Ghost in the Shell Review

Ghost in the Shell is a live action adaptation of the anime film of the same name following Major (Scarlett Johansson), a robotic human hybrid as she hunts terrorists in a futuristic world. It's very much a cyberpunk styled environment featuring an array of colorful lights, robotically enhanced people and wild electronic displays. Major doesn't know anything of her past having only had her brain saved and transferred into a robotic shell. This is where the term "Ghost in the Shell" is taken from and spoken a few too many times in the film.

The general plot has Major attempting to take out terrorist threats as she's used as a weapon and also finding out what exactly it means to be human. It develops both of these points to some degree, but some of her motivations didn't quite make sense. At one point she has a huge shift of priorities and I found that rather bizarre, in regards to seeing someone's views instantly changed without any reasoning. Still, I generally found the plot to be alright with the action sequences and world being the highlights here.



The acting was fine in the film with Johansson particularly highlighting that stiff, yet still somewhat human look throughout. I'm not sure if it'll resonate with everyone, but the movements she had did feel quite robotic which fits well for the role. The look of the world was beautiful with almost every scene shining to the brim with a futuristic theme.

The evolution of ad banners, the city streets and the people was all very interesting. The CGI was beautiful as well as the action scenes that were shot with great cinematography to back them. Sadly I saw the movie in 2D, but it does clearly look like it was designed for 3D since so many shots have such a vibrancy to them.

The Conclusion

I really enjoyed Ghost in the Shell, having had no prior knowledge of the series since I opted to just go blind into this one it was good. The plot had some issues with motivations not making sense and the film felt too condensed in conclusion. It also should have dove more into Major as a character and her connection to humanity, but it touched upon it just enough to be fine.

The action scenes were great, I loved the backdrops and the world created since it was constantly enchanting. There were some issues with the film, but Johansson does a great job as Major along with the rest of their casts in the roles and I'd like to see more of this futuristic world.

Ghost in the Shell Review at Theater with Standard Viewing
Screening Provided by Paramount

Rating Overall: 7.0