Reviewed by Jon Barton

On my recent viewