Ghost in the Shell (2017): Movie Review

While visually stunning, the live-action version of "Ghost in the Shell" does not have the character and depth that the original had two decades ago. Ultimately, it misses to make a connection with the audience and while the shell may be stunning, the ghost inside this film was truly lacking.

In the near future, humans have learned to integrate their bodies with cyber-enhancements. Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind: a human brain integrated with a wholly robotic body. Being truly cyber-enhanced, Major is assigned to Section 9 - a squad devoted to stopping the world’s most dangerous criminals. When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people’s minds, alter memories and control them, Major and Section 9 are assigned to investigate and stop it. As she faces a mysterious enemy, Major discovers that she has been lied to. She will stop at nothing to recover her past, find out who did this to her and stop them before they do it to others.

We really can't say that "Ghost in the Shell" did not succeed to make a great film for the lack of trying. It was easy to see how it tries to appease long-time fans of the original film and still try to make a refreshing remake. One of these changes is the story and we actually appreciated its more holistic approach. Audiences will get more on Major's back story, creation and eventual life after her harrowing journey in the film. Sadly, the film struggled to make an impact with its thought-provoking content. The straightforward approach made understanding the various themes of "Ghost in the Shell" a lot easier to digest but it also meant that finding out what these are was definitely less rewarding. There's no doubt that "Ghost in the Shell" is a visual stunner and its biggest asset. The fight scenes, in particular, were a huge highlight but they were few and far between. The original scenes from the animated version were depicted shot per shot and had us amazed with the intricate and careful recreation of Rupert Sanders. Overall, "Ghost in the Shell" has a huge disconnect. We never really got into any groove with the film more because it lacks a clear identity. On one hand, it seems it wants to be an action film but it lacks that continuous dose of adrenaline-packed scenes. On the other hand, it wants to be deep but fails to fully explore its philosophical and physiological themes.

Rating: 3 reels





Why you should watch it:
- the film was a visual stunner

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- it's not as effective as the original
- it lacks character and misses to connect with the audience