Ghost In The Shell

UK Release Date. 30 March 2017
Certification. 12A

Running Time. 1 hour 47 mins

Director. Rupert Sanders

Cast. Pilou Asbaek, Juliette Binoche, Peter Ferdinando, Scarlett Johansson, Takeshi Kitano.

Rating. 32%

Review.

Spawned from a series of Manga titles first published in the late 1980s, Rupert Sanders' 2017 Ghost In The Shell also draws inspiration from an anime version of the film released in 1995. Whilst the anime version garnered critical acclaim for its narrative, visuals and soundtrack, and was cited as a major source of inspiration for the Wachowskis (in the creation of The Matrix), the 2017 reboot doesn't fare quite as well.

The storyline is prosaic and although action sequences involving Major (Scarlett Johansson) are technically well-choreographed, they are all too rare. For an action film, there is a distinct lack of action, leaving an empty husk of a film with little energy or substance.

The film is undeniably visually impressive. The near-future metropolis is every bit as believable as Blade Runner's vision of dystopian Los Angeles, 2019. Undoubtedly source material for Rupert Sanders, as Ghost In The Shell features amongst the neon cityscape a holographic advertisement for the then bankrupt airline, Pan Am. A similar in-film advertisement for Pan-Am appeared in Blade Runner.

However, Ghost In The Shell is no Blade Runner.