Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
Metascore
66 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 26
  3. Negative: 1 out of 26
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  1. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: M. E. Russell
    100
    Innocence revisits imagery from the first film. But this time computer animation pumps everything up to epic proportions. The results are overwhelming.
  2. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: J. Hoberman
    100
    You can call me fanboy, but this is the best anime I've ever seen.
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    90
    Innocenc doesn't just reveal a wealth of visual enchantments; it restates the case that there can and should be more to feature-length animations than cheap jokes, bathos and pandering.
  4. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Andrea Gronvall
    90
    That rare sequel that surpasses the original.
  5. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    88
    The love and attention Oshii poured into animating Batou's pet basset hound proves that the human instinct dominates even in a movie dependent on technology.
  6. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    88
    The imagery is uniquely that of Oshii, who deserves a place in the pantheon of visual artists.
  7. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    83
    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."
  8. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    83
    The impressive marriage of CGI backgrounds and traditional hand-drawn characters gives Oshii more tools to sculpt his vision in color and light.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 38 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 21
  3. Negative: 3 out of 21
  1. CodyK.
    8
    A very mature movie that can be best categorized as a psychological drama. The drama overpowers the thriller aspect, in my opinion. Not only can you find great depth in the story, but the characters… Full Review »
  2. StarlessBB
    2
    After the original Ghost in the Shell, one of the most highly regarded animated films of all time, they made this movie. This movie is absolutely horrible. I don't want to refer to it by name because it doesn't deserve the title. The pacing is slower than glacial, the dialogue consists entirely of pretentious quote-centric diatribes, the plot and story don't make any sense, some sequences seemingly exist only to confuse the viewer and derail the story while adding nothing to the film. The movie clearly had an insane budget, because the movie takes every single possible opportunity to fellate itself and show off the animation, which is kind of funny because the computer drawn animation is horrible compared to the original's hand-drawn animation. This seriously ranks among the worst movies I've ever seen, it's boring, it's pretentious, it makes no sense, it's almost unwatchable. 2 points go out for the animation and Kenji Kawai's great soundtrack.… Full Review »
  3. Hackuity
    9
    The sequel of one of the most intriguing and best written science fiction anime ever, that Ghost in the shell that in 1995 revolutionized forever the way of painting cyberpunk: despite this huge responsibility on its shoulders, this 2004 second act is still able to create perfect, dark and oppressive cyberpunk atmospheres and give them life with solid action and dialogues. Essentially, the best way the brand could go on without prostituting its true nature.… Full Review »
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