DESCRIPTION

CAST

MOVIE ActionInnocence
MANGA ActionKoukaku Kidoutai
MOVIE ActionGHOST IN THE SHELL: Koukaku Kidoutai 2.0
ANIME ActionKoukaku Kidoutai: STAND ALONE COMPLEX
MOVIE ActionKoukaku Kidoutai ARISE: GHOST IN THE SHELL - border:1 Ghost Pain
ANIME Sci-FiKoukaku Kidoutai: THE GHOST IN THE SHELL

REVIEWS

• 

  TheGreatLiger53

  97/100
  "Even a doll can have a soul."

  Ghost in the Shell (1995)

  

  I believe that the act of explaining any subject matter is equivalent to the act of killing. In that regard, can a meager writer such as myself overcome the dire obstacle and responsibility that is explaining a movie like Ghost in the Shell? Am I a murderer willing to deliver verbal assault on something so sacred and cherished?

  Unfortunately for all of you... I am.

  I'm not here to argue a masterpiece case for Production I.G.'s tour de force (...kinda contradicted myself there); rather, I'm here to offer my own insights into the symbolism and thematic points of the film. With that being said, let us descend down the rabbit hole that is Ghost in the Shell.

  ---

  In-depth review

  CAUTION: POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD

  The year is A.D. 2029, a cyber hacker known only as "The Puppet Master" is being hunted by Japan's Internal Bureau of Investigations. Leading the hunt is the esteemed and stoic Daisuke Aramaki and his highly trained group of cybernetic anti-terrorist investigators: Public Security Section 9. Chief among them is Major Motoko Kusanagi, who's intense level of cybernetic augmentation seems to connect her on a certain level to the elusive Puppet Master. However, not everything is as it seems.

  The world in which these characters inhabit is a cyber one. The Internet has become a collective unconscious that any person can tap into without a moments notice, thanks to brain enhancement. It's effectively stripping away our physical shells, and in this case, bringing Major Kusanagi ever closer to her soul in the process. It is what she may have been referring to as her "ghost". In plot terms, a ghost is a cerebral line of memories and brain function embedded into a cybernetic brain. But Kusanagi seems to be leaning toward a more loose interpretation. In her efforts of understanding this idea, she will become one of the first in a new stage of human evolution. Although, there is one other who's journey seems to parallel hers: The Puppet Master, aka Project 2501. Their relationship is one of many in Ghost in the Shell that tends to hook our imaginations.

  Speaking of relationships, Kusanagi's partner in crime, Batou, has a very interesting dynamic with the Major. Their connection seems to be one of philosophical contradiction. Batou is down-to-earth and concerned with the material world, where as Kusanagi is grasping at the immaterial. In one of their conversations, she blatantly questions the significance of the human experience, comparing it to a simulation of sorts (An idea the Wachowki's would further explore in The Matrix), even doubting her originality. This is one of the elements of "cyber-punk".

  As is the case with the cyber-punk genre (a genre practically popularized by this movie), there is a juxtaposition of high functioning technology with low functioning human flaw, especially in the case of city-scape. For instance, in one of Oshii's previous films, Patlabor, there is a deliberate display of poverty stricken districts alongside enterprising skyscrapers. Following his modus operandi, Oshii does the same here. This presentation seems to mirror humanity's willingness to throw away our past for the sake of future development. Yet, there remains remnants of our past to this day, almost like a ghost.

  In a similar vein, the ghostly visage is present in physical terms as well, given the military use of therm-optic camouflage. As the opening scene indicates with the use of said technology, there is a heavy political tinge to the entirety of our story. To The Puppet Master, whom itself is a computerized entity, twirls governments and politics like a play thing. A political ruse orchestrated by Project 2501 serves only one purpose: Get closer to Section 9, and in effect, get closer to Major Kusanagi. In order to achieve a new sense of being, the consciousness that is 2501 must "merge" with the consciousness that is Kusanagi, who is in some way deemed like The Puppet Master. This is its goal.

