Review of Ghost in the Shell (2017) by Leshaun J — 27 Jan 2018

Great visuals. Compelling story. Even managed to explain the whitewashing. But the script, score, and overall cinematography showed why the orginal Anime films are still the reigning champions.

Script: I can see they attempted the anime-style dialogue, but it didn't land as well as they thought it would. Plus, the written exposition in the beginning and monologue at the end were not welcome IMO. It's not a superhero film. Didn't need that.

Cinematography: The camera was way too busy during scenes that could've used a long shot. Furthermore, they lost the ability to marry to location to the dialogue, as the originals and Blade Runner did before as a result of this need for flyovers and tracking shots.

Score: I get that it's a police procedural, and they don't want to borrow too much from the originals, but less is more when dealing with existential issues, hence the minimalist approach taken by Mr. Kauai and Mr. Cronenweth in GITS and BR, respectively.

Overall, I can't really fault one person or issue. The attempt was admirable, and had this been an original film only inspired by GITS, I would've given it a higher score. But as it has a huge mantle to carry, I can only call this one decent.