Synopsis
In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: a human saved from a terrible crash, then cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals.
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Cast
- Scarlett JohanssonMajor Mira Killian / Motoko Kusanagi
- Takeshi KitanoChief Daisuke Aramaki
- Michael PittKuze / Hideo
- Pilou AsbækBatou
- Chin HanTogusa
- Juliette BinocheDr. Ouélet
- Peter FerdinandoCutter
- Rila FukushimaRed Robed Geisha
- Daniel HenshallSkinny Man
- Yutaka IzumiharaSaito
Recommendations
- 80
Variety
Spectacularly honoring the spirit and aesthetic of Mamoru Oshii’s beloved animated adaptations without resorting wholly to slavish cosplay, this is smart, hard-lacquered entertainment that may just trump the original films for galloping storytelling momentum and sheer, coruscating visual excitement — even if a measure of their eerie, melancholic spirit hasn’t quite carried over to the immaculate new carapace. - 80
The Telegraph
There are moments which directly recreate Oshii’s best scenes, with real sets and actors performing a balletic kind of stunt-karaoke. But the story is far more graspable – more streamlined – and the gracenotes, action-free, tend to be the highlights. - 67
IndieWire
Whatever philosophical nuggets were lurking amid Oshii’s tangled plotting, they surely merited closer consideration by a filmmaker who wasn’t just trading in gloss, and doesn’t merely regard human beings as elements of design. - 60
TheWrap
Ghost in the Shall is a technical knockout, a here-and-now valentine to what design wizardry Hollywood can pull off in 2017. At the same time, it does so in service of a tired tale full of repurposed visual tricks, storytelling clichés and big-studio concessions. - 60
Empire
There is a frustrating absence of personality which means, for all her physical presence, this Major’s just not very engaging. It’s more a problem with the film than Johansson herself. A case, if you will, of it being so preoccupied with the shell, it forgot to bring enough ghost. - 60
The Guardian
It’s a spectacular movie, watchable in its way, but one which – quite apart from the “whitewashing” debate – sacrifices that aspect from the original which over 20 years has won it its hardcore of fans: the opaque cult mystery, which this film is determined to solve and to develop into a resolution, closed yet franchisable. - 60
Total Film
It’s the most staggeringly detailed and impressively realised sci-fi location since James Cameron welcomed audiences to Pandora, and one of the few recent blockbusters to benefit from the 3D treatment. - 60
New York Daily News
While it offers some new ideas, the movie also suffers from the same pacing problems of the original.