  Throughout the film there are omens foreshadowing the Major's fate. Whether it be short glances at a distant doppelganger, or ascending to a reflective sea floor, the Major cannot foresee the inevitable.

  Concerning the inevitable, the closing stretch of Ghost in the Shell remains, for me, one of the most fascinating exchanges of ideas present throughout the film. And as of this writing, this has been a very personal study of a film that has long perplexed me. I hope my efforts have in some way pulled back the curtain, but even I understand that my views are limited, and you will have to come to your own conclusions.

  Anyway...

  Twas a good movie.

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• 

  Animeenthusiast

  89/100
  Unapologetically brave and uniquely stands on it's own even today. Spoilers ahead.

  Ghost in the Shell is an animated feature by the revolutionary Mamoru Oshii set in a technologically advanced Japan that modifies government officials by making them more cyborg-like for a more efficient performance as well as creating whole androids called, 'puppets'. We follow the journey of Major Motoko Kusanagi, a puppet, wanting purpose and meaning in her existence.

  The world built is detailed as far as what's shown. Let's just get this out the way. The technical work put behind the movie is masterful, genius and unlike anything I've seen before. The character designs are incredibly memorable. The action scenes are some of the coolest among any film I've watched. The colors used in the film is precise and stick out gorgeously. Each scene is handled with care, though and impeccable creatively. The film entrances you with its gritty, cyberpunk yet beautiful visuals filled with thought and meaning that gives you more insight of the main character such as this. The pacing is immaculate.

  The soundtrack is another beast in its own created by the exceptional, Kenji Kawai. Composed in a high-end studio, it ends up soaring in quality. It's vibrant, haunting and mesmerizing scores stands out remarkably. The ending credits used this epic one-of-a-kind piece that's left me in awe and has ended up become my favorite out of the whole anime. The detail and style used in here is rare and should be noted more as it adds it's own immeasurable palate of character, tone and enchanment that forced me to be immersed in this film.

  The story deals with identity and a need to be more than what you are and reaching for tools that's not at your position. Understanding purpose is major them explored through the Major, her comrade, Batou and the antagonist. The story is a major reason among everything that makes me want to view the film more than twice. To understand, find and think more about the concepts explored by this film. One of the things that interested me, is the puppets' need to find humanity in their robotic bodies and the humans' need to become robotic by incorporating computers in their human bodies.

  Here is a scene that incorporates most of the qualities I admire about this film that I've mentioned previously.

  In my limited experience of viewing proclaimed classic movies, I've been disappointed a couple of times. But seeing this movie, I can clearly see the influence this movie has on new filmmakers working in the industry today and am thoroughly impressed by this gem. Unapologetically brave and uniquely stands on it's own even today, 24 years after its release, while getting the recognition and praise that it deserves.____

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• 

  TK8878

  24/100
  A ghost of a story and a shell of an experience.

  

  Spoiler-free review

  Review in brief:

  Ghost in the Shell takes itself far too seriously, and in turn ends up spreading its considerable aesthetic focus thin across a soulless plot and a theme that it can’t wrap its own head around. With a self-imposed split between its story & its presentation made worse by its frayed structure, it’s not hard to figure out why it’s known more for being complicated than compelling.

  Review in full:

  Ghost in the Shell loudly presents itself as serious, deep, and thought-provoking. While it’s clear that many of the people involved possessed the skills to match this appearance, the direction mixes its quality elements into the anime equivalent of a pretentious college student; the sort of person who tries to one-up the professor by constantly attempting to disprove the class lectures or thinks they've unlocked the world's greatest secret because they've recently become an atheist. Such a person isn’t necessarily bad or lacking in constructive traits, but they tend to believe their oft-basic qualities have a far higher value than most other people would and come off as annoying or shallow because of it.

