Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Feeling like a thirty-minute pilot stretched nearly to its breaking point with an eighty-two-minute runtime, Ghost in the Shell is, I'm hesitant to say, overrated.

Yes, its visuals, notably weapon designs and backdrops, have their moments of cyberpunk beauty that many sci-fi media since have pulled inspiration from. Yes, its action sequences are well-directed with shots that are, for lack of a better term, pretty cool. However, between these handful of minutes that work very well is a listless film that thinks its more interesting than it actually is.

The only thematically interesting element in this film isn't fully explored here, but has been explored to great lengths in sci-fi media both before and after this film's release without being part of a villain's manifesto. Major's internal conflict, on the other hand, is difficult to pull meaning from as her struggle of the idea that her memories might be fake has no effect on her life. As Batou states, she's treated as a human, so what does it matter?

I feel this story could easily become more meaningful and interesting if Major was treated as a weapon despite perceiving herself as a human with her memories. The film's symbolism of what counts as a soul and what makes us human would become more relevant instead of sticking out as pretentious sore thumbs, not to mention making its feminist themes much stronger and, well, actually thematic.

Ghost in the Shell seems to operate as a convergence of the sci-fi genre. It clearly pulls inspiration from key works prior, and everything since pulls inspiration from it in turn. Unfortunately, I can't in good faith say this is worth anyone's time due to an extremely thin, low-stakes story that doesn't even reveal its most interesting concept until the final scene.

I've heard the sequel is much better, so I will still give it a shot eventually, but I'm unfortunately granting Ghost in the Shell the It's Not That Deep, Bro™ award.

1.5/5