Ghost in the Shell

I approach Ghost in the Shell relatively fresh, having been exposed to the franchise only via the 1995 animated cult classic. Where this affords me the chance to see its first live-action adaptation with eyes mostly uncontaminated by fan expectations, it also leaves me ignorant of respecting how well it handles carrying on the franchise’s legacy.

The movie introduces us to the near future where the line between humanity and machine is becoming increasingly blurry. Mankind’s obsession of enhancing themselves with cybernetic limbs and organs has led to the creation of a new kind of weapon: a synthetic robot body operated by a human brain.

That brain, which retains the individual’s soul (or “ghost”), belongs to Major Mira Killian (Scarlett Johannson), who leads an elite police squad pursuing a criminal hacker named Kuze (Michael Carmen Pitt). In pursuit of this mysterious figure, Major is led into a web of conspiracy that unravels her perceptions of her past.

This version of Ghost in the Shell is released into a world where the subject material upon which it is based has influenced many popular tropes of modern science fiction filmmaking. Because of this, it ironically comes off as a lesser copy of The Matrix or Avatar, films that are arguably only successful because of the influence of the ’95 animated film.

This is not to say that the film is not a visual treat. With only two feature-length films under his belt, director Rupert Sanders has already made a name for himself as an exquisite visualist. The world of Ghost in the Shell is riddled with beautiful neon colors and mind-bending gadgets which aid Major and her colleagues as they navigate the over-commercialized city in search of their quarry.

The action is competent but rarely mind-blowing, shining only when the set pieces are direct copies of the fights from the anime film. But the film often seems uninterested in producing mind-altering and cliched kung-fu sequences, a decision that would be incredibly admirable if the philosophy of the film weren’t so incredibly stale.

Naturally, the material is ripe for dissection on the nature of body and soul, gender identity, memories, communication networks, and the commodification of creation. Ghost in the Shell attempts to explore these themes, but never trusts its audience enough to go sufficiently deep into them to extract complex ideas.

Instead, a clunky script pits the squad against two lackluster villains with trivial objectives. In an uninspired “twist” ruined by the trailer, Kuze transforms from fugitive cyber-terrorist to uninspiring mentor who convinces Major that (gasp) the authoritarian government she works for lied to her. Our other villain is evil robotics company CEO Cutter (Peter Ferdinando), who (gasp) doesn’t care about the philosophical ramifications of Major’s existence, just the power and profit. Now where have we ever seen these types before?

While no performance shines, the cast does the best they can with a script that does not give them much to work with. Johansson, embroiled in the whitewashing casting controversy, imbues Major with much more life and humanity than the screenplay gives her. Sly facial gestures and soft spoken moments let the ghost out of the shell momentarily, though the climax is as cold and programmed as any assembly-line robot.

Also coming off decently sympathetic is Pilou Abaek as Major’s partner Batou, a caring yet tough cop whose relationship with Major is subtle yet palpable in one of the movie’s only successful utilizations of subtext. Yet few of the actors come off as uncaring or wooden, and I would argue they meet the minimum requirements of what the film needs them to do, especially since it is, above all else, a victory in production design rather than performance or philosophical content.

I would have preferred that Ghost in the Shell ask too much of me on a cerebral level. With such a beautiful aesthetic, it would be a film I would gladly have returned to a second time to decipher its moral and philosophical implications.

Yet it’s decision to play things safe makes sense from the marketing standpoint, as it stands to-date the best live-action adaptation of a Japanese anime film. It attains this status because there is not much quality to the competition.

Ghost in the Shell is not a bad film, it is merely an uninteresting one. It is easy enough to watch thanks to its embracing of a science fiction world replete with plenty of bright colors and cool gadgets. But it has little soul to occupy the beautiful shell immaculately constructed to display it.

2 and 1/2 stars.