Ghost in the Shell Movie Review

Ghost in the Shell [Kôkaku Kidôtai] (1995)

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Written by: Kazunori Ito (screenplay), Masamune Shirow (comic)
Directed by: Mamoru Oshii
Starring: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Ôtsuka
Rated: --
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Plot
A future with hackers, cyborgs, and extensive information networks. Motoko hunts a deadly hacker known as the Puppet Master.

Verdict
As well revered as this is, I was expecting a bit more. It poses some interesting questions, albeit through clunky dialog, but it doesn't provide any revelations about sentience. The animation looks incredible from the action to the backgrounds. It's a great sci-fi film, in part due to the discussions it generates.
Watch it.

Review
With Scarlett Johansson in the Americanized remake slated for 2017, what about the original movie that inevitably will be better? This film was widely praised and considered to be one of the best anime films. It inspired many filmmakers, including the Wachowskis when they created The Matrix (1999).
Watching movies from other cultures can be interesting. The first scene was action packed with an exploding head, and it included more animated nudity that I expected.

You can watch this dubbed in English or subtitled in English with the original spoken Japanese, but you should always watch a film in the original language. Dubs never do the dialog or delivery justice.

Motoko is a cyborg on a security team. This security team is after a hacker known as the Puppet Master who can hack into people's brains through their cybernetic implants. These implants are directly linked to the communication infrastructure. The hacker can then force them to commit crimes and implant memories. Hacking like this is not common.

Ghost in the Shell - How do you define sentient?

There is a lot of telling instead of showing, which is common introducing concepts like this. I like the thought put into this. The cyborg states she chose a human partner because two cyborgs would think and react the same way which could be a fatal flaw. This idea is revealed purely through exposition with her partner asking a question that's purely for the audience.

Motoko and her team get a lead on the Puppet Master, but it turns out the targets were pawns sent by the Puppet Master. One man had the memory of a wife, daughter, and divorce implanted in his head. He thought he was hacking his wife's implant in an effort to retain custody of his kid. The Puppet Master implanted those ideas. The man has no family, and those memories can not be removed. I love that nuance, but the movie nearly stops and tells us exactly what is going on and why it's important. It doesn't even try to work it in to the narrative.

The Puppet Master isn't a person, but an intelligence born of information from the communications infrastructure. This program was created for global monitoring, but became sentient. This intelligent form and Motoko muse that it's only our memories that make us individuals. The intelligence sought out Motoko, wanting a body. Motoko, who felt incomplete, meets an intelligence that wants to expand. At the end of the movie, they inhabit the same 'space.'

Ghost in the Shell offers intriguing concepts, but a lot of talking that slows the movie down. Instead of just starting the conversation about sentience, I wish it explored it more.