  That is the way Ghost in the Shell acts in its execution, time and time again. It features a number of skillfully choreographed action sequences and needlessly draws them out to show off its animation. It contains expertly crafted & stylized visual and audio design but dumps most of it into lethargic montages that not only render much of the rest of the movie quiet, barren, and full of dry exposition (especially in the later half) but also could be cut by 95% and still deliver their meaning. It has the bright idea to flesh out its world through character interactions but in a world that is effectively just Hong Kong with robots and characters that may as well be robots themselves (the "twist" could have been that every human was actually a soulless robot the whole time and I would have been 100% unsurprised). It has the basic elements of a thrilling conspiracy drama but squanders it by diving into monologue after monologue centered around unrelated minutia, crowding out all of the room the narrative would need to flesh out such a story properly.

  The driving purpose behind all of this is to explore transhumanism, and how it does so is a large part of why it falls apart. Transhumanism isn’t a difficult concept to understand, and so it’s not hard to explore in depth. Ghost in the Shell rarely seeks this depth however, instead straining itself over the base concept of what it means to put a person in a machine. Yes, that’s what the title refers to and no, there isn’t much to it here past “ghost = mind, shell = body” besides repetitious ponderings and shallow monologues on questions that don’t actually have to do with transhumanism, as if prefacing them with the concept was all that was required.

  In fact, there’s a multitude of concepts tacked onto the already bloated discourse that this movie struggles to understand. It heavily ties individuality to having an observably unique face (whelp, guess identical twins aren’t individuals then!), postulates that people can’t prove their humanity without physically observing their own brains (so is trepanning back in style?), and drones about the importance of reproduction & evolution shortly after making a show of a depiction of the tree of life (i.e. a representation of reproduction & evolution) getting defaced with bullet holes in a robot vs. human fight.

  Saying all of this doesn’t justify the frustration this movie imbued in me, because the real frustration was getting such a vapid experience from something with clear potential. Yes, this movie does feature some top-notch 90’s animation, and in the few moments it’s used to show the story it does so very impressively. Were those moments not so few, they would have stood out more against the dull & static imagery that dominates the film. The sound is at a more consistent quality, with voicework that does everything it could have to bring life to the movie and a standout soundtrack whose only weakness is its limited quantity. The effects work is often mismanaged, but in the handful of moments when it all comes together (most notably, the Making of Cyborg sequence early in the film), the aspiration that went into the production is made readily apparent.

  _For every moment where the animation comes out in full force..._ _...there’s one that contents itself with slow panning shots or still images. Take a guess, which of these moments is needed by the plot?_ The panning/still shots, there wouldn’t be so many monologues if the story was animated enough to tell it.

  The story, when not totally buried under overbearing thematics, at least shows itself to be a respectable idea. It has a conspiracy drama angle that is intriguing on its own and would have been an acceptable element for the movie to lean on if it wasn’t pushed to the side for much of the movie’s first half and unceremoniously uprooted & unveiled shortly after. There are implications of an interesting origin for many of the major characters that would have done wonders to flesh them out if tapped into beyond Batou bluntly exclaiming “The Major and I go way back!” late in the film. The two real criminal investigations that go on are rather well thought out from a structural standpoint, even if given less focus than they deserved.

  All in all, Ghost in the Shell has many good qualities but thinks far too highly of a handful of its traits and uses them in such a masturbatory way that it detracts from the experience as a whole. There's a reason the term "creative limitation" exists, and this movie exemplifies the opposite to a startling degree. Putting less work into the nigh-pointless montages would likely lead to condensing them rather than drawing them out. Doing the same with the action scenes and quickening them would create a bigger rush when there is action. Accepting that the movie's world and theme are rather basic would allow the narrative to lessen the focus on minutia around them. From there it could display the world in the background and allow the character interactions to instead develop the characters themselves. Most importantly, if this movie didn’t hold the definition of transhumanism as sacred and explored where the concept leads better, perhaps it would have had more to do with itself on the whole than style, robots, and a naked cyborg woman beating up villains.

  Verdict:

  A brooding film that wants to be deep and thought-provoking but has a drive so shallow and a progression so slow that the only thing it manages to do is drag itself to the next overly drawn-out action sequence every half hour or so. It had everything it needed to be compelling, yet squandered it all so thoroughly it’s like it was directed by robots as a facsimile of human pondering. Fitting, sure, but not fulfilling in its inert execution.

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