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

Based on media franchise of the same name, „Ghost in the Shell“ is the first live-action movie of the seminal cyber epic about human enhanced into super soldier who clashes with dangerous criminals.

In order to add some international star power, the main hero – originally Asian – has turned into sexy and nimble white girl (Scarlett Johansson), the choice surely liked by many and despised by some more hard-core fans. And adding some street cred, there is legendary director Takeshi Kitano supporting her.

There are– or at least one can perceive – nods to all kinds of mind-bending sci-fi classics that have gone before, „The Matrix“ and „Assassin’s Creed“ among others.

The gravity-defying asskicking and futuristic environments sure look good, with all the gigantic holograms dominating the cityscape and everything.

Sadly it does not really feel like a living breathing world – it’s much more like a videogame. So you may not remember it long after watching but it’s competent if unoriginal vision of what futuristic looks like.

What the fans of previous „Ghost in the Shell“ incarnations – especially manga and anime – may lament about is the horribly simplified approach that the western movie makers has used. But if you don’t know or care about the legacy, the first live-action movie may quench some thirst for futuristic action. The result is not bad, really. It’s just not terribly involving either.

It’s not gonna become a megahit, because for all the good looks it’s too niche for general audience and probably too shallow for manga or anime heads.

Oh well. At least we get an idea about how the coming „Blade Runner“ sequel and Marvel’s Black Widow movie(s) may look like.

There’s a fully functional spiritual side to the story, and it’s actually much more exciting to follow events this way. But all the spiritual stuff has been pushed to the background and is mentioned only in passing.

So it can’t effectively compensate for the shallowness of the main plot or sure-handed but emotionally distant style which never lets you close to the characters. The potential is all there, but the result will leave many a bit unsatisfied.

Watched it in 3D. Didn’t think the extra D added enough to justify its existence.