Ghost In The Machine, Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbæk, Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, Michael Pitt, Chin Han, Danusia Samal, Lasarus Ratuere, Yutaka Izumihara, Tawanda Manyimo, Peter Ferdinando, Anamaria Marinca.

There are many moments that don’t live up to their hype, that sink below the horizon quicker than the sun in an Arctic winter and become more unpalatable than a road side dinner that has been recently squashed under the tyres of an articulated lorry. No matter how good they seem as a two minute tease, the truth is they soon lose their passion and the average person soon finds themselves bored, whilst the cinematic lover suddenly finds a reason to flick through the mental notes to never see the film again.

It is a shame when it happens but few films have offered so much this last few years and yet delivered so very little when it comes to the opening curtain as the advertising propaganda feel of Ghost In The Shell.

The problem stems from the lack of sustainability, yes the action looks good in parts, the cynical thought of slow motion capturing always though makes it feel awkward as if the people behind the scenes want the film to remembered for the skill of the computer rather than the ability of the cast to carry the memory of the film onwards; the sustainable then becomes ragged, the plot starts to fall out of favour and the direction of the film pointless.

The point of the film, the impact it could have made if the measure of the pace had been in the actor’s favour would have been a God-send, instead it was a film that peaked within minutes and then, even with the exceptional Scarlet Johansson’s involvement, passed away quicker than a Tamagotchi in the hands of an uninterested teenager who has found that vinyl and the lustre of love more appealing.

It is a worrying development in the cinema goer’s life when they find to their distress that they simply don’t care enough about any of the characters or the predicament they are facing; a failing that so few films have aimed at them but when they do they fall quicker and harder than is ever good for them.

Despite the efforts of those tasked with promoting Ghost In The Shell, the final offering is damp and insincere, flawed and one that that lessens the impact of cinema.

Ian D. Hall