Firstly, let's get the metaphorical elephant out of the room by saying Scarlett Johansson did OK playing the Major. Next, the guy who played Batou did a better job.
In some aspects, a decent live-action re-enactment of all the iconic scenes from the 90s anime. The effects guys, the camera and lights guys, set creators, make-up artists, costume makers and this Sanders fellow got the looks, feel and mood of the original GITS environments of the manga and anime series absolutely spot on. It's eye candy for fans who've wondered how GITS can be visually represented in a live-action film. That's all there is to have; everything else is just utter rubbish.
This film is not worthy of the title, Ghost in the Shell, because apart from the visuals, there is no semblance of it to the source material that one can consider it generous to call this "a generic cyborg action film inspired by GITS". If we are to just listen to the dialogue, and all the character names are changed and Section 9 is called something else, we wouldn't have a clue that this film is adapted from GITS. The essence that makes GITS what it is in all its different incarnations (various manga and anime) is missing and we are left with bits of shallow musings about what it means to be human in a robotic body.
So all in, if you're unfamiliar with the source material, it'll be a mildly interesting plod through a pretty but rather boringly paced sci-fi. Fans of GITS would probably wonder why bother to make a live-action adaptation if you're not going to put the spirit of the source material into the movie.
In some aspects, a decent live-action re-enactment of all the iconic scenes from the 90s anime. The effects guys, the camera and lights guys, set creators, make-up artists, costume makers and this Sanders fellow got the looks, feel and mood of the original GITS environments of the manga and anime series absolutely spot on. It's eye candy for fans who've wondered how GITS can be visually represented in a live-action film. That's all there is to have; everything else is just utter rubbish.
This film is not worthy of the title, Ghost in the Shell, because apart from the visuals, there is no semblance of it to the source material that one can consider it generous to call this "a generic cyborg action film inspired by GITS". If we are to just listen to the dialogue, and all the character names are changed and Section 9 is called something else, we wouldn't have a clue that this film is adapted from GITS. The essence that makes GITS what it is in all its different incarnations (various manga and anime) is missing and we are left with bits of shallow musings about what it means to be human in a robotic body.
So all in, if you're unfamiliar with the source material, it'll be a mildly interesting plod through a pretty but rather boringly paced sci-fi. Fans of GITS would probably wonder why bother to make a live-action adaptation if you're not going to put the spirit of the source material into the movie.