Plot: A live-action re-make of the 1995 Japanese anime. After becoming a cyborg policewoman, a wanted criminal attempts to tell her the truth on why she is now in a cybernetic body.

Before this movie was announced, most people associated Ghost In The Shell with being the biggest influence for The Matrix being made.

I had been wanting to see the 1995 animated original for some time, as I know how inspiring it has been. It was only until late last year where I spotted a re-release screening and decided to check it out on the big screen. I really enjoyed it and liked its ideas and execution of them. However, I think it's short duration made me feel that it did not make it a full-rounded story. It was more like a taste of what they could do in this world. I am aware there are several sequels. So I look forward to seeing them in the future.

As for now, it is obvious that this was going to be inferior to the animation. Nothing can match the ground-breaking ideas and visuals. However, it does keep the central ideas of the original. But it concentrates more on the action on the visuals. That is not necessarily a bad thing as it is gorgeous to look at. For me, a film making full use of its ideas makes a much better film then its action set-pieces.

That being said, I had a pretty good time watching. It's biggest strength are its visuals. They are just stunning. They really honored the visuals from the original really well in this. It managed to blend well the physical parts. So major props to the visual effects team that I can see getting an Oscar nomination at least. Seeing this world in live-action made me believe that a world like this will happen in real life. It was like watching a mix of the worlds of A.I. Artifical Intelligence, The Fifth Element and Blade Runner.
The action set-pieces are executed really well, and the levels of tension are mounted rather nicely in most of them. You would naturally think a re-make that re-create several scenes, would leave you with a hollow overview. They all felt highly enjoyable and entertaining.

Like pretty much all big blockbusters, I avoided any trailers. I checked both of them after seeing the film, and I really liked the feel of the first trailer. Especially the choice of song.

The performances were pretty solid in the end. Scarlett Johansson did a great job as Major, and continues to show how well she can hold a film as the lead. Also, she can still kick some serious ***.
I was surprised at how well Pilou Asbaek did as Batou. He looked the part and played it rather well.
Sadly, the main villain did not feel as threatening nor as interesting as I was expecting. Also, the performance by Michael Pitt was fine, but forgettable.
I would have liked more of Chin Han. Takeshi Kitano was pretty cool support. Juliette Binoche felt miscast. It did not seem the type of film for her. Like Pitt, Peter Ferdinando was another fairly forgettable villain. But at least, he managed to contribute more.

There is no real major weakness, except for parts of the writing. It is ok as a whole. A lot of it is exposition and simplified. But they seemed to brush over or rush some aspects. There was one sub-plot that I couldn't care much for. I get they were trying to do. But I just felt the execution was all wrong.
It wasn't a major weakness, as they do explore some of the main character which the 1995 original did not do as much.

If you can accept that this will never beat or even match the original, then I think you have a pretty good time. I certainly did.
It is a feast for the eyes, the production and costume design is top-rate, the action is very exciting and the general look of it reminded me of a few sci-fi's that I really like such as 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence', 'Blade Runner', 'I, Robot' and 'The Matrix' (obviously).
I almost forgot to mention the score by Clint Mansell and Lorne Balfe. It felt right for the world it is set in. It reminded of Daft Punk's score for Tron: Legacy. I will certainly be looking forward to listening to the soundtrack.

In terms of world-building, director Rupert Sanders and his team should be proud of what they've done. Like the original, it made me want to know more.
While most re-makes feel hollow and lacking in substance. This one retained a fair amount of it, and gave the film enough weight and meaning to have a good time with it. It's definitely not as fully realised as they don't go into near as enough depth. But it is definitely one of the better re-makes from Japanese source material.

It would be interesting to see, if we get more live-action re-makes of Japanese anime films.

Rating: 7/10