Movie Reviews for Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. - 2nd Gig (Complete Collection)

Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. - 2nd Gig (Complete Collection)

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Movie Reviews of Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. - 2nd Gig (Complete Collection)

Movie Review: The Right Mindset
Summary: 4 Stars

So, the first thing I have to say is yes, I am glad I bought it. However, don't make the same mistake I made... I, for no good reason, assumed that the team who created GITS: Innocence created GITS: SSS. Wrong!!! Do not expect the same dramatic, philosophical, and artistic depth and sophistication found in GITS: Innocence.

The team that created this film is the same team that generates the series. As a matter of fact, this film has a "made-for-TV" feel about it. It seems as if two individual stories were grafted together as one which may account for some of the disharmony. It also felt somewhat episodic, as if filmed so that it could be easily serialized. (As an aside...The involvement of Nissan makes me a little nervous for the future, hopefully the studio doesn't lose their artistic vision and swing too far to the commercial side. The concept cars were cool but they weren't anything the art team couldn't have created on their own. With the exception of one scene, the cars simply were not integral to the film.)

Now, with all of that said, I love the series. This film is on par with caliber of the 2nd season. The art, audio, general plot, English dubbing, etc. is top notch. (Writing? Well...the continuity people responsible for ensuring that the story flows smoothly could have tightened things up a bit.)

If you love the series, you'll love this movie.

So, yes, I'm glad I bought it and I'll probably watch it again today!!

Movie Review: Surely they could've done better...
Summary: 2 Stars

Ghost in the Shell's success has always been a bit of a fluke, as it was to be Appleseed that was Shirow's magnum opus. I really wanted to like Solid State Society, I really did, but just found it to be very lacking.

The first season of Stand Alone was amazing, as it managed to capture some of the feel of the comic: counter terrorist ops fighting terrorists and drinkin a cold one afterwards. Second season was passable, grasping at straws to develop characters meant to be nothing more than a talking head or plot device, plus the inclusion of a Mary Sue villain.

Still, I'd hoped that all the money that the GitS property has made studio IG over the years could've produced something better than what was essentially an almost two hour episode of Stand Alone with at most three minutes of amazing action animation.

Had they simply retold the classic Puppet Master story from the comic using the Stand Alone characters, it could've been a much better movie. The further GitS breaks from the original source material (specifically the original comic run), generally the weaker it becomes. I can't help but think that by borrowing more heavily from Man Machine Interface (particularly the whole rogue Motoko and Motoko's split consciousness bit), Solid State Society lost the potential to be an action packed thriller to wrap up the series in a hail of gun-fire and car chases. It all felt rather unsatisfying.

After the unyieldingly convoluted, pandering, and nearly unreadable debacle that was Man Machine Interface, I hope, as a Shirow fan, that the Ghost in the Shell franchise can be laid to rest with some of its dignity in tact; a solemn procession that should not end with a 21 gun salute, but rather a crudely drawn Batou going colon "d" while firing a miniature shoulder mounted rocket into the air.

Movie Review: Argueably the Best GIS yet
Summary: 5 Stars

Not since they pulled out the concept in the first GIS movie that the build up of information at nodes in the sea of information could result in a self maintaining/regulating entity have I been so blown away by an idea in an Anime film. Batou, Togusa, and the whole gang are on the job, but where is the Major? Some hard hitting criminal is up to something with people dying or disappearing or simply just being erased from the sea of information. The Major is missing AND their is a new criminal about, who could it be?

Well, this film take political science fiction to its height, and also does very nicely with the technology and action aspects. And the ending is friggin phenomenal. Sure the GIS has always been wonderful with its ability to paint the world in shades of gray, or at least to say that sometimes the black is the better choice over the white, but in this story, the viewer will find it impossible to make a judement call on which side was fighting for the greater good.

BTW, watching these movies in English is pathetic because they choose voices that seem appropriate for Children's Cartoons. Be serious, GIS is absolutely not for children, if, IF, they can comprehend the concepts being thrown around, there is no way they can actually appreciate them.

Movie Review: Full English Version
Summary: 4 Stars

I saw this movie for the first time on Sci-Fi Channel's Ani-Monday. I was getting ready to call it a night when this was advertised as being next and had to stay up and watch it. It's a very well done movie with a lot of feeling of the first movie that was brought to the series. Alot of things have changed, alot of feelings are different, but it's all very good. I think I saw an edited version but for the most part it was very well done. All the original cast has returned to do the voices so there's no problem with the english subtitles or with dubbing. Overall it was a good movie.