Innocence was initially guilty of a supposedly botched DVD release on the part of American distributor DreamWorks, mostly due to faulty subtitles which included closed captioning information (Steven Spielberg has evidently optioned the first Ghost anime and will be developing it as a live action film slated for release in the next couple of years). I have to say a little closed captioning explication of exactly what the frell lead character Batou is talking about, especially in a sort of Alice Through the Looking Glass déjà vu sequence near the end of the film, would have helped immensely. Innocence picks up a couple of years after the first Ghost in the Shell anime, positing Batou, a special ops policeman who is mostly mechanical (though he still retains a human "ghost," i.e., spirit), alone after the mysterious disappearance of his longtime partner Major Kusanagi at the end of the first film. If Clint Eastwood were 40 years younger, he would be the perfect person to play Batou in the upcoming live action version--Batou is a man of limited emotion, prone toward monotone, and also prone toward Dirty Harry-ish exploits which tend to take out minor populations.

Innocence revolves around an investigation into murderous "gynoids," androids built specifically for sex. The gynoids are also known as "dolls," and director Mamoru Oshii goes to great lengths to build the metaphor of dolls throughout the film. We have, therefore, typical children's playthings as well as puppets, large ceremonial puppet Gods, and on and on. It's all fascinating, in a totally murky way, and tends to beg the question: what are the dolls a metaphor for, exactly? I suppose there's some deep Freudian import vis a vis masks and the "other," but, really, did it have to be wrapped up in such blatantly silly dialogue?

What's more convincing, if no less labyrinthine, is Innocence's meditations on the rational and what it means to individuals when the human species supposedly "evolves." In the trippy finale, when Togusa, the mostly human partner of Batou, is caught in a sort of time warp due to having had his mind "hacked" (don't ask), Batou spouts forth a series of unbelievably dense paragraphs that are at once obscure, but manage, just by the hair of their philosophical chin, to make a couple of telling points about the loss of soul as mechanization increases. It's that sort of commentary that Innocence should have concentrated on, as it is at the core of not only the inner life of its main characters, but also the essential mystery of the killing sex dolls that Batou is attempting to unravel.

If you can ignore the dialogue, there is an incredible amount of visual splendor and supporting soundtrack music to enjoy in Innocence. Oshii has gone all out in this feature and provides some of the most consistently mind-blowing visuals of any recent anime. While the main characters are more traditional cel animation, there is an amazing amount of very impressive CGI in this film, most of which gives it a depth and dimensionality that is frequently awesome. Even the more traditionally animated sections reveal a care and craft that shows Oshii and his crew wanted every frame to be filled with an incredible amount of information. Watch, for example, when Batou and Togusa drive through a city late at night. While the backgrounds are layers of CGI cityscapes, watch the incredible detail of reflected light on the interior of the car's windows as the car passes through the environment. In fact, this film is filled with one cool light effect after another, from the faces of Batou and Togusa bathed in alternating stripes of white and black as an elevator they're riding in ascends, to some amazing, more CGI-generated, effects in some of the amazing wideshots that reveal a futuristic world full of blazing red skies and illuminated birds.

Equally impressive is the evocative score by Kenji Kawai, which includes everything from screeching female choruses and taiko drums to some smoky and sophisticated lounge music. The closing credits include a lovely pop song reworking (which is used as underscore earlier in the film) of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez (the same melody that provides the introduction to Chick Corea famed jazz masterpiece "Spain," which later received a totally different lyric by Al Jarreau). Kawai's music is an exciting addition to the visuals, and the two blend marvelously throughout the film.

Innocence has to be given some props for not going the lowest common denominator route on its overly intellectualized dialogue. That said, I doubt there are going to be very many people who "grok" what Batou especially is talking (and talking and talking) about the first, or even second or third, time through this film. What sustains repeated viewings, however, is the unbelievable panoply of visions Oshii provides. It might be best to simply watch this film with the Japanese soundtrack and no subtitles, thereby completely bypassing your rational mind and letting something deeper take it all in.

The Blu-ray

Video:
Innocence arrives on Blu-ray in a stunning AVC 1.85:1 transfer that provides some of the most crystalline detail and gorgeous color palette I've seen recently. Unbelievably sharp and immaculate, Innocence's image reveals layer upon layer of intricacies, making repeated viewings a must. While some of the traditional cel animation has a soft look, I'm certain that's what Oshii and his animators were going for, and in fact it makes for a perfect visual metaphor for "ghosts."

Sound:
Two completely different English 5.1 mixes are offered, an "Entertainment Dub" (the default) and the "Manga UK Dub." The default 5.1 mix has the "better" dialogue, in my opinion, though considering the dialogue itself, that may be backhanded compliment. The Entertainment dub is the Bandai voice actors, and I would assume that this translation is closer to the original Japanese version. In fact, the Manga UK dub seems to be a bit more colloquial, which some viewers may actually prefer. The Entertainment dub can seem awfully stiff at times. All of this said, both English 5.1 mixes are awesome, with some great ambient effects filling out the surround channels (listen for various flying craft, for example). Kawai's score is also beautifully reproduced, and the music box sequence has some awesome directional effects. Also included are a Japanese 5.1 mix, as well as a commentary 2.0 track. English subtitles are available, including for the commentary track. (Some subtitles are "permanent"--strangely, the computer driving the "doll ship" at the climax speaks in Japanese, so that dialogue is necessarily translated even in the English mixes).

Extras:
A 15 minute or so making of featurette and commentary are offered, as well as the theatrical trailer.

Final Thoughts:
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is, to use a metaphor (since they're evidently so popular in this film), like Paris Hilton trying to discuss the intricacies of string theory. The basic reaction is, "When you look like that, why don't you just keep your mouth shut?" Innocence provides such a steady stream of visual and scoring excellence, however, that anime lovers are going to eat this up. Recommended.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet