Kidô keisatsu patorebâ: The Movie 2

patlabor 2 is as good or better then patlabor 1 in my opinion. why can't we in America turn out gems like this? this movie has everything that you would want in a good movie. the script is super-tight, the characters are all interesting, the animation is beautiful, there's mechanized robots and cool battle-choppers, the action when there is, is very intense and well done. you actually care about the characters and what will become of them(a sign of a good movie).

this is not an anime movie for kids, not because of nudity or gore or language, its because the story is very deep and complicated and you need a mature mind to break it down. the movie brings back everybody from the first movie and goes deeper into the back story of 2 of the main characters from SV2. this time around the movie talks about government conspiracy and that without a true military big time confusion happens when you don't know who is in charge.

i love the fact that the movie is almost 2 hours long and full of intelligent dialogue with the occasional brief action. i watched patlabor like everybody else, thinking it had a lot of Mechs and non- stop action. boy, was i wrong...but i'm glad i got to see patlabor 1 & 2, cause it is as good or better then most stuff that Hollywood puts out.

wanna see a very good intelligent movie with action that doesn't dumb you down and is a anime no less...the buck stops right here. if you are a true fan of anime then patlabor 1 & 2 is essential viewing...enjoy!

I was like many people upon viewing this film for the first time. I could sit through it without getting bored or falling asleep. It's not your typical robot anime at all. Its more than that really. The film isn't like its mecha predessors - its not about the action. And if your watching this film purely for action than you will be disappointed. Because this film is mostly dialogue and politics all the way through. But once you have a greater understanding of the film, you will realise as I have how wonderful and amazing this film actually is. The film is a commentry on Japanese 'common-sense' pacifism to war. It asks the viewer to question this pacifism: how can Japan claim to be peaceful nation if it ignores the security of others. The film makes it's point very clear, and it is effective in bringing this message across. But of course if you only want to watch the film for its action sequences, then obviously your missing the point of what makes this thoughtful film so amazing to watch.

Mamoru Oshii's "Ghost in the Shell" got all the hype, but his earlier film, "Patlabor 2," is by far the more mature, artistically successful film. This is anime at its finest - sharply detailed artwork, superb animation, and a story that WILL hook you.

Disguised as a Tom Clancyesqe techno-thriller, Patlabor 2 is actually a knowing, often cynical examination of global politics. The film at times resembles a surreal CNN report...if it were scripted by Noam Chomsky and directed by Alfred Hitchcock! What does that mean? First, the symbolic visuals are beguiling and plentiful. I would suggest you first view either "Psycho" or the "The Birds" and then Watch the Birdie in "Patlabor 2".

Patlabor 2 is a beautiful film. There are many stunning, surreal cityscapes that recall "Blade Runner." These scenes are accompanied by Keiji Kawai's meditative, haunting score. But the film's greatest impact is its disturbing plausibility. There may be giant robot police patrolling the streets of Tokyo, but the patterns of infrastructure and the chaos that breaks out when it breaks down seem all too real.

I give this anime my highest recommendation and I would especially recommend it to those who are either unfamiliar with Japanese anime or perhaps think animation is not a "serious" artistic medium. (This film will set them straight). Due to it's highly dense dialogue, I would recommend the dubbed version (unless you're fluent in Japanese or just prefer subtitles). The dubbing job is superbly acted and well-timed, preserving the original script's dramatic pauses and moments of silence.

"Japanese cartoons are for kids"...

This is yet another movie to show to people who wrongfully believe that!

A movie like "Ghost in The Shell" and the series "Neon Genesis Evangelion" have proven to contain more plot in the screenplay, and even afterthought in the mind of the audience, than most Hollywood-movies I know of. "Patlabor 2" is definitely another addition to my list of movies I would say disproves the first sentence in this comment.

As other commenters have noted, "Patlabor 2" resembles a Tom Clancy political thriller. The storytelling was so good that it got my heart racing in some scenes, and that is saying a lot from my point of view (Trust me on that one - I've seen "The Others" and similar movies, without moving a muscle when the rest of the theatre screamed).

If the story was tightened here, and the plot was elaborated there, "Patlabor 2" could be made into a Hollywood-movie as a frame-by-frame copy! I really mean that - There is always room for improvement, but in my opinion there are only very minor blemishes to the flow of the movie. I enjoyed every second, although some other commenters found the "slow parts" boring or irrelevant.

The music (or lack thereof) is also definitely worth a mention. It's hard to describe - I just couldn't imagine it being any different for this movie. The reason I write lack of music is because there are scenes where any Hollywood-producer would have slapped on some generic classical music, but in this case there is none. For example there is a scene after a climax where you just see different parts of the cityscape, with snow falling, and there is no sound at all. THAT's movie-magic. It's part of what draws me to this strange, exotic type of movies - it's so different than what most of us are used to.

Recreate the visuals using a film-camera, actors and a special-effects crew, copy+paste the music, label it "made in Hollywood" and you've got yourself a blockbuster-hit!

Japanese cartoons are for kids - not. If you have a brain, and an attention-span bigger than your average action-monkey, this movie is for you.

Director Mamoru Oshii gets it right the second time round. His penchant for deep philosophical stories is executed with the right touch of pathos and aided greatly by the superior quality of animation and more "mature" character designs.

Followers of the TV and OAV series would know that the chief of Section 2, Goto harbours a crush for chief Nagano of Section 1. However, being the stoic man that Goto is, he could never openly admit his affection for her.

The plot focuses on Nagano's past as a brilliant student of labor tatics - and her relationship with her much older mentor.Their affair was doomed as he was a married man. The political fallout caused her high-flying career to to come to a halt and ended up with her posted to the "lowly" Special Vehicle Section 1.Her mentor took charge of a UN labor peacekeeping force which got slaughtered in the jungles due to inept commands from his superiors. He returned to Japan a changed man.

The story is a vastly superior adaptation of "SV2's Longest Day", one of the outstanding episodes in the first OAV series. The film is filled with poignant scenes and quiet, surreal sequences in the heart of the city that are a prequel of sorts to Oshii's masterpeice Ghost in the Shell. Like I said, fans of the series will especially appreciate Goto's dilemma in the closing scene.