Film Review - Ghost in the Shell (12)

We cling to our memories as if they define us, but they don't. What we do is what defines us.

I'm no aficionado of manga comic books, but I do like a good dystopian vision of the future (even if it all looks worryingly possible). Ghost in the Shell, whatever else it does, presents a fascinating twisted future-scape that never lets up on stunning visual detail.

The film is a live-action version of a 1995 Japanese animation, which in turn is based on a series of manga comics. In short this Ghost is a franchise phenomenon, beloved by manga buffs worldwide, so that the new movie bears the weight of huge fan expectations. Even prior to release it had ruffled feathers due to accusations of 'white-washing', main Oriental characters having been replaced by Caucasian actors (including Scarlett Johannsen in the lead role). Ironically a move to broaden the film's appeal internationally may now be harming its performance at the box-office, as disgruntled fans stay away.

That aside - what's it about, and is it much good?

The story has an intriguing science-fiction set-up, depicting a future where cyborgs (part human, part robot) are close to the norm. Johannsen plays Major Motoko Kusanagi, a woman so physically maimed in what she's told was a terrorist attack, that her brain has been transplanted within a purely synthetic body. Her consciousness is, therefore, the 'ghost in the shell' of the film's title. Now she works as a supremely able and cyber-enhanced counter-terrorism operative, working on behalf of a cybernetics corporation. We join her in the thick of operations, striving to hunt down a terrorist who can successfully hack the human mind, and shortly before she makes a shattering discovery regarding her own true identity.

Scarlet's visual appeal aside, I entered the screening with no great enthusiasm. This was, after all, a CGI-heavy action-fest in a world of which I had no prior knowledge. Plus it was Friday and sleep was threatening. Scarjo and co took their time to claim my full interest, but it got me in the end.

Aesthetically the film is a thing of beauty from start to finish. Futuristic Hong Kong (and the long-time HK resident with whom I watched the movie assured me it was an imaginative future vision of the city he loves) has been given the Blade Runner treatment, crowding every frame with giant holographic advertisements and advanced transport networks - a thrumming neon cityscape. The tech is all realised to perfection and the action sequences are similarly seamless, taking Matrix-influenced effects and pushing them into sequences of stylised wonder. One way or another, you're never short of stuff to look at.

My initial problem was how much I cared about any of the high-octane shenanigans going on. Characterisation happens on the hoof and Johannsen's 'Major' is cold and elusive - like her Avengers Black Widow character, only with even more emotion cyber-engineered out of her. Her driving physicality in the role is striking, as is her 'mission-look' - a synthetic form of strangely asexual nudity, like David Bowie in The Man Who Fell To Earth. It's only later on when she is confronted by her past and starts to betray emotion that the story lands any real emotional hooks. The connections she has with fellow operative Batou and the scientist who constructed her cyborg self (the always excellent Juliette Binoche) were touching. By the end I was genuinely engaged.

Ghost in the Shell comes dogged with controversy and its style triumphs somewhat over the substance. That style, however, is undeniably impressive, and there's enough philosophical weight to make the whole enterprise worthwhile. If last week's Life doesn't make it into my DVD science fiction section, this one will.