Ghost in the Shell

It’s kind of nothing... On one hand, there are magnificent, spectacular shots that demonstrate the high quality of the effects, although sometimes they do look strange. But then there's the story, which I didn't enjoy in this American adaptation. It's as if the Americans wanted to make a Blade Runner that only pretends to be Ghost in the Shell. You can't compare it to the anime version. (08/20/2017)

Who the fuck is Rupert Sanders and why does such an artless routine artist get 150 million, solid actors and a good composer to make a boring, hopelessly unimaginative, sterile shithole full of darkened shots, uninteresting plot and logical lapses? You could do such wonders with all the glitter and jingle of those fluffy big city visuals! The inspiration from Cloud Atlas and Blade Runner is quite obvious, but completely wasted. After this disappointment, at least we know for sure that we don't want this contrived void as a sequel to Blade Runner! (04/01/2017)

I haven’t seen/read the original, so… Visually impressive. An interesting story, but doesn’t go into as much depth as it could do. I presume that the comic book does. Philosophical themes are only lightly hinted at, while action plays the leading role and it’s really good to watch. Scarlett Johansson is really robotic (probably intentionally), while Michael Pitt is excellent. I didn’t see many parallels with The Matrix, so I have no idea why it’s compared to it. Sanders has nothing to be ashamed of in terms of direction. (03/30/2017)

The shell is there, but where is the ghost? Ghost in the Shell is a narrative action-packed summer blockbuster intended for an audience with the mentality of a 14-year-old boy raised on video games. However, its cyberpunk appearance does not hide the cyberpunk philosophy. The title invokes the idea of a great conspiracy, a mystery that will be surprisingly revealed in the end. But the plot is trivial and predictable. Furthermore - and I really don't like this - the creators try to evoke the feeling of something smarter, with a philosophical overlay. Fortunately for Sanders' film, both Matrix sequels, which are probably the most glaring example of this flaw, were two levels stupider than Ghost in the Shell. Even the visuals didn't impress me as much as the creative team intended. It is overdone and not darkly depressing enough, as befits cyberpunk. The action is too frenzied, simply tailored to the generation of computer kids. It will receive two stars from me only just barely, and they are mostly for Scarlett. Overall impression: 35%. (04/22/2018)

The entire time I was watching, I was thinking that I’ve waited a long time for proper cyber orgies like these. But I’ve realized that apart from gorgeous animations, perfectly edited and rendered city of the future and amazing music, it’s extremely important for a movie to have a soul. And that soul is, amongst other things, created by the actors themselves. But this time, they didn’t exactly manage to do that. Pilou Asbæk and Takeshi Kitano have absolutely amazing roles, but Scarlett Johansson is so awfully stiff that the entire movie ends up being stiff. A shame. (10/01/2017)