Ghost in the Shell (2017)

They did not save your life. They stole it.

In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: A human saved from a terrible crash, who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world’s most dangerous criminals.

The first time I read about Ghost in the Shell was probably in a videogames magazine around 2004. It was an article about the 1995 animated movie. I read it with curiosity and made a mental note to watch in the future. That never happened. With time the thought was erased from my memory. A few years ago it was announced that they were planning on making a live-action adaptation. Once again, I got interested in reading or watching the series, but among so many other movies, I didn’t find the time to do it. That’s why when I went to see Rupert Sanders’ Ghost in the Shell I had no expectations, I wasn’t a fan of the source material, I just hoped to see a good movie. And that’s what I experienced.

What I liked the most about Ghost in the Shell was that it deals with several things that have occupied my thoughts in the past. Philosophical problems like the soul (ghost), the nature of consciousness, what it means to be human, the impact of technology on society, artificial intelligence, privacy, liberty, memory, post-humanism, and so on. The source material probably approaches these topics in more depth, but I was thankful that this movie gave me the opportunity to ponder about them.

The movie is visually impressive. More than a couple of shots made me smile and marvel. It is a spectacular universe to witness.

Gallery

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Trailers

Details

Duration: 1h46

Release Date: March 29th 2017

A film by Rupert Sanders

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Beat Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, Michael Pitt, Pilou Asbæk, and Kaori Momoi.

Synopsis: In the near future, The Major (Scarlett Johansson) is one of a kind: a human saved from a terrible accident, her body with cybernetic capabilities allows her to fight against the most dangerous criminals. Faced with a threat of a new kind that can hack and control minds, Major is the only one that can fight it. As she prepares to face this new enemy, she discovers that she has been lied to: her life has not been saved, it has been stolen. Nothing will stop her from understanding her past, finding those responsible and preventing them from starting over with others.