Ghost in the Shell
Year: 1995
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Starring: Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Otsuka & Atsuko Takanka
Runtime: 82 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 03/11/21
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Starring: Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Otsuka & Atsuko Takanka
Runtime: 82 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 03/11/21
If you were to ask most anime or sci-fi geeks what they thought of the 1995 Ghost in the Shell film, I’m sure you’d be met with a rousing response as to how incredible the film is in every conceivable way, and any opinion other than that is wrong because they’ve clearly missed the point of it all. If you ask me however, my response will change like the weather, as despite being a massive sci-fi nerd and Ghost in the Shell being right up my street (and being a precursor to most of my favourite sci-fi stories) I can never make my mind up on what I actually think about it. So, here’s my review from my latest viewing circa August 2021 as I’m sure I’ll end up changing this review at some point.
The year is 2029 and advances in cybernetic enhancements have become so great that there are almost no people left who are one hundred percent human. Almost the entire population of the planet has opted into having some part of their body cybernetically enhanced, as such humanity has once again evolved into something greater than it was before.
As a result of such widespread cybernetics, crime has become almost entirely digital, with one of the most frequent and dangerous crimes being hacking into people’s minds and altering their memories. One such prolific cyber-criminal is the infamous Puppet Master (Iemasa Kayumi). Government agent Major Kusanagi (Atsuko Tanaka) is tasked with hunting down the Puppet Master and uncovering their true identity.
The year is 2029 and advances in cybernetic enhancements have become so great that there are almost no people left who are one hundred percent human. Almost the entire population of the planet has opted into having some part of their body cybernetically enhanced, as such humanity has once again evolved into something greater than it was before.
As a result of such widespread cybernetics, crime has become almost entirely digital, with one of the most frequent and dangerous crimes being hacking into people’s minds and altering their memories. One such prolific cyber-criminal is the infamous Puppet Master (Iemasa Kayumi). Government agent Major Kusanagi (Atsuko Tanaka) is tasked with hunting down the Puppet Master and uncovering their true identity.
There’s not really much else I can say about Ghost in the Shell because that’s really all the story is. The Major and her partners Batou (Atio Otsuka), and Togusa (Koichi Yamadera) follow a series of leads to track down the Puppet Master. That’s the whole plot and there’s not really much more to it, at least in terms of what happens. The real appeal of Ghost in the Shell’s narrative is in the way it dissects what it really means to be a human being, and how much of our flesh and bone can you strip away before we lose that humanity. The Major is just a human brain inside a totally cybernetic body, and she grapples with the concept of her own existence and whether what’s left is anything like the person she used to be.
It also begs the question of could digital information collate to create life in the same way that biological organisms do in nature; and if so, how would this new life be classified, could it be considered life at all as it only exists inside a digital domain?
These deep philosophical questions are the real meat of Ghost in the Shell, and for a film that was made in the mid-nineties it’s considerably ahead of its time in the way it portrayed technology and the way people use it to improve their quality of life, often at their own risk.
But…and this is a big but; the film doesn’t actually get round to this philosophical stuff much until the end of the film, and just as it starts to get the brain cells working it’s all over. Ghost in the Shell is far better at planting the seed of curiosity and wonder about such high concept theories than it is in actually following those theories through with conclusions. I guess this is to leave the viewer with a totally open mind, not swayed in any particular direction, but as a result it feels like far too little too late.
Ghost in the Shell is also hampered by some of the densest and complex dialogue I’ve ever come across in science fiction, and it all happens so fast. There’s so much being said, and a lot of it is for more complicated than it has any need to be, meaning that it’s extremely easy to get lost. If you’re not paying attention all the time, and not taking in every single word of dialogue, you’ll miss crucial information pertaining to the plot and what’s actually happening. For a film with such a straightforward plot, it does its utmost to make it convoluted for the sake of wanting to appear more intelligent.
It also begs the question of could digital information collate to create life in the same way that biological organisms do in nature; and if so, how would this new life be classified, could it be considered life at all as it only exists inside a digital domain?
These deep philosophical questions are the real meat of Ghost in the Shell, and for a film that was made in the mid-nineties it’s considerably ahead of its time in the way it portrayed technology and the way people use it to improve their quality of life, often at their own risk.
But…and this is a big but; the film doesn’t actually get round to this philosophical stuff much until the end of the film, and just as it starts to get the brain cells working it’s all over. Ghost in the Shell is far better at planting the seed of curiosity and wonder about such high concept theories than it is in actually following those theories through with conclusions. I guess this is to leave the viewer with a totally open mind, not swayed in any particular direction, but as a result it feels like far too little too late.
Ghost in the Shell is also hampered by some of the densest and complex dialogue I’ve ever come across in science fiction, and it all happens so fast. There’s so much being said, and a lot of it is for more complicated than it has any need to be, meaning that it’s extremely easy to get lost. If you’re not paying attention all the time, and not taking in every single word of dialogue, you’ll miss crucial information pertaining to the plot and what’s actually happening. For a film with such a straightforward plot, it does its utmost to make it convoluted for the sake of wanting to appear more intelligent.
The film also has no quarrel’s with totally wasting time, despite being less than an hour and a half in length. It’s a strange conundrum because the reason the dialogue is so fast and difficult to keep up with is because it’s trying to squeeze so much in to such a short time frame, but Ghost in the Shell takes any opportunity it can to just waste precious minutes that could have been used on making the story more accessible on just showing you cool looking stuff.
Now don’t get me wrong, Ghost in the Shell is a gorgeous looking film and the particular sequences I speak of here are among the most visually striking in all of animated cinema…but when these moments happen so frequently and are dragged out for as long as they are it’s impossible not to question why this time was not instead put to use in explaining the story better.
I’m on the fence about Ghost in the Shell. I would be wrong to say that there are moments of it that are among the greatest in animated film history, and the philosophical elements of the story are again among the greatest questions asked in science fiction. But this greatness is severely hampered by the poorly delivered and often nonsensical plot that’s far too complicated for what it really is, and the extremely short runtime.
Is Ghost in the Shell the greatest anime of all time? It could be, but I feel like I’d need to squint pretty hard to ignore the rough edges and overcome the disappointment I always get after watching it.
Now don’t get me wrong, Ghost in the Shell is a gorgeous looking film and the particular sequences I speak of here are among the most visually striking in all of animated cinema…but when these moments happen so frequently and are dragged out for as long as they are it’s impossible not to question why this time was not instead put to use in explaining the story better.
I’m on the fence about Ghost in the Shell. I would be wrong to say that there are moments of it that are among the greatest in animated film history, and the philosophical elements of the story are again among the greatest questions asked in science fiction. But this greatness is severely hampered by the poorly delivered and often nonsensical plot that’s far too complicated for what it really is, and the extremely short runtime.
Is Ghost in the Shell the greatest anime of all time? It could be, but I feel like I’d need to squint pretty hard to ignore the rough edges and overcome the disappointment I always get after watching it.