Review: Ghost in the Shell

A disappointing live-action reboot of Mamori Oshii's 1995 Japanese anime opus, Ghost in the Shell offers unimpeachable visual razzle-dazzle but a narrative lacks the original's provocative blend of carnage and philosophy.

The film begins with the creation of Major (Scarlett Johansson), whose human brain was retrieved after surviving an accident that wiped out her family and then fused into a state-of-the-art body under the auspices of Hanka Robotics, the world's leading developer of augmentative technology. Touted as the first of her kind and the weaponised future of Hanka Robotics, Major is trained to become a counter-terrorism operative by the company's CEO despite the objections of her designer/mother figure Dr. Ouelet (Juliette Binoche).

Major and her partner Batou (Pilou Asbæk) are ordered by Section 9 security department's leader Aramaki (Takeshi Kitano, the most compelling actor in the cast despite being seated for most of his screen time) to track down Kuze (Michael Pitt), a hacker out to sabotage Hanka and its group of scientists. The film's first proper action sequence is eye-popping as Kuze deploys a robotic geisha to hack into one of Hanka's scientist's mind by connecting one of its tentacles into the base of his neck. Major, attired in a flesh-coloured bodysuit, literally crashes into the fray and shoots everyone in her way as the android geisha sprouts spider legs and scuttles to temporary safety before the action culminates in an carnival of broken glass and porcelain.

Indeed, such startling and striking visuals are the raison d'être of Ghost in the Shell. Kudos to cinematographer Jess Hall, the army of VFX specialists, production designer Jan Roelfs, and costume designers Kurt and Bart for crafting an eye-popping spectacle. Ghost in the Shell is nothing if not a shiny and glossy package, constantly distracting the eye with images emanating from giant LED screens, gigantic hologram projections, synthetically enhanced humans, cyberpunk and Hong Kong-inspired aesthetics, and all manner of visual eye candy. Even then, the visuals don't significantly deviate from the world Ridley Scott so memorably created 35 years ago in Blade Runner, still influencing after all this time. Unfortunately, the story itself is barely digestible though this version is far more accessible than its Japanese forebear. Its over-reliance on its visuals is not necessarily a bad thing, but the most impressive visuals in the world cannot disguise a film that is not only deprived of any engaging narrative but is simply and unforgivably boring.

Whitewashing controversy aside, Johansson's casting makes perfect sense considering particular brew of enigmatic blankness and straight-up badassery. However, she's treading familiar ground here after her more complex portrayals in Luc Besson's Lucy (in which Asbæk also appeared), Spike Jonze's Her, and Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin. The three films, individually and collectively, are far more superior examples of the very fine line between artificial intelligence and humanity.

Ghost in the Shell

Directed by: Rupert Sanders

Written by: Jamie Moss, William Wheeler, Ehren Kruger; based on the comic by Masamune Shirow

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Michael Pitt, Michael Wincott, Juliette Binoche, Pilou Asbæk, Rila Fukushima, Takeshi Kitano, Ran Wei, Chin Han