This thoughtful anime is a meditation on the meaning of consciousness disguised as action sci-fi. The checklist of futuristic Japanese animations is dutifully adhered to, however the requisite guns, tanks and robots are used sparingly and provide a backdrop to a more cerebral storyline. In a futuristic Japan, cyborg augmentation is commonplace, leaving many questions concerning what is the definition that qualifies humanity. What starts as an investigation into a mysterious computer wizard hacking into peoples electronically enhanced brains quickly escalates into political intrigue between government sections and a race against time to discover exactly who the hacker is before he is killed.
The quality of the animation is superb throughout and is combined with computer graphics to great effect, with the optic camouflage brilliantly realised, notably in the two spectacular action scenes which bookend the main story development, one involving a chase through a crowded market and the other a tense standoff between the lead character and a typically insectoid tank. There are nice touches throughout (look out for the director's strange predilection for beagles), especially the scuba diving scene laden with rebirth symbolism.
The plot is overly complicated at points (in fact I needed a repeat viewing to sort out exactly what happened), several characters seem to be mentioned in passing and later become important and I found I initially lost track of who was being referred to. If you aren't paying attention right from the first scene, you may well find yourself (like me) getting a bit lost towards the end.
However, I think the premise of A.I. and consciousness was a fascinating one and found the film pleasantly deep. Credit must also be given to the writers for imbuing the lead roles with depth and in Major Kusunagi providing possibly the strongest female character I have seen in film. |
