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Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (Dub) Status: COMPLETE
Movie
Movie
Ghost in the Shell 2. I'm really not going to have much to say about this one.
It's leagues better than Parasite Dolls in both it's visual presentation and it's ability to keep you engaged, but both of these points are issues for me.
On one hand the movie looks great. It's very crisp, very professionally done, and night and day compared to Parasite Dolls which was only a year before.
However GitS 2 seems to be one of those movies that falls into the trappings of, "check out all our really great CG which we spent a lot of money on, watch our tracking shots of completely irrelevant imagery, listen to our tribal yodeling as we flash matte paintings at you so you know what you're looking at is beautiful and meaningful".
It gets old. Real quick. And as pretty as some parts of the movie are the cel animation clearly isn't up to the task of totally blending in with backgrounds. The anime characters move at a traditional anime framerate, but the CG objects and environment don't have that restriction so the contrast really stands out.
It's leagues better than Parasite Dolls in both it's visual presentation and it's ability to keep you engaged, but both of these points are issues for me.
On one hand the movie looks great. It's very crisp, very professionally done, and night and day compared to Parasite Dolls which was only a year before.
However GitS 2 seems to be one of those movies that falls into the trappings of, "check out all our really great CG which we spent a lot of money on, watch our tracking shots of completely irrelevant imagery, listen to our tribal yodeling as we flash matte paintings at you so you know what you're looking at is beautiful and meaningful".
It gets old. Real quick. And as pretty as some parts of the movie are the cel animation clearly isn't up to the task of totally blending in with backgrounds. The anime characters move at a traditional anime framerate, but the CG objects and environment don't have that restriction so the contrast really stands out.
As far as "engagement" is concerned, I'm afraid Ghost in the Shell gets to me tho only way Ghost in the Shell can: by talking in similes, metaphors, and philosophical quotes ad nauseum.
Honestly, we have a lot of dialog between Batou and Kosuka which sounds really natural and serves to present these characters as actual people with lives and a mundane sense of humor, not just, you know, characters.
But nearly everything pertaining to the plot is either flat exposition or simile city. When it gets to the end of the movie there are conversations where each character is literally parroting up to 3 different quotes at a time in their lines.
Let me see just how much of this garbage dialog I can leech off IMDB:
I know there are people ready to defend this **** to the death, but look, I'm only human, right? I ain't a cyborg with an e-brain so I can't keep track of all this stuff.
If these quotes weren't used so liberally it'd be a lot easier to follow, but when lines are literally comprised of up to 3 of these things at a time, you're not only asking the audience to understand what you're saying, you're asking them to interpret what seem to be numerous rapid-fire nonsequiturs and then reapply them mid-dialog to the given situation to figure out their meaning in the given context. It gets CONFUSING I get SO LOST in the dialog sometimes because of this!
It could be argued that since so much of the dialog is this philosophical metaphor talk that the movie's just trying to be pretentious. I can't say I disagree, but I will say that GitS 2 manages to say a hell of a lot more about dolls and transhumanism than Parasite Dolls ever managed.
Coincidentally, GitS 2 is also about defective robots being shoved out the door and going on rampages. It also has robot prostitutes.
Robostitutes.
Ultimately, the dialog can be really interesting when it isn't confusing and there are even a couple gems of Batou humor nestled in there.
The movie is mostly dialog though, so... mmmyeah...
Final Verdict: [Friggen' Awesome][Pretty Good][Meh...][Just... Bad][Irredeemably Awful]
Honestly, we have a lot of dialog between Batou and Kosuka which sounds really natural and serves to present these characters as actual people with lives and a mundane sense of humor, not just, you know, characters.
But nearly everything pertaining to the plot is either flat exposition or simile city. When it gets to the end of the movie there are conversations where each character is literally parroting up to 3 different quotes at a time in their lines.
Let me see just how much of this garbage dialog I can leech off IMDB:
We weep for a bird's cry, but not for a fish's blood. Blessed are those with a voice.
No matter how far a jackass travels, it won't come back a horse.
How great is the sum of thy thoughts? If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand.
His legions, angel forms, who lay entranced. Thick as autumnal leaves that strow the brooks.
There's loyalty that protects secrets and loyalty that projects the truth. You cannot serve both masters,
The less one forgets, the less one can remember.
If these quotes weren't used so liberally it'd be a lot easier to follow, but when lines are literally comprised of up to 3 of these things at a time, you're not only asking the audience to understand what you're saying, you're asking them to interpret what seem to be numerous rapid-fire nonsequiturs and then reapply them mid-dialog to the given situation to figure out their meaning in the given context. It gets CONFUSING I get SO LOST in the dialog sometimes because of this!
It could be argued that since so much of the dialog is this philosophical metaphor talk that the movie's just trying to be pretentious. I can't say I disagree, but I will say that GitS 2 manages to say a hell of a lot more about dolls and transhumanism than Parasite Dolls ever managed.
Coincidentally, GitS 2 is also about defective robots being shoved out the door and going on rampages. It also has robot prostitutes.
Robostitutes.
Ultimately, the dialog can be really interesting when it isn't confusing and there are even a couple gems of Batou humor nestled in there.
Originally Posted by Kosuka
Promise me no shooting.
Originally Posted by Batou
We'll go and have a little chat and try to avoid shooting as much as possible, are you happy now?
Originally Posted by Kosuka
That's all I ask.
Originally Posted by Yakuza
What the hell do you want?
Originally Posted by Batou
We want to talk to a guy by the name of Wakobayashi, go get him.
*whips out chaingun and fires into a crowded room*
*whips out chaingun and fires into a crowded room*
Originally Posted by Kosuka
Didn't you promise no shooting?
Originally Posted by Batou
I really tried I swear.
Final Verdict: [Friggen' Awesome][Pretty Good][Meh...][Just... Bad][Irredeemably Awful]