Ghost in the Shell
I LOVE this. The last time I watched it I had roommates, so I ended up having to pause a few times. I watched the dub, which unfortunately sounded really stiff and pretty corny to me. I still thought the movie was amazing (it made my 100 favorite movies list on here), but the shitty dub pulled me out of it sometimes. This time was completely different — I bought the movie and watched it in the original sub, and it was a much better experience.
The hand-painted animation is absolutely GORGEOUS. The shot of Major Kusanagi’s body floating in the water toward the sunset… wow. I just love how this film takes its time and fully immerses you in its world. Too often I’ll watch something that feels like it’s trying to do too much, but Ghost in the Shell thrives in its slow, meditative montages. These sequences let you soak in the world’s details while also capturing Major Kusanagi’s sense of isolation, giving you an insight into her mind.
I also really appreciated the film’s commentary on AI. I love some of the questions it poses: If an artificial entity can think, feel curiosity, and make choices, does it deserve the same recognition as biological life? If a person is defined by their memories, does an AI become sentient the moment it begins to form its own? By depicting humans with cybernetic enhancements and machines with human-like awareness, the film implies that the boundary between the two is arbitrary. There are just so many different interpretations you can take from this film because Oshii leaves it intentionally ambiguous and heavily uses symbolism.
At no point did I feel like the film was force-feeding me philosophy— everything feels naturally woven into the plot. Its ambiguity is one of its greatest strengths, striking a balance between entertainment and weighty ideas. The soundtrack is one of my favorites, too. It is perfect at capturing a futuristic world. Overall, this is such a cool film that has everything you could want — great action (the thermo-optic camouflage in the fight scenes was sick), stunning visuals, and tons of interesting ideas. That being said, I’m worried about the live-action. Pretty sure that I’m gonna hate it, but I’ll give it a fair shot.