GITS The Movie : My Review

My Rating

For this review we have to think of the story and its impact way back in 1995. Often Sci-fi Futuristic concepts don’t wether well the test of time. The jetsons prediction had us living in apartments at the skyline and driving flying cars almost ten years ago, A space odessy forsaw us traveling deep space by now. Surprisingly, Ghost in the Shell has a picture of the near future that meshes far more closely with what I expect will be reality. We probably won’t have fancy stealth camo and cyberized brains by the movie timeframe. What really fits well though is the general outlook on life in the future. Even with outrageous advances in science and technology commoners still live in slums. Law enforcement has gotten far more technologically savy to match criminal advancement, but through it all the common man has been left behind.

If you are reading this review to decide whether to watch Ghost in the Shell, chances are you are in the minority by now. The show has been around long enough that you should have watched it already. Its nothing short of a masterpiece. You’re only taking away from the enjoyment you will get from this film by waiting any longer. Eventually it will lose its futuristic feel altogether as the little touches that make it futuristic become commonplace in everyday life. I suspect that rather than deciding to see it for the first time, most readers are here to compare my thoughts with their own.

If embedded with a cybernetic implant, are you still human? An android? How much of your body can be replaced before you aren’t human anymore? Where does your spirit reside? If eventually your whole body was prosthetics and you still remain self aware, what prevents a machine from developing a ghost? Masamune Shirow’s Ghost in the Shell seems not to explain the answer. Instead it seeks to pose the questions in a manner that lets you visualize the concepts and make the decision for yourself.

The atmostphere of the film is glum, dashed with fast paced action at just the right points to hold interest. It is however decidedly short on comedy. For the less mature crowd overall entertainment value will be less fulfilling. Filled with the kind of “Makes you Think” story, It is targeted well to the more intellectual mind. There is the occasional bit of bare skin, along with some violence. It’s not done distastefully, but still probably not appropriate for children. When deciding whether someone else should view this film, I would be more concearned with whether they are mentally capable of understanding it than whether they are old enough. Anyone with enough of a mind to understand it would easily be ready to handle the more grown up scenes from Ghost in the Shell.

The story follows Section 9, an elite police force handling covert operations. The main characters, Major Motoko Kusanagi a cross between tomb raider and terminator, and Bateau Bato? spend most of the story in persuit of the Puppet Master, a notorious brain hacker. Awesome fight scenes between the Section 9 and ghost hacked pawns give rise to bursts of action. Immediatly follwing Kenji Kawai’s music lulls you back into an atmosphere of peacful insight. It all builds up and even after the movie it leaves you pondering.

I have to reccomend Ghost in the Shell as a buy. Its not in my top ten list, but as one of the founding masterpieces that really got anime out there, it is a must see. More than ten years after its release it could easily be found in bargain bins, ebay, ect. Chances are you can pick up this title for less than it would cost to rent. There are definately some viewers who simply won’t like the show. I can’t really fault them for not bieng up to snuff mentally though. The only reason I can see why somone wouldn’t enjoy Ghost in the Shell, is if they just didn’t understand it. That said, it is worth the few bucks to take a risk and pick it up.