In the future, people are getting more and more integrated with robotics. A human brain is transplanted into a cyborg body of a woman, Mira Killian, who is told by Hanka Robotics that her family was killed by cyberterrorists and that only her brain survived the deadly attack. Since Killian doesn't remember anything, she is thus assigned as a police agent who will work with Batou and Togusa under Chief Daisuke of a secret department. Killian stops a murder spree of Hanka Robotics officials by a robotic geisha, who was under control of an Internet entity Kuze. It later hacks and takes control of two sanitation workers in a truck and orders them to kill Hanka's Dr. Ouelet, but this is also stopped by Killian. She finds Kuze, who tells her that he is a rejected cyborg prototype, and is thus taking revenge against Hanka. Killian leaves the department. In a duel where Hanka's Cutter attacks with a robot tank, Kuze and Cutter are killed. Killian returns to work for the department.
A live-action remake of the eponymous '95 anime, Rupert Sanders' "Ghost in the Shell" is solid, but lifeless. While the cinematography and production designs are excellent, these technical aspects cannot compensate for the rather "grey" drama with little emotion or psychological examination, since all the characters are too stiff and pale to truly invest the viewers, though these problems also plagued the original 1st film. One interesting feature about this edition is that is explains the heroine's origins in a more clear way, beginning with the scene of her brain being transplanted into a cyborg body, and also depicting how she is unaware of her previous memories, until she starts exploring and finds her mother. While these and similar issues about human vs. artificial consciousness and memory were already explored in "Blade Runner" and "RoboCop" (not to mention the philosophical original anime), they still manage to raise a few interesting points. Some sequences were directed almost frame by frame compared to the anime, such as the fight with the sanitation worker on water or the battle with the robot-tank where the heroine uses all her power to open its motor, thereby breaking her own muscles in the process. Scarlett Johansson is good in the leading role, as well as Juliette Binoche as Dr. Ouelet, her "mentor" and secret ally, though all other characters are unmemorable, including Major's sidekick Batou. While not an improvement compared to its source material, this film at least seizes the attention with its audacious attempt to make a live-action version of an anime.
Grade:+
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