Ghost In The Shell (1995)

Ghost in the Shell released in 1995 is a Japanese Anime cyber-punk movie. This film is often hailed as one of the greatest anime movies of all time by many critics and fans. The film's plot is about Motoko Kusanagi (a cyborg) who is public security agent, who is assigned to hunt a mysterious hacker known only as the Puppet Master. The film follows her and her elite team as they work to uncover the identity of the Puppet Master, and the plot gets a bit existential and deep as the team gets closer to the real truth behind the Puppet Master. This film explores some interesting themes of gender, as well as themes as to what it is to be human, and is actually a pretty deep story, when one looks beneath the flashy action, and really digs into the movies themes both blatant and suggested. Definitely a bit more than one might expect from a typical anime film (which in itself is sad because anime tends to be much deeper and more thought provoking than many people give it credit for). This is definitely a film targeted to adults, with a lot of nudity and violence, but the the film is also done tastefully, and the nudity is more than mere fan service, as it helps to further the themes of gender, and blur the lines between genders, as the cyborg characters like Kusanagi are described as being sexless, though she might appear as a beautiful woman. I find that interesting and really advanced for its time. I would like to read the original manga sometime to see how those themes are explored in it. One of the things that the critics really comment on is the beautiful look of the movie, which is done through a combination of cell-shading and CGI effects, which come together to create absolutely beautiful visuals. This film definitely pushes the boundaries of animation, and never comes off as cheesy as many others do. The animation is smooth and beautiful, as well as dark and gritty, which perfectly helps to create the tone of the film. I watched the movie (this time through) with English dubs, and the English voice actors were really well cast for their roles, they are human sounding without the lifelessness that sometimes comes along with dubbed voice acting. The original Japanese voices are definitely superior, but I didn't want to have to focus on subtitles when working to write a review, because I wanted to really take in the visuals. This film is definitely a huge feat in animation, and what is possible, and is one of the films that helped to really popularize Anime with American audiences. This film was also a huge influence on the Wichowskis as in some ways Ghost In The Shell influenced some of the themes and ideas explored in their Matrix films, as well as filmmaker James Cameron. Ghost in the Shell, along with films like Akira, Vampire Hunter D, and Ninja Scroll in the '90s really helped to bring Anime to the more adult audiences in the United States, showing that anime was more than kids shows like Drangon Ball, Sailor Moon, Speed Racer, or Pokemon (though all of those are solid works in their own right). I know I as a young adult, watched Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter D, and Ghost In The Shell in one night, and they were the first real anime movies that I had ever seen, and my view of what Anime and animation was was totally revolutionized. Anime movies, like their American counter parts (filmmakers like Ralph Bakshi, and the creators of behind Heavy Metal), were showing that animation was not just children's cartoons but a legitimate medium for film making. This is important, because animated movies are often stereotyped as Disney made for kids movies, but the truth is that animated movies can also be the perfect medium for adult themed films as well. Would I recommend this film? Yes, absolutely, Ghost In The Shell is a must see film, and should be on the list of everyone's must see films in their life. This is one of the best made animated films of all times for many reasons, as I've talked about, this film also has made a huge impact on pop-culture. This is a film that even though technology has continued to advance, still seems relevant, and still stands strong. This film looks as good now as the day came out, and unlike many films of the time, the effects have not lost their edge. This is one of the best marriages of cell-shading and CGI that can be seen, and that still holds true after over 20 years. Definitely an amazing film, and I can not recommend it enough, even if sci-fi/action is not you cup 'o tea, this is still a film that should be viewed and appreciated for what it is, what it did, and the deep impact that it has made on not only the film world, but on our culture in general.