Ghost in the Shell

"Coming nearly 30 years after the manga of the same name, Hollywood’s retelling of Ghost in the Shell draws liberally from 1995’s anime as well as plucking at the DNA of subsequent entries in the canon. Over the past decades, the ideas within - human/tech interfaces; the nature of consciousness - have been thoroughly mined elsewhere, most notably by The Matrix and, more recently, Ex Machina and TV's Westworld. In a sense, it’s fortunate that we’re not subjected to a retreading of familiar territory here, but in not offering anything new to ponder, 2017’s Ghost in the Shell only has surface-level entertainment to offer."

"Led by a resolute Scarlett Johansson, Rupert Sanders' pulse-quickening, formally stunning live-action take on the manga classic both honours and streamlines its source."

"Not the most original film you'll see this year, but Ghost in the Shell's visually stunning sci-fi world demands to be seen on the big screen."

"Johansson is always convincing as the robot Major ... Her acting style is just elusive or unreadable enough to make her plausible here."

"One of the most visually and sonically spectacular films I've seen and heard in a year or more."

"Even though there's an enormous amount to look at and digest, little of this film is truly memorable or thought-provoking."

"It's slick, enjoyably brutal and beautiful but, just like its protagonist, feels like it lost a little bit of soul somewhere along the way."

"No amount of whispered, meaningful monologue can hoodwink the viewer into believing that this movie is anything more than an shapely, empty vessel with delusions of existential sci-fi grandeur."

"A heavily computer-generated enterprise with more body than brains, more visuals than ideas, as if the original movie's hard drive had been wiped clean of all that was dark, poetic and mystifying."

"So heavily derivative it doesn't feel like anything new, and there's little depth beneath that slick surface. But it's solid and attractive, at least, with a retro appeal to its cyberpunk stylings."