I really thought I was going to like this one. Let's begin with the positive. The animation is stunning even 21 years later. It's masterfully done and the scene that lets us simply appreciate life in this strange new world is amazing. I loved it. As you can see, I was completely entranced by the world and concepts. So I was really disappointed when the film ended without barely exploring this amazing new world. Not only that but I was also disappointed with the plot and writing.
The plot of this film is just an afterthought made to expose us to all the interesting philosophical questions poised by the characters. While I did find these questions quite interesting and the filmmaker gets across his line of thought - even if it is through clunky exposition sometimes - the film itself never stops to let us ponder what is being discussed.
Besides, with all its technical future mumbo-jumbo and references to things and people we don't know it all becomes muddled and unnecessarily complex. Due to this, Ghost in a Shell appears to have a complex plot but the plot is simple. Cyborg looks for criminal and at the same time searches for answers about her own existence. I will give it another chance though if only because I unknowingly obtained a dubbed copy of it. I found the English dub quite awful, so maybe the Japanese version will do the trick instead.
The plot of this film is just an afterthought made to expose us to all the interesting philosophical questions poised by the characters. While I did find these questions quite interesting and the filmmaker gets across his line of thought - even if it is through clunky exposition sometimes - the film itself never stops to let us ponder what is being discussed.
Besides, with all its technical future mumbo-jumbo and references to things and people we don't know it all becomes muddled and unnecessarily complex. Due to this, Ghost in a Shell appears to have a complex plot but the plot is simple. Cyborg looks for criminal and at the same time searches for answers about her own existence. I will give it another chance though if only because I unknowingly obtained a dubbed copy of it. I found the English dub quite awful, so maybe the Japanese version will do the trick instead.
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