I have seen this movie mentioned time and time again over the years but never decided to watch it until last night. It is one of the most popular animated movies ever created, and it explores complex ideas about the type of events and problems that humanity could face in a future that appears to be a post-singularity one.
The story is set in a society where a lot of people have cybernetic improvements, the internet is connected directly to people's brains and there are a lot of advancements in the AI field. I would bet this movie inspired more recent shows like, for example, Altered Carbon. Matrix could also have been a little bit inspired by Ghost in the Shell although the differences between these 2 are much bigger.
In this futuristic world suddenly a new threat appears, an incredibly talented hacker that is messing with all sorts of stuff and catching him seems impossible. The movie is basically about the efforts to bring down this hacker and the true nature of this advanced mind.
There are some parts that were copied almost frame by frame in the 2017 movie of the same name with Scarlett Johansson, and it was nice to see the original animated scenes.
My favorite parts are without any doubt the philosophical conversations that are held regarding what is life and how can humanity be properly defined. It is a very thoughtful dialogue that can make people think about these concepts. Developing a broader understanding of the definition of what is a living being and how to differentiate it from a mere thing will be extremely important in the decades to come, as AI continues to become more and more intelligent and maybe one day even sentient.
Just the depth of these dialogues makes this movie a worthy experience, even though most scenes are simply action-based and not dialogue-driven. I really wonder how this story continues but I doubt the other animated movies can be a delightful experience like this one. If they are good ones I will certainly write about them.
The best
- Sophisticated concept, dialogues and ideas about a futurist society and its complex problems.
- It has interesting philosophical conversations.
The worst
- The animations looked dated but I am sure they were awesome in their time.
More information: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/9323-ghost-in-the-shell Review: AAA In numbers: 8/10