence.
Like its predecessor, this sequel blends traditional cel animation with 3D
CGI, but the technical advances between 1995 and now generates visual
results noticeably more dazzling than those of the impressive first picture.
Both 'Ghost in the Shell' productions, complementary without slavishly aping
their manga (graphic novel) inspirational sources, with the new opus doing
so with greater intensity than before, explore the ever-fascinating,
often-examined themes of near-future humanity interacting with AIs, many
virtually indistinguishable from their makers - the stories riffing off what
it means to be human and whether identical-seeming constructs have souls.
Set in 2032 Hong Kong and environs, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence takes
place a few years after the plot of the first film ended and shares the same
Blade Runner-like, high tech noir, densely urban milieu. Here humans and
cyborgs (part-person, part-machine in greater or lesser proportions)
intermingle, divisions between the organic and the mechanical - blurry and
ill-defined. The predecessor production ended with its heroine Major
Kusanagi's consciousness absorbed into the enormous welter of the
ubiquitous, electronic data-net, leaving on his own, her ex-partner Batou
(Akio Otsuka).
Both Kusangi and Batou, being officers of Security Police Section 9, have
had their entire bodies enhanced with durable cyborg components, their
former selves' minds, "ghosts" within equally cybernetic brains.
Batou, now
teamed up with newly-transferred, minimally cyber-augmented, Togusa (Koichi
Yamaderu), now gets assigned to solve the recent surge of serial killings
perpetrated by apparently defective "gynoids" - android sex slaves
made to
resemble perfect-looking young women.
Soon, Batou and Togusa discover that the maker of the faulty, deadly
femme-bots, the powerful, yet reclusive Solus Corporation, maintains its
operations aboard a decommissioned battleship off the South Coast of China.
The protagonists' investigative efforts to uncover whys and wherefores
propel them into a complex and dangerous underworld of yakusa/gangsters;
corrupt corporate upper echelons; and foreign-born, former Black Ops
computer hackers. Batou's and Togusa's deeds get depicted in a thrilling,
futuristic police procedural adventure that leads to an exciting, satisfying
finale that includes a surprise reappearance of Kusanagi.
On another plane, while the game's afoot and the action unfolds, the film's
dialog barely dwells on forwarding the plot, rather, discussions ruminate
on: the fragile divide between natural and artificial intelligence; cultural
artifacts mimetically designed based on structures found in nature like
spider webs and honey combs and living wood; the purpose of existence or
lack thereof; children and artificial creations endowed with life carrying
genetic essences into posterity, the made as much as the birthed equally
expressing human yearning for immortality; how we define the nature of life;
and on more in that vein. Some viewers overly used to Hollywood slam-bang
superficiality may find the philosophizing tedious, but open-minded folks
will appreciate the adroit blend of intellectualizing and action in which
both the ideas and the pacing prove riveting.
On yet another level, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence visually dazzles
with eye-popping, intricately designed backgrounds for the distinctive,
dimensional lead characters - all realized through an amazing 2D and 3D CGI
mix. The film opens with an astonishing sequence showing the blended
organic/electronic creation of one of the controversial gynoids so central
to the story - the emerging figure inspired by the doll sculptures of the
famous German surrealist Hans Belmer (1902-1975).
An additional gorgeous set-piece occurs near the climax when Batou and
Togusa, aboard a snazzy ornithopter-like aircraft, fly over a Chinese city
in which a traditional, holiday parade fills the streets with high-tech
versions of floats and giant puppets embodying images that make a
significant statement about the connectedness of past, present and future
and the survival of cultural expressions adapting to change. Another great
earlier scene illustrates Batou's basic humanity by showing him home alone
caring for his beloved pet Bassett hound, director Oshii's favorite animal
companion that he always inserts somewhere into all his creative endeavors.
The film also features a lush, excellent, atmospheric score by Kenji Kawai
who blends the traditional with synthesizer and chorus to perfect,
complementary effect.
With its stunning images, memorable characters, fascinating speculations and
exciting plot, anime rarely gets better than this brilliant work of art.
Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, surpassing its
predecessor, deserves to be another classic.
