Ghost in the Shell
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In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: a human saved from a terrible crash, then cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals.
What critics thought
Critics split sharply along a single fault line: nearly everyone concedes the film is a visual spectacle, but a clear majority found that its philosophical core — the very thing that made the 1995 original essential — had been gutted and replaced with generic Western action-movie scaffolding. The adaptation controversy compounded this, with multiple critics arguing that transplanting the story into Hollywood superhero tropes drained it of the existential weight that gave it meaning.
“Just about every scene in Ghost in the Shell is a visual wonder to behold—and you'll have ample time to soak in all that background eye candy, because the plot machinations and the action in the foreground are largely of the ho-hum retread variety.”
Richard Roeper·Chicago Sun-Times
“Somebody misjudged how poorly American superhero movie tropes would map onto Ghost in the Shell ... [the] final scene tried to do that 'satisfying our need for closure' thing American directors think is kind, but is actually condescending.”
Cecilia D'Anastasio·Kotaku
“Ghost in the Shell is a defective mess with lifeless characters, missed chances for thematic exploration and a minefield of political incorrectness.”
Brian Truitt·USA Today
“This isn't jokey, quippy science fiction; true to the source material, it's fairly grave about the implications of an android-dominated culture, though of course Ghost in the Shell is also about giant mecha spiders equipped with machine guns.”
Michael Phillips·Chicago Tribune
“Some of that ravishment arrives courtesy of the movie's setting, a stunning pan-Asian metropolis that makes boldly inventive use of the Hong Kong skyline, its tightly stacked buildings tricked out with enormous holographic billboards.”
Justin Chang·Los Angeles Times
Genres
Science Fiction, Drama, Action
Cast & Crew
Rupert SandersDirector
Scarlett JohanssonMajor Mira Killian / Motoko Kusanagi
Takeshi KitanoAramaki
Pilou AsbækBatou
Michael PittKuze
Chin HanTogusa
Juliette BinocheDr. Ouelet
Peter FerdinandoCutter
Rila FukushimaRed Robed Geisha
Daniel HenshallSkinny Man
Yutaka IzumiharaSaito
Anamaria MarincaDr. Dahlin
Kaori MomoiHairi
Lorne BalfeComposer
Clint MansellComposer
Ehren KrugerWriter
William WheelerWriter
Jess HallCinematographyGhost in the Shell
In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: a human saved from a terrible crash, then cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals.
What critics thought
Critics split sharply along a single fault line: nearly everyone concedes the film is a visual spectacle, but a clear majority found that its philosophical core — the very thing that made the 1995 original essential — had been gutted and replaced with generic Western action-movie scaffolding. The adaptation controversy compounded this, with multiple critics arguing that transplanting the story into Hollywood superhero tropes drained it of the existential weight that gave it meaning.
“Just about every scene in Ghost in the Shell is a visual wonder to behold—and you'll have ample time to soak in all that background eye candy, because the plot machinations and the action in the foreground are largely of the ho-hum retread variety.”
Richard Roeper·Chicago Sun-Times
“Somebody misjudged how poorly American superhero movie tropes would map onto Ghost in the Shell ... [the] final scene tried to do that 'satisfying our need for closure' thing American directors think is kind, but is actually condescending.”
Cecilia D'Anastasio·Kotaku
“Ghost in the Shell is a defective mess with lifeless characters, missed chances for thematic exploration and a minefield of political incorrectness.”
Brian Truitt·USA Today
“This isn't jokey, quippy science fiction; true to the source material, it's fairly grave about the implications of an android-dominated culture, though of course Ghost in the Shell is also about giant mecha spiders equipped with machine guns.”
Michael Phillips·Chicago Tribune
“Some of that ravishment arrives courtesy of the movie's setting, a stunning pan-Asian metropolis that makes boldly inventive use of the Hong Kong skyline, its tightly stacked buildings tricked out with enormous holographic billboards.”
Justin Chang·Los Angeles Times
Genres
Science Fiction, Drama, Action
Cast & Crew
Rupert SandersDirectorScarlett JohanssonMajor Mira Killian / Motoko KusanagiTakeshi KitanoAramakiPilou AsbækBatouMichael PittKuzeChin HanTogusaJuliette BinocheDr. OueletPeter FerdinandoCutterRila FukushimaRed Robed GeishaDaniel HenshallSkinny ManYutaka IzumiharaSaitoAnamaria MarincaDr. DahlinKaori MomoiHairiLorne BalfeComposerClint MansellComposerEhren KrugerWriterWilliam WheelerWriterJess HallCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy