Patlabor 1 - The Movie Review

What first appears as an amazingly well rendered sci-fi action tale turns out to be a technological detective story with the complexity of a novel. However, once all the details are worked out, the last 20 minutes are action packed, with plenty of crazed robot smashing mayhem.

The twists and turns of the plot, along with the kind of animated stunts that fuel flicks like Aliens and RoboCop, make this one a winner. Patlabor re-energized the fading giant robot genre by changing the setting from the usual superhero and space war background to that of a future police drama - sort of like a Robotech version of Hill Street Blues.

The TV series and the two features that followed were directed by Mamoru Oshii, who picked up a huge fan following all over the world with the release of his anime feature Ghost in the Shell. Watching Patlabor, one can pick out instances of Oshii developing the techniques and tricks that would make GitS such an influential worldwide smash.