Patlabor 2

Rating:
Summary: awesome graphics! feels like ur inside the cartoon!
Review: i watched patlabor 1 and it was like nails on a chalkboard. i dont know what made me buy patlabor 2 but it was a 1000 percent improvement on the first one. the second one is really well done, the storyline, plot, characters interact well - its a little moderate pace but overall its still worth the buy.
if u like politics n action mixed into ur anime this baby is for u! cheers!

God bless.

Rating:
Summary: Less like Giant Robot Anime, more like a Clancy novel
Review: I would warn anybody from getting the DVD if they expect an anime Robot action movie. Though a lot of impressive looking military hardware is shown, they are not the focus of the story. Another warning is that, since this is a sequel of a movie based on a cartoon series, it doesn't bother re-introducing all the old characters to a new audience. So, many of the characters could seem unfleshed out.

Note also, this being a Japanese movie, the movie likes to do animated "Aspect-to-Aspect Transitions". Scott McCloud describe those as "... used to establish a mood or a sense of place, time seems to stand still in these quiet contemplative combination."

This being an often-used tradition in Japanese comics, its usage blend separate scenes into one single moment or atmosphere. It's also the reason why 80% of the critics (and probably 90%the general audience) describe the movie as slooooow...

Also, the movie has a strong anti-war undertone, as with numerous Japanese movies and animation (though it usually a surprise for us Americans).

Also, since this is a serious and subtle movie, my advice is to use the Japanese dub with subtitles to avoiding undermining the pace of the dialog, not to mention to catch the subleties of the characters' interaction.

Rating:
Summary: An intellectual masterpiece
Review: Like the first, the Patlabor Police are on the move to solve problems set in the future of Japan. This is full of action and something children should not be allowed to see!

Rating:
Summary: One of the best films ever made
Review: My review is going to be short since all those reviewers below me just reviewed it perfectally. Patlabor 2 is perfect in every sense of the word. After that, there's not much more to say.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent, Mature Film
Review: Patlabor 2 is a complex, reflective, interestingly-convoluted political drama. It secondarily provides some good mech-related action sequences, but that amounts to perhaps ten/fifteen percent of the movie. So don't expect even the relatively moderate level of action that attends the Evangelion series.

What you can expect is a great, startlingly well-animated movie that requires you to follow closely. Although a certain level of intelligence is indeed required to view it with understanding, it is more a matter of simply paying attention.

Which can be tough since the artwork and characters are so captivating.

Along with the 4-disc Serial Experiments: Lain, this is my favorite "thoughtful" anime. Ghost in the Shell being a distant, more simplistic (believe it or not) runner-up. Even the music was surprisingly good (just ordered the CD, in fact).

Rating:
Summary: Mamoru Oshii Does it again
Review: Patlabor 2 is, perhaps the most detailed, intelligent, visually astounding anime movie you may see. It has a fairly complex and realistic plotline involving political standoffs and military coups, but that shouldnt be percieved as a bad point - although action scenes are fairly thin on the ground it has an unbelievable sense of depth that few animes match. The excellent atmospheric artwork, characters and backdrops, coupled with Kenji Kawaii's superb score makes Patlabor 2 a sensory feast and an incredibly good film
If you dont have an open mind about anime as a serious medium, you may not like this at first, and dismiss it as dull, but after watching several times to understand the intricacies of the plot, you really appreciate it.
The Disc itself is average - not many extras, but the film is on there and thats all that matters, really.
I rarely give full marks, but i'll make an exception!
Cant wait for Oshii's next one - Jin Roh!

Rating:
Summary: All that is good about Patlabor and more...
Review: Patlabor 2: the Movie, follows in the footsteps of it's predecessor. The animation is beautiful and stylish, much closer to what Oshii later achieves in Ghost in the Shell. Again the story focuses on a very human brand of terrorism in the not-so-distant future Tokyo, that can only be stopped by the efforts of Division 2. Both the visuals and narrative reach aesthetic heights rarely seen in animated features. The movie is letterboxed but the extras add up to little more than self-promotion. The dub as disappointing as the last. Though not unbearable, it is just not as convincing as the original voice track.

If you only see one Patlabor movie, make it this one. I give this disk 4 stars.

Rating:
Summary: If you liked Kido Keisatsu Patlabor 2, Get ready for no. 3!
Review: Patlabor combines the elements of a fantasic story with the political stuggles faced by the modern world today. Much like a Tom Clancy novel, this is a masterpiece by Mamoru Oshii who also did GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995 Manga Video).

Oh yes..to break the news, I know that Patlabor 3 the movie is being made now and could possibly be showing in Japan already.

I'm not sure if it's made by HEAD GEAR so we will anticipate the great quality of animation delivered in the first two films!

Watch out for the third movie and if you know anything about it, e-mail me @ [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Reasons to get into Anime
Review: Patlabor is one of the best examples of what can be achieved through animation ever to be produced. While the series (meaning movies 1 & 2) could technically fall under the category of 'mecha', you won't find dragged-out robot battles here. The stories are intelligent and intriguing, sometimes even frustrating... The viewer is drawn into a complex mystery where the solution is just out of reach. The visuals are equally stunning! Disney simply can't hold a candle to this.

In my opinion, these two films are far better than most live action television or cinema made in recent years. If you're getting tired of Toonami's chopped and dubbed versions of overplayed series and you're itching to see something with brains, you must add Patlabor to your collection. (As with any Anime title, I recommend getting the DVD version so one has the option of watching the subtitled version. The original voice casts are always better than English dubs.)

Rating:
Summary: Zzzzzz....
Review: Perhaps I am just a miserable bugger, but I genuinely am better able to express why I *don't* like something that I am able to say why I *do*.

So, "Patlabor 2." A terrorist act sets in motion a chain of chaotic events which threaten to plunge Tokyo into anarchy. Sound interesting? Certainly does.

Too bad it's not.

"Patlabor 2" is very easy to compare to "Ghost in the Shell," except it's nowhere near as engaging. It suffers from "GitS" biggest flaw - idiotically long streams of overblown, expository dialogue which the viewer must strain to pay attention to, not helped by the fact that for the majority of these sequences, the animation is little more than a static shot, or a dull still pan. It doesn't stop there - you will have to sit through a ridiculously complex plot which could have been a lot simpler and not lost anything, and devastatingly, gut-wrenchingly, soul-destroyingly slow pacing that leaves the viewer genuinely *bored*.

It is fair to say the the Patlabor series and movie are not about mecha action, but the amount of Labor action in this film is so disgustingly low that it hampers it even further - those who tell you there is enough action in it are not being truthful. Given the chaotic nature of the story, one would think action was inevitable, yet it has somehow been worked around in favour of boring the audience to tears.

Additionally, the woefully overdone bird imagery of the film - which has no evident *meaning* - is rammed down the viewer's throat in a clumsily-constructed, unending stream which rapidly becomes intrusive and infuriating.

That all said, "Patlabor 2" has it's heart in the right place - it's a meticulous tale that has been painstakingly crafted, with beautiful, atmospheric animation. The problem is, it has been made without regard for the viewers. It's an overlong film, which pretends to be more than it is, because on closer inspection, it's actually about an hour of plot, stretched out into a shockingly empty two-hour movie.

Hardcore anime fans have a tendecy to praise this movie, and, yes, there are elements that are praiseworthy. The intent, if nothing else, is a great one. But the simple fact is, that the final composition of the praiseworthy elements is, bluntly, not a good movie.