80
The dark sequel offers gorgeous images, with an updated and stylish design, but its characters' angst gets in the way of storytelling.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
40
This sophomoric stuff is pure self-indulgence, a drone to accompany the admittedly eye-popping sound-and-light show. Oshii looks like yet another director who has gone off the deep end, believing too absolutely his own good reviews.
50
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
Ingeniously crafted with flashes of intelligence, if not very memorable.
40
Talky, repetitive and largely covering the same ground with no new thoughts, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is a major let-down.
50
Unfortunately, the outcome here is so over-the-top that it’s going to wind up alienating most everyone that sees it.
100
You can call me fanboy, but this is the best anime I've ever seen.
50
The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt
A downbeat story line layered with philosophical discourses will restrict the audience to fans of the animated genre.
83
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
The title Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is a brain banger. But as sci-fi nomenclature goes, it's easy to read--no twistier, certainly, than "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow."
50
Dallas Observer by Luke Y. Thompson
There's a lot of imagination at work here; too bad just a little bit of it couldn't have been channeled into the creation of a better narrative.
40
The A.V. Club by Tasha Robinson
At times, Innocence feels like a clip show of Oshii projects past. But the effect proves more dulling than warmly familiar.
Certainly more confusing than its predecessor, but still a slick cyberpunk thriller that's as thoughtful as it is brooding. GITS looked great in 1995 and it looks breathtaking in 2004 - 20 years later few animated films come close to GITS 2. I do chuckle a bit at the absurdity of our cop characters nonchalantly discussing complex philosophical topics in between murder investigations. It seems at points half the film's dialogue is just quotation from esoterica. The politics, crime and action are still juicy, but perhaps a little overripe.