Review of Ghost in the Shell (2017) by Edelgul — 08 Apr 2017

Well, if they wanted to copy the 1995 Anime, they should’ve done so, but create half-made copy.

The movie is not bad, but it also not good. A number of scenes were copied from 1995 Anime, or its 2.0 upgrade. Few scenes were copied from Solid State Society OVA. And I mean copied, in an almost frame to frame basis. However some other scenes were obviously invented anew (f.e. yakuza bar scene), and they do not match in style (and the difference in the choreography of the scenes is way too visible) and are much less stunning visually. The story is very different, and is full of Hollywood clichés – Evil Corporation™, fake memory™ etc. I was expecting a new story (and I’d rather prefer a new story to something, that I know well), however It is very secondary (to an extent, that I’d say I’ve seen it in every second American Sci-Fi movie including James Bond) and is mainly used to tie in the scenes. It is heavily based on Motoko, rather than exploring and presenting the world around, and the concept is that Motoko is unique first human brain transplanted into a cyborg body, who is on a hunt for her past (and you can easily guess the whole plot from here). Despite my initial skepticism about white washing, Johansson played the role well (although there was limited space for that), however actor playing Batou was very weak (the actor wasn’t trying at all). Other members of Section 9 made a very brief appearance to say anything serious about them. Aramaki also was quite good, although Takeshi Kitano decided to alter the character.

Verdict: 4/10 – Some scenes are visually good, and they are recreation of classical GITS. Some are way too bad/primitive/simplistic. Especially the bar torture scene, which was unnecessary, and way too out of the style of the movie.

I do not recommend seeing this in the cinema (CGI is not really that stunning – DR. Strange CGI was way better), just wait for an HD version appearing on sale.