Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society

Not excellent, not mindblowing, but well done nonetheless. Some interesting points are made about the interconnection between the aging of the population and the exploitation of the youth by the ruling class, the action is interesting AAAAAAAND...Motoko finally is back to not being ashamed in the slightest of her body(ies?) (see the ending frame on that). It's also not required to watch the second gig so it's a plus, but I would recommend reading the GITS 1.5: human error processor before dwelling into this, or the first Stand Alone series.

The Netflix subtitles for this movie are so bad it's impossible to follow the plot. The SAC series English subtitles are also crimes against the English language... so why should one expect better quality for this translation?

After watching this at least 4 times I am struck at what a fast paced, tight and captivating story this is. The first half is filled with mystery, who is the puppeteer, why are so many officials killing themselves, why did as public servant arrange to have himself killed and why were children being kidnapped. The second half is full on action and when the major is once again working with section 9, it almost brings a tear to your eye. Not as good as the original movie or sequel, which were true classics, but it certainly can be placed in number three spot. This is a must watch for any fan of cyber punk and hot cyborgs.

I'm quite a big fan of Masamune Shirow, though I haven't seen much of his recent work. I was first exposed to his intelligent and mildly titillating style in 1994 with Dominion: Tank Police. What was great about that series was the comedy, aesthetic genius and hot chicks. Ghost in the Shell came out the following year and was incredible work. Though a bit complicated for the youngster I was at the time, there were at least loads of tits.

This latest and third movie is pretty damn slick. I haven't watched the Stand Alone Complex series', but the story was engaging and thought-provoking regardless.

I'm really interested in concepts of the cyborg, and visions of the future. I'm not convinced by the idea of downloading a personality into a computer, but most of Shirow's work makes interesting observations of the social problems which would accompany such a move.

The story in this installment is particularly interesting, and follows an attempt by a person or persons unknown to solve political and social problems by manipulating cyber-brains through the global network. Far too complex to waste time explaining, it makes for a great 100 minutes.

The animation is superb, on the most part. The characters and backdrops are awesome, yet occasionally suffer from blatant CGI-ness. Smooth and beautiful it may be, but like the second Appleseed film, it just doesn't look right. Animation is not live action or CGI or any combination of the two, and a degree of difference is what makes each media interesting and fluent. For me, that aspect of this feature was whack, and distracting. Also, CSI-style shaky-cam in anime?? Rubbish.

The music is very good, though not quite as good as the first film, and there is a diabolical song in the first 10 minutes that made my arsehole close-over. Otherwise, the awesome Yoko Kanno (Macross Plus) goes beyond mood-music and achieves an awesome synthesis.

There's a reasonable helping of Shirow sexiness, though not enough. Needs more greased up babes. His trademark cool style in mecha and costume design remains strong, without succumbing to Matrix-style pansy over-styling. The film could have done with more comic relief, however. Shirow is a very funny guy, and this series of films has never really allowed that to find a place. Shame.

The direction is good, though makes obvious what an influence Mamoru Oshii's (Patlabor, Jin-Roh) personal style had on the direction and attitude of the films. That's no bad thing, as he is one of the all-time great directors. It would, however, have been nice to have seen some more impressive personal touches from Kenji Kamiyama.

Essentially very good, though perhaps too engorged with the intellect of the last two films, and trying just that little bit too hard to be cool.

Section 9 is again following leads to solve a case involving brain hacking, a mysterious Puppeteer who seems to be able to push people to kill themselves or do things they do not want, terrorism and so on and so on. Major Kusanagi is not part of the team, though, as she left Section 9 to find her identity.

As with the other Ghost in the Shell films and series, Solid State Society is about the dissolution of the human soul, as well as the multitude of states in which it can coalesce. It is thought provoking, to say the least. The animation is great, too. The story has a few holes in it, which chipped a little at the perfection of everything else, but still good.

Bottom line: if you are a sci-fi fan, an anime fan, a Ghost in the Shell fan or a fan of intellectually challenging movies that are also accessible and not obtuse, and especially if you are all of the above, you need to see this movie.