Ghost in the shell (2017)
The initial anime adaptation of GITS by Mamoru Oshii was a perfect distillation of the manga by Masamune Shirow. Its still probably going to make a lot of 10 best cyberpunk films where in its near future setting the human race is embracing cyber enhancements to the point of full body prosthesis and human identity is defined by the ghost, which is to say the soul or consciousness. A newly born A.I that has escaped into the web discovers Major Motoko Kusanagi and decides it wants to merge with her to create a new being that has never before existed. It raises questions like if a being that could be seen as alive is born from human technology can it be deemed as being truly a living being? If the memories can be hacked like computer software to the point we truly believe something to be true, can a transhuman trust anything to be real and what does that say about our soul? Is our sense of identity determined by our memories? Ect. Ect. Basically its a film that isn't afraid of big ideas.
I've started with an attempt at a summation of the original film as it probably helps establish the gripes I have with this film. Visually its pretty good. Occasionally some effects work doesn't quite work as it should but overall it does a decent job of of visually representing the world of Ghost in the shell. In spite of accusations of white washing, Scarlett Johannsen is great as the major and does a great job of representing her disconnection from the world, Takeshi Kitano is awesome as section 9 chief Armaki and Pilou Asbæk is great as Batou. Sadly the film is scuppered more than a little by a script that pretty much scraps or sidelines the philosophy and the questions in favour of lifting the 'everything you know is a lie and the people you work for are evil' plot template that's been used in countless lazy writing hack jobs throughout the years. The people writing don't quite 'get' A.I. characters quite bluntly argue that its not capable of independent thinking or creativity which is BS, Developers are already working on AI that can compose songs. It probably explains why they dumped the A.I plot as I get the impression that the people writing didn't quite 'get' what was going on in the original film so stuck with a plot that is probably great for people who dont want to be saddled with any real thoughts. Also they remove any agency the character had and make her a victim because of course they did.
The original film has this scene...
Its a moment that does nothing to further the plot but is both crucial to the film and one of its best moments. Its a moment in time and place that cements the world of GITS in the viewer. Gives a sense of a living breathing world that mixes in old and new. The 2017 one drops it and has the song appear in the end credits. This tells you a lot about the filmmakers.
In fairness if your not a fanboy then its possible a solid 6/10 popcorn flick.
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