*Directed by Mamoru Oshii
*Starring Mimi Woods, Richard Epcar, Christopher Joyce, William Frederic Knight, and Tom Wyner
The Plot: In a futuristic society inhabited by a large fraction of cyborgs, a being named the Puppet Master, who can easily manipulate the mainframes of other cyborgs, is under investigation by the police force Section 9 with the involvement of a cybernetic policewoman Major Motoko Kusanagi and her team.
Obviously, I intended to review the original film before the release of this weekend's remake starring Scarlett Johansson, which looks visually astounding. What perfect time to actually watch the original that I promised myself I'd watch someday then towards the release of this movie. Right off the bat I'll admit that I'm not the biggest anime buff but I've seen quite a few Hayao Miyazaki films that I ended up loving and this past summer I experienced the entire series of Cowboy Bebop, which is now another one of my all-time favorite shows, so, of course, I was open to exploring new anime shows and movies and Ghost in the Shell was no exception. I've heard chatter about this film and do know that it inspired one of my favorite films The Matrix and finally after seeing this movie for the very first time I must say that I was blown away.
If you really think about it there's not really any films out there quite like Ghost in the Shell and I mean that in the best way possible. We've had inspired films like The Matrix, which is amazing in its own right, but what it did to create such rich lore and an amazing futuristic aesthetic makes for a film that I think will stand test the time for all eternity. This was a movie that really throws a lot at you in regards to this futuristic society and the way these cybernetic characters function that could come off as overwhelming at first, but in the end amounts to being very intriguing lore. Keep in mind this film is very exposition heavy and requires a lot of attention and it's probably easy to judge it for being difficult to keep up with it at first. There are movies that can have too much exposition to the point where it makes the film drag and not a worthwhile viewing, but in the case of Ghost in the Shell that makes it more enticing from my perspective. Even though I wasn't able to retain every ounce of detail after I watched it there was enough there that I did latch on to and know I also missed the first time to make me want to go back and listen in on the details I missed.
It's like a character states a fact and then expands upon it more and more peeling back these layers that one who could probably understand in the moment, but wouldn't be able to remember since there was so much thrown at the viewers. I think it adds to the film because in my eyes the best kinds of movies are the ones where you pick up on new details upon multiple viewings and I think this very well applies to Ghost in the Shell. It's probably easy to say it didn't need to be so exposition heavy and have all this information thrown at you by these characters. I don't think there was any other way of working around this exposition being utilized as lines of dialogue or monologs. The takeaway for me is that it allows there to be new detail taken out of each future viewing. It makes the film endlessly rewatchable and I will admit some things did come off as confusing to me with what the film threw at me. However, what I do know is that it's not like every line dictated was throw away. Everything had a purpose to be said and it gave the film layers and opened up so much about this universe and even added conflict to this story.
It's confusing, but a good kind of confusing if that makes any sense. Films like The Matrix, Memento and Inception were all considered very confusing films by some, not all, viewers but in my eyes, there were so many layers and story elements present that it made these movies so endlessly rewatchable. There's no way someone could pick up on every single detail in Ghost in the Shell after a first time viewing. There's just so much in its story to make it an endlessly rewatchable film like countless others. I'm dying to see this movie again and I definitely will very soon.
Now with that aspect out of the way, another strong aspect that's very obvious is the film's gorgeous hand drawn animation. The designs of these characters and the many futuristic environments look so phenomenal and the use of lighting and color to complement these designs makes for such an incredible display. There's so much mind-blowing imagery in this movie that will make your jaw drop. I'm serious. The very look of this film is so unbelievably breathtaking on screen. So much talent was involved in the making of this film and it truly shows. Also, even though I said there are a lot of story elements thrown at the audience the narrative does feel cohesive in its own right and you're still entertained and can garner an understanding of all the events playing out on screen. The action scenes were also executed in such a spectacular fashion. To be honest I have to say that I absolutely loved this movie and have no doubt this will go down as one of my new favorite science fiction films of all time or maybe as one of my favorite films of all time. It will certainly become one of my many favorites and I can't wait to revisit this film again.
Verdict: A+
I'm very glad to have experienced that before the release of the new movie and if you couldn't tell by my high praise I highly encourage you to give this film your time of day. It might take you multiple viewings, but because there's so much to it, it makes the repeat viewings feel more welcome. Stay tuned this weekend for my review of the 2017 remake. I'm interested to see how that pans out. For more updates follow me on the social media links below:
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Thank you all for taking the time to read this review and be sure to see some movies and all that good stuff.
Take care. :-)
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