A flimsy copy of a copy, one that recreates some of the anime's set-pieces nearly shot for shot, but then pares away nearly everything else that made the original a classic.
Its frenetic whiz-bang technology favors style over substance - and the uproar over casting a Caucasian actress in an iconic Japanese story is understandable.
It gets bogged down in aesthetics that are stimulating only for the sake of stimulation, seemingly without a flicker of thought behind them. Shell indeed, but there's no ghost at home.
You're not going to have a bad time at the cinema, just don't expect to feel that those who created this beautiful work, want to flatter, beyond nostalgia, your intelligence. [Full review in Spanish]
It only works up much feeling when it is trying to defend itself against protests that might affect its bottom line. You won't be much moved by that either.
It's all visual panache with no true dramatic weight. Maybe there's a richer story occurring in the corners of the screen; perhaps the film plays better with the sound off.
It reduces the philosophical quest for understanding of what it means to be human to a very familiar trope: the search for a former identity. Essentially, the Major is now Jason Bourne - or, more precisely, Robocop, by way of Frankenstein's monster.
Sadly, as the plot proceeds, Sanders begins to duck ... bothersome concepts. He picks a more sentimental path, which leads Major, following the example of Jason Bourne, on a quest to discover who she truly is.
