Review of Ghost in the Shell (2017) by Adrian D — 07 Apr 2017

As a major fan of the original manga, 1995 animated movie and the stand alone complex anime series, I can honestly say that I was quite surprised with this film. Visually this film captures the look of the original adaptations almost perfectly, but there are times (especially near the end) where the CGI does become a bit too obvious, but never the less still a visually good looking film.

The opening soundtrack stands out as being a somewhat updated version of the original opening soundtrack of the 1995 film and I personally appreciated and liked this updated version as it in a way acknowledges the original film but also sets it apart from the original film.

The plot for this film is a somewhat amalgamation of the original manga plot, the 1995 plot and the stand alone complex plot and through this combination it somewhat creates its' own somewhat original plot but because of the amount of sci-fi films that have been released that delve into the same philosophical questions as this film, the plot has become a sort of cliche and thus this film does struggle in the "originality" department.

The characters in the film are done fairly loyal to their original manga and anime counter parts. Batou was perhaps my favourite character in the film. I personally think that the major is also a slightly better character in this film as apposed to the 1995 interpretation.

Scarlet's interpretation of the major seems to be an amalgamation of the manga version and the 1995 film version, showing a somewhat humorous and sarcastic side at times (like the manga version) but also having a serious and philosophical mindset at times (like the 1995 version) and this made the character feel a bit more balanced.

This film is also filled with easter eggs for fans of the original works. All in all, I have to say that this was a decent live action adaptation that manages to respect its' source materials and looking to the history of live action films based on animated shows this is at least a step in the right direction for these types of films.