MovieChat Forums > Kôkaku Kidôtai (1996) Discussion > Vastly Overrated and Dissapointing

Vastly Overrated and Dissapointing

posted 13 years ago by sahandc3-1
24 replies | jump to latest

Was this more of a "good-for-its-time" movie? After hearing about how awesome it supposedly was, I picked it up. Some of my friends called it sort of a spiritual successor to Akira. Akira was and is not only my favorite anime film of all time but my favorite film of all time period. So naturally, I was very excited to see Ghost in the Shell. Slightly skeptical perhaps but I decided to go in 100% open minded and prepared for virtually anything. I finished the movie feeling underwhelmed and disappointed. It felt uninspired compared to other dystopian stories I've seen, many of which pre-date this film. The world it created didn't feel very compelling or creative to me especially stacked up against other similar stories. The characters also felt boring and monotone to me. The puppet master was robbed of all epic badassery when he was revealed to me nothing more than a computer program. The plot was also way to hard to follow. I thrive on complicated and sophisticated films but hell this one just jumps into things. It has a real short runtime that could have been extended to explain more. I like to think of myself as a fairly smart guy but it just got way to confusing way too fast. I actually had to rewind a few times and read the plot on wikipedia. This made it get a little boring and slow for me after a while. And for an 80 minute movie, that's saying something.

Not saying it was all bad. It is engaging in some ways and the animation is just marvelous. And who can forget awesome robot boobs? I've avoided calling it cliched because it feels unjust to say that to something that's apparently been so influential even 17 years after its release. Overall I felt really disappointed by this film and I really expected more. Hopefully the sequel can redeem it for me. This is all in my humble opinion. I would love to hear why everyone on IMdb seemed to love it so much despite criticisms such as the ones I pointed out. Good day to you all!

[–] HazelMurphy2021 13 years ago

Many of the main characters were cyborgs, which may explain why they might of felt flat.

I wouldn't compare this to Akira, as they are quite different, and this may of been why you were let down by it. Maybe watching it again without interrupting yourself may help immerse you into the story? The first few times I watched it I was confused by it, but I enjoy it more with each viewing.

I do agree it's fairly short, and could've been helped by having 30~40min more.

[–] ats02171 13 years ago

Personally I don't really like the Ghost in the Shell movie or Akira. I do like the GITS Manga and the show much better. But Akira and GITS is very different. The only reason why anyone would compare them is, they are both classics and they are both Anime. That's is it as far as I'm concerned.

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[–] jussi_m 13 years ago

I agree. Can't also understand why it's said to be on par with Akira. Akira is way way better. GitS is not interesting, horrible visuals, animation (at least compared to Akira) and too short for that complex story to explain itself.

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[–] smashsmack 11 years ago

I can understand not being able to get into the storyline, but saying the movie has horrible visuals and animation is just preposterous. I certainly hope you aren't basing the visuals by the 2.0 release, I tried watching that one and couldn't get past the intro, they needlessly updated/added CGI and faded out all of the colors, making the movie look very ugly.

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[–] zzyxx 13 years ago

i prefer standalone complex as it more closely resembles the manga. to fully appreciate the films you need to get some exposition from the manga, or at least the series. i can see how just jumping into the film would leave someone feeling 'disconnected' from the characters as there isn't much development in that area -- it just sort of assumes that you are already familiar with the characters so it's not surprising that it's a bit abrupt in its' presentation.

i understand where you're coming from though.

[–] [email protected] 9 years ago

Exactly this. I just watched this film (and plan on watching its sequel and Stand Alone Complex afterwards) and I felt a bit lost for a while, specifically in regards to who these characters are. I'm glad to know that the show helps out with that.

[–] VaticanAssassinWarlock 12 years ago

This has a similar look to Akira and covers similar themes (if I recall correctly, haven't seen Akira in a few years) but they are vastly different films and I think comparing them isn't going to be good for either. This is a more grounded film, much less cartoony than Akira, and less epic in scale (which isn't a bad thing). I also found it far more condensced, Akira (like a lot of anime) gives you glimpses of its world but never fully develops it and there's a lot that seems to be absent. This film is far more complete, you can watch it from start to finish without needing any additional information, which for me made it a much simpler film. It also feels more like a film, this could be filmed live action and look exactly the same (but less beautiful presumably), the characters don't defy physics or the very grounded in-world rules. I'd say this is perhaps a perfect example of a science fiction film (regardless of anime or not) where as Akira tended into more fantastical realms. Basically, I think Akira tries to turn every dial to 11, while GITS - for me - is a more focused, simpler film, which I felt told the story better.

[–] Tequillla 12 years ago

What did you find particularly confusing ? Its a short and straightforward story.

I dont think its a good for its time movie . I feel its the other way. A breathtaking story , and technically is (and always will be ) astounding.

Puppet Master isn't supposed to be "bad-ass" . He's the definition of Birth . An object that is trying to achieve Life. A sentient entity that wakes up. He isnt some malevolent villain , or anything. Just something that is stretching as far as he can to grasp the seed of life.

Our protagonist is a woman that feels robbed of all of her humanity.Under that carcass , she's very fragile and insecure. She also seeks understanding of what limits her existence . Is she just a formulation of her memories or does something else exist beyond it ?. If not , what differentiates a full cybernetic being with implanted memories and a human being.

[–] teddymcfluff 11 years ago

Our protagonist is a woman that feels robbed of all of her humanity.Under that carcass , she's very fragile and insecure. She also seeks understanding of what limits her existence . Is she just a formulation of her memories or does something else exist beyond it ?. If not , what differentiates a full cybernetic being with implanted memories and a human being.

That's all well and good in the movie, and is spelled out plainly - but the execution of the plot is quite vague and incoherent. The themes are great - but if you want them better executed in a movie I would suggest Dark City.

To me, Ghost In The Shell is good but not great. It seems that all the focus went to the Puppet Master's monologues of sentience, while the overall plot was hazy and unfocused on the periphery. That has to matter for me too.

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[–] leopoldfrank-1 11 years ago

Agreed. Also feel very underwhelmed. One of those movies that when it ends I immediately think to myself, "is that it?". Don't get the hype at all.

[–] tua07824 11 years ago

That's literally the first thing I thought: That's it?

I thought the animation was great and the story was interesting, but it's too abrupt. When it showed her on the top of the building, I thought "Alright! What's going to happen next?" Bang! Credits roll. It's not a fitting conclusion. It's good to leave the viewer wanting more, but this was the viewer deserving more. It's still good, but I'd really have to say it's overrated.

[–] yfguitarist 10 years ago

Yep. I'd been looking forward to this for years. I love Akira and Ninja Scroll but I kept nodding off during this. The characters were dull and the story was uneventful and confusing.

[–] dopedSZA 9 years ago

Just finished it and went straight to these boards to see if anyone else had the "that's it?" feeling upon finishing. I'm so happy I'm not crazy because everyone in the world seems to think this is the greatest anime film of all time.

I'll still check out Stand Alone Complex, because I remember seeing an episode as a kid on Toonami and remember liking it. But god, that was underwhelming as *beep*.

[–] skyblazeeterno 11 years ago

for me I felt underwhelmed - thats not to say its a bad movie

I think its because NOTHING is really fleshed out at all, the philosophical moments felt like an interuption, the tits and ass shots just a cheap ploy to appeal to teenage boys

Worth seeing for the fight sequence where the major is invisible and beats the guy in the water - its fast paced and interesting throughout