I have no skin in this game: not interested in how it compares to the anime classic, nor do I care for the manufactured 'race controversy'. I'm just interested in watching an entertaining and visually-interesting 3D sci-fi action movie. Bonus points if things get deep & mysterious!
While Ghost in the Shell didn't scratch much deeper than the surface, and while its mysteries were resolved in a simple (yet satisfactory) manner, this movie did scratch that itch in 3D eye-candy! One of the best showcases for this medium. I watched the Bluray in my Meta Quest 3 headset, the screen - extremely curved - filling more than my entire field-of-view...mega immersive! Excellent depth.
Overall an entertaining, engaging & fun 110 minutes. The action was good, Scarlet is a convincing hero (tho' a little monotone, character-wise). The plot is fine. Soundtrack nice. Support cast mostly decent, except Juliette Binoche feels miscast and the villain (the actual villain) is blandly predictable. Generally the philosophical ideas it has are tropes at this stage, and the film didn't approach them at a unique or interesting enough angle to truly stand out.
What pushes this to an 8/10 however are a couple of strong scenes which hint at philosophical depths potential sequels could flesh out. One involving a 'possessed' trucker's inability to remember his daughter is particularly haunting.
If you dial down your expectations, ignore external criticisms you may have heard and choose the 3D version on as big a screen as possible...then for sure you'll enjoy this! Superior to the similar Battle Angel Alita I saw recently.
While Ghost in the Shell didn't scratch much deeper than the surface, and while its mysteries were resolved in a simple (yet satisfactory) manner, this movie did scratch that itch in 3D eye-candy! One of the best showcases for this medium. I watched the Bluray in my Meta Quest 3 headset, the screen - extremely curved - filling more than my entire field-of-view...mega immersive! Excellent depth.
Overall an entertaining, engaging & fun 110 minutes. The action was good, Scarlet is a convincing hero (tho' a little monotone, character-wise). The plot is fine. Soundtrack nice. Support cast mostly decent, except Juliette Binoche feels miscast and the villain (the actual villain) is blandly predictable. Generally the philosophical ideas it has are tropes at this stage, and the film didn't approach them at a unique or interesting enough angle to truly stand out.
What pushes this to an 8/10 however are a couple of strong scenes which hint at philosophical depths potential sequels could flesh out. One involving a 'possessed' trucker's inability to remember his daughter is particularly haunting.
If you dial down your expectations, ignore external criticisms you may have heard and choose the 3D version on as big a screen as possible...then for sure you'll enjoy this! Superior to the similar Battle Angel Alita I saw recently.