Review of Ghost in the Shell (2017) by Brent_Marchant — 01 Apr 2017

It's unfortunate when the substance of a good story gets buried under layers of cinematic style, keeping the essence of the underlying narrative from shining through, but that's precisely the problem with this live action anime feature.

An over-reliance on action sequences and stunning (but decidedly excessive) visual effects dilutes the relevance and poignancy of this film, depriving viewers of the most important attribute it has to impart.

Scarlett Johansson's staid, detached bad-ass routine is growing a little stale, too, a virtual carbon copy of the performances she gave in "Lucy" and "Under the Skin." And then there's the movie's tendency to borrow from numerous other sources, like "Blade Runner," "The Matrix," "Cloud Atlas," "Ex Machina" and "Total Recall," to name a few.

Pass on this one -- you won't miss much.