"2DAniCritic" Review:

Patlabor 2

Review Score: 3.71 / 5.00        

"Patlabor" is one of those older anime franchises that have a cult following that keep them relevant even today. I haven't had the interest or opportunity to watch it until I found the sequel feature film for only $5 at a local refurbished store. I'm happy to pick it up for such a price, and found it well worth watching, although that is almost entirely due to the involvement of the director, Mamouru Oshii, best known for also directing a little film called "Ghost in the Shell." Interestingly, "Patlabor 2" was the last animated film Oshii made before making "Ghost in the Shell" (1993 and 1995, respectively), and much of his style can be seen in "Patlabor 2" for fans to investigate.

An alternate future and cop drama/mystery about an unknown terrorist attacking Japan. It's hardly a new idea, and starts slow at first, with more dialogue and background than necessary to help immerse us in the world. But when the first bomb strikes a bridge, things get more interesting. Who attacked? Why? How? The film follows the Labor unit of cops as they almost single-handedly fight to fix things, getting past red tape and political agenda. This is where Oshii's influence is obvious, with long expositive conversations about war, weapons, the meaning of peace, and so on. While some may find this boring, it is also the most exciting thing about a otherwise bland film, and it's thoughtful script and character drama keep you watching until the end. Not to mention the title mechs don't even get used until the last 1/4 of the movie.. if you were looking for exciting robot action, you might be disappointed.

The visuals and animation show their age, but about 30 seconds worth of background shots look scary good, better than even today's best. The music holds up and stands out surprisingly well. English dub does enough justice to the material.

Coming in blind, I'm happy to see that the two Patlabor movies are easy to come by for cheap on DVD (although those original releases by Honneamise in North America would go out of print, you are more likely to find this films on DVD or Bluray from Sentai Filmworks as of 2015). Not as ground breaking or impressive as the sci-fi epic "Ghost in the Shell," "Patlabor 2" does feel a bit more grounded and human, and will be worth adding to your collection.