Rupert Sanders
Ghost in the Shell

"Everything that science can allow will be realized, even if it profoundly changes what we today consider as human, or desirable."

Michel Houellebecq

I'm not trying to boast, but in these cases, I approach a film without any prejudices, and I always know what I'm getting into. I was awaiting this Hollywood live-action version of Ghost in the Shell with the awareness that I would appreciate it for what it is. Because in the case of a film like this, expectations are everything, as well as the awareness of having to let go of any comparison with the original works, whether it's Masamune Shirow's manga or the films of the great Mamoru Oshii.

And my expectations were those of a pure blockbuster, which couldn’t possibly, even if it wanted to, reach the heights of intimacy and complexity of the Japanese works; it's clear from the outset, almost from the moment it begins, how the visual component, extremely spectacular and action-packed, is overwhelming. And perhaps that's how it should be.

However, beware, it's not that seeing a dystopian world like this on the screen, even though it's not original (it goes without saying when you think of all the 80s cyberpunk and post-Blade Runner science fiction), doesn't always evoke something unsettling in me. Even in an entertainment context, seeing humanity without identity, where the nature of whom you're facing is wholly indistinguishable, where "cyber enhancement" is the norm rather than experimentation, reminds me of the aforementioned Houellebecq quote (which specifically referred to cloning), and makes me think that the visions, sometimes paranoid, of Dick were not slightly more than just visions (this has partly been recognized already). Especially in an age where artificial intelligence is more and more reality.

But leaving aside speculations, just seeing my personal myth Beat Takeshi Kitano in the role of Aramaki, often stealing the scene with his charisma even from Scarlett herself (whose presence alone is enough to captivate the screen regardless of the type of film she's in), speaking in subtitled Japanese (many years since I first saw him pretend to shoot himself in the head in Sonatine, or wishing Merry Christmas in English to Lawrence/Tom Conti) is worth the ticket price and has evoked a personal emotion in me.

Ultimately, it results, in any case, in an ode to humanity even in the age of robots, certainly predictable, and criticisms and denunciations are/is abundant and will likely continue to be, but personally, I leave the cinema without regrets and basically satisfied with a decent spectacle, which lasted, moreover, only 106’ minutes which did their dirty job. Then of course, if and when I want commitment, I look for something else. But I believe that disengagement is sometimes underestimated.