Patlabor The Movie Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Patlabor The Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 5, 2015

It may not be a totally workable hypothesis, but I’d like to just throw out the possibility that somewhere along the line Mamoru Oshii was terrorized by a killer rabbit, a la Monty Python and the Holy Grail. This may not be intuitively obvious to the public at large, but I’d like to offer as evidence the fact that one of Oshii’s most iconic creations, Ghost in the Shell, features quasi-cyborgs which in certain iterations (some admittedly not helmed by Oshii himself) begin to resemble a certain hare in Donnie Darko. Now comes the Blu-ray release of Oshii’s feature film entry into the Patlabor The Mobile Police universe, Patlabor: The Movie, and what does the cover art feature? Right—a gigantic bunny-esque figure who is decidedly in the Donnie Darko realm, albeit high tech and mecha oriented. Oshii’s involvement with the Patlabor franchise actually predates his work on Ghost in the Shell by several years, but there are nascent strains of several concepts Oshii would exploit in Ghost in the Shell drifting through Patlabor: The Movie. If there isn’t quite the arcane governmental conspiracy element that is one of Ghost in the Shell’s most defining characteristics, nor the tendency to just stop everything and philosophize for a moment (or several), Patlabor: The Movie at least depicts an ungainly bureaucracy trying to come to grips with a technological meltdown which threatens the very existence of mankind—no killer rabbit needed.

This 1989 film posits a scenario set around a decade in the “future” (meaning 1999) when Tokyo is undergoing a massive urban renewal project, one aided by the seemingly miraculous robotic “Labors” that are central to Patlabor’s alternate universe (why these huge mecha aren’t called “Laborers” is a matter best left for another day). In a development which may bring back tamped down nightmares from those who at one point upgraded either their Windows or Mac operating systems, thereby wreaking havoc on their computing lives, a number of Labors have been exhibiting bizarre behaviors since the inauguration of a new and much hyped operating system called HOS.

As is often case with the television iteration of Patlabor, Patlabor: The Movie defies genre tropes and conventions, steering the film away from the “mechas run amok” scenario that would seem to provide it with the easiest route to action sequences. There are in fact sequences that detail these very situations, but it’s notable that the first of these doesn’t occur for some time into the film, which tends to follow the television series’ penchant for slower burning intrigue and longer dialogue scenes. Ultimately, a nascent conspiracy is uncovered (even if it’s perhaps just a conspiracy of one), one which includes the HOS program developer, a guy who just so happens to have committed suicide under mysterious circumstances.

Oshii is rarely shy about exploiting philosophical and/or religious issues, but in Patlabor: The Movie these kinds of references are tangential at best, as in the name of the Babylon Project (part of the urban renewal agenda) or a computer virus named Babel which threatens to overtake Tokyo’s high tech world. Instead, the film plays out as more of a police procedural (as in fact do at least some of the episodes of the television series), with both Noa Izumi and Asuma Shinohara getting swept up in the case and, ultimately, some showdowns with errant Labors.

By the time Ghost in the Shell came along, Oshii was perhaps better equipped to inject more traditional action elements into an otherwise pretty heady formulation. It’s notable that many Ghost in the Shell outings tend to actually begin with some sort of action sequence, often where the audience is plopped down in media res, only to be given “the rest of the story” later in dribs and drabs as more conventional expository elements play out. Patlabor: The Movie takes an opposite approach, and indeed the long explanatory elements tend to significantly weigh down the first third or so of the film, to the point that diehard action fans will probably wonder what all the Patlabor fuss has been about.

Those more accustomed to Oshii’s deliberately languid pacing proclivities, though, will find a lot to enjoy in Patlabor: The Movie. It’s not quite the dense viewing experience that Ghost in the Shell is, which actually may recommend it even more to some viewers. But as a first “at bat” (at Batou?) for Oshii in the feature film Patlabor universe, it’s an often quite interesting attempt to blend mecha dynamics with some more personal stories involving the Patlabor crews as well as an overarching conspiracy angle.

Patlabor The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Patlabor: The Movie is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Maiden Japan with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. While press materials don't address whether this was culled from the same master as Bandai used for the Japanese Blu-ray release of several years ago, a certain lack of detail and overall softness suggests that this may in fact be an older master. Elements have more than the average amount of dirt and dust attached, something that in combination to a somewhat grainy general appearance give this a rather gritty overall look. Still, this boasts an enjoyably organic appearance that supports the decidedly "old school" animation style. Colors are still nicely vivid, and line detail is reasonably sharp, though there are some odd anomalies (perhaps baked in to the original elements) where, for example, gray shadows will appear on the outsides of objects in what almost resembles fringing (see screenshot 16 and look at the character's arms).

Patlabor The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Patlabor: The Movie features the pre-existing Bandai English dub as well as the original Japanese language track in DTS HD-Master Audio 5.1. To my ears, the Japanese track sounded just incrementally brighter than the English, with a somewhat more pronounced high end. Both tracks offer good, consistent surround activity, with a glut of well placed sound effects not necessarily relegated only to the (relatively few) outright action sequences. Dialogue is cleanly presented and is well prioritized in some of the noisier sequences. Dynamic range is also quite wide when considering the film as a whole, though this does tend to be a fairly talky enterprise and so expectations of action junkies should be appropriately tempered.

Patlabor The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Aside from trailers for other Maiden Japan releases, there are no supplements on this Blu-ray disc. For the record, I never officially include trailers for other releases as part of the official "score" for supplements as I consider them marketing materials and not true bonus material.

Patlabor The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Those already firmly ensconced in the Patlabor universe will certainly find Patlabor: The Movie to be an enjoyable experience. Those unacquainted with the franchise, especially those expecting a knock down, drag out mecha battle from start to finish, will need to temper expectations and understand that any typical Oshii enterprise is going to be at least as concerned with longer dialogue scenes and establishing ambience as with any more traditional action elements. Technical merits are generally good to excellent on this release, and even without any real supplements, Patlabor: The Movie comes Recommended.