Ghost In The Shell

Reviewed by Norman Canseco
November 3, 2005

Director: Mamoru Oshii Genre: Sci-Fi Distributor: Manga Entertainment Available on: DVD, UMD MPAA: Unrated, 17+ Sountrack Available Review Rating: 7.5 out of 10

In a distant future the advance of computerization has created a world of cyberization and human integration with androids and cybernetic individuals. Wars have come and gone, resulting in countries becoming huge megacities ruled by representatives as well as corporate leaders. This is the setting of Manga Entertainments feature film based on a story from the Masamune Shirows cybernectic classic, Ghost in the Shell. Directed by Mamoru Oshii, this film follows the security team of Section 9, a task force created to take on all sorts of terrorist and net intrusions as well as cybernetics crimes and illegal hacks. There have been a rash of crimes such as political hostages and mind reprogrammings that all point to one such individual, the infamous 'Puppet Master. This character is a cyber terrorist who has manipulated stocks, engineered political uprisings, and other acts of hacking and mind wiping. Motoko Kusanagi, a section 9 operative, is the only one capable of stopping this individual. However she doesn't realize she's also his target.

This film is well balanced with plenty of action as well as an intelligent story. The world seems very distant, but much of the technology is explained allowing the viewer to adapt to the world in this film. There is some brief nudity as well as some strong language. The music is very obscure but fits the films mood perfectly. In addition, the visuals are breathtaking and the animation is very smooth. This is a great film for anyone's anime collection.

Ghost in the shell is a great movie, though I wouldn't recommend watching it constantly. Though some of the dialogue is very in-depth, it is also a little long-winded. There are a lot of questions about humanity as well as cyberization. This film makes us think about how far we are willing to go with assimilating humanity with technology. This film is available on DVD as well as PSP/UMD. The DVD contains both Dub and Sub formats, the UMD however does not contain the Japanese soundtrack (sorry fans).