Okay, I’m just going to refuse to give this movie a rating. I went into this movie, expecting something similar to the original Ghost in the Shell, but instead I got something very different, though I can’t really describe this. All I know is that this movie went into my mind, did stuff and left again, looking very pretty while doing so.
This really is one movie that wants to play with your mind, and for me it accomplished its mission. The best way I can describe this would be if you unleashed the strangeness of Angel’s egg upon the original Ghost in the Shell-movie. The first half of the movie cleverly starts out as your regular cop-show, but as the second half kicks in, Oshii Mamoru unleashes a wave of complicated script-writing and mind-games, chockfull of biblical and philosophical references. At one point, I just stopped caring whether some plot-events were explained or not and just let myself get carried along with the things that went on on the screen.
I know that there are a few things that were unexplained in this movie, and I know that a lot of things didn’t make any sense when I watched it, but I really don’t know how much of it was indeed left out, or just turned out to be something I just missed. This really is a movie that you need to watch over and over if you want to understand it.
There’s one thing that I’m certain of with this movie, though: even for a movie, the graphics look awesome, and I honestly can’t think of any other anime that has better-looking visuals than Innocence. Kenji Kawai (Seirei no Moribito, Ghost in the Shell 1) also returns for the soundtrack, and it sounds better than ever. I’ve seen my share of confusing movies (Tamala 2001, Cat Soup, Mind Game), but this one seriously tops them all in this department.
I agree 🙂 It would be too hard to give this movie a fair rating considering how much effort the ordinary audience would have to go through to understand the film. But the animation are definitely several notches above. (Mind game was awesome 😀 ).
Well, I liked mind game so much more than this than it’s almost unfair to compare. The desing and the animation are awesome though, at the same level akira or the first gits movie were when the were released.
I actually liked Innocence better than the original GITS movie. I take it you’re also going to watch the two series? I encourage it very much; they’re very good. =p
GITS Innocence is very good much better than the original GITS movie…and it has got gorgeous animation apart from good OST and it also has a very good plot to boot with..the problem is the heavy philosophical laden dialogues that might put off people but other than that it was well done but nothing comes close to the series-GITS 1st and 2nd Gig..2nd one being better.
I remember renting this movie at blockbuster. I thought, “GITS! Holy f*cking sh*t, it’s GITS!” Since I didn’t know there was a movie at the time. It was already 8PM when I turned it on. And I followed along well enough to not feel confused. Up until the part at the mansion (near end), of course, since that’s when I had awakened from my sudden slumber. I was like “WTF?” I decided to let it play through, dozily. And planed on watching it again the next evening after (middle) school. Watched it late again (I was addicted to WoW at the time), got sleepy, fell asleep a couple of minutes later than last time, and woke up at the end credits. “Aww, man!” The next day, I enjoyed it to the fullest extent and watched it everyday until I had to bring it back.
“But mommy, can’t we just lie and say I lost it?”