Anime flick disappoints

Although surpassing the quality of the original "Ghost in the Shell" would not prove any serious challenge, the movie's sequel "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" succeeds where its predecessor failed: creating an animated movie worth watching.\nBased on the manga (Japanese for comic) by Masamune Shirow, "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" starts shortly after the first movie ends. Bateau, a cyborg who struggles to understand his own humanity, is now partnered with a mostly human Togusa while Major Motoko Kusanagi is still missing. The film follows the investigation of a series of murders committed by humanoids that were created with the sole purpose of being used as sex objects named sexadroid.\nThe animation is absolutely breathtaking. Director Mamoru Oshii returns to the use of a mixture between traditional hand drawn animation and computer generated images to create a slightly realistic and fresh style that really blows the viewer away. The most memorable sequence takes place at the mansion of computer hacker Kim where a thrilling dreamlike psychological and philosophical battle occurs. The only other two particularly noteworthy scenes include a look into Bateau's apartment, exploring his relationship with his dog and the end of the film where the action finally culminates. \nThankfully, for the most part, the movie sequel keeps away from the multi-minute long sequences that were so prevalently found in the original "Ghost in the Shell," although there is one Chinese New Year's-esque parade scene that fails to advance the plot nor does it add any additional information about the characters or their surroundings. Instead it attempts to awe audiences with the animation. This comes across as gratuitous and tedious. The animation was definitely a step in the right direction for the franchise which is sure to produce future features, yet the film still lacked the essential elements to hold it together. The film suffers from many of the similar problems as its predecessor. It continues to investigate what makes us human and the possibilities of androids having souls, or more appropriately "ghosts." The film comes off as more pretentious than interesting as philosophical ideas are continually discussed, and this constant debate weighs down the film as characters redundantly recite quotes from Descartes to Socrates. The film's pacing was particularly choppy, and the ending felt extremely rushed. \n"Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" was visually engaging and interesting. Hopefully if Oshii returns to the film's universe for another addition to the series he'll make the plot and characters equally as engaging and interesting.