As a fan who has seen the original 95 Anime film, and the first two seasons of the series, I have to say I was pretty surprised...in a good way. When I fist heard that they were going to do a live action Ghost years ago I was very excited. But than I remembered that Hollywood never sticks to the source very closely, which is understandable. This is basically what I expected, a watered down version of the original. In some ways thats a good thing, the original was very very heavy with philosophical themes. With themes that most people would find boring with a main character that was very hard to connect to. They picked themes and story lines to cannibalize and made something new that seemed familiar to fans.

The directing was ok, but the visuals, thats where it shines. Not surprising since Rupert Sanders is basically known for his visuals and his 'meh' directing. My wife had to ask me a few times what was real and what wasnt. The way they incorporated so much of Hong Kong/Wellington, New Zealand and transformed it into a futurescape is pretty amazing. The script was your basic generic evil corporation does wrong. Which is pretty sad considering the crazy amount of material they had. I mean if the sequel happens they should definitely dedicate more time to it.

The acting was ok, this isnt a meaty drama or anything like that so the actors did the best they could with what they had to work with. Scarlett Johansson does what she does best, look good and act with little emotions, which is a good thing for this role. I was very worried about how she would pull the Major off since like I said, she is very hard to connect to. Her line to her mother at the end saying 'you dont have to come here anymore' was fantastic and touching. Gave her some more human connection. On a side note, her walk in the film is really good. It looks like she is a walking robot still not comfortable in her new body type of walk. I enjoyed that little touch. As for the 'controversy' my wife asked 'why didnt they hire an Asian to play the Major?' I asked her to name a famous relevant Asian actress working today in Hollywood...she couldnt come up with one. I think they handled the race subject pretty well in the film. I would have liked to have seen more scenes with her mother. And honestly, even if she was an Asian it wouldnt have affected the story in anyway.

Takeshi Kitano was awesome, as always. Such a badass in any film. Really glad they got him for Aramaki. Course I would have liked to have seen more interaction from him with Section 9, but Ill take what I can get! Michael Pitt as Kuze did great as the vengeful ghost from the past so to speak. It seems like he showed up, did what he had to and went home. Nothing really special there. Juliette Binoche as Dr. Ouelet seemed to really give it her all. She played the worried mother figure very well and also the scientist with a heart. But I was very surprised by Pilou Asbaek. He did a fantastic job as Batou, wish they gave him more to work with besides just him feeding dogs, including basset hounds...for the fans. Speaking of the fans, be ready to spot plenty of familiar aspects from the Anime. I would have really liked to have seen more of Section 9, I feel like they missed a golden opportunity to show everyone together over a drink or something. They needed to be brought to the foreground more. Cutter , the bad guy was defiantly an after thought unfortunately. Basically no development there. Oh and did I mention Spider Tanks!? You can see some at the Hanka headquarters and of course the big fight at the end. Maybe a few Tachikomas in the future. At the very end of the film, they show what a real Ghost In The Shell film could be as they set up for a sequel. They have so much material to work with.

The editing/pacing was fantastic. It didnt really seem to drag in any parts, even if the third act was a bit slower than the first two. The score was also fantastic, Clint Mansell did a great job and of course that ending theme...chills. All in all I was very happy with it. Wish they made it abit longer a full 2:30hr movie would have been better and added more substance. If you are a fan, the best advice I can give you is go in with an open mind and expect a different kind of Ghost. With an opening of only 20 million I dont think it has connected with general audiences at all. Not to mention pissing of the SJW snowflakes with the casting. And also alienating some fans as well. I can see it doing much better internationally. Same thing happened to Lucy. I have a feeling this might be because of the PG13 rating. Recent films like Lucy, Deadpool, John Wick and it's sequel and Logan, have proven there are more than enough moviegoers ready for a hardcore R action film. Its going to be interesting to see how Atomic Blonde, a hard-R actioner staring by Charlize Theron is going to do compared to this. Over all an enjoyable scifi/cyber punk film. A solid 7/10 for me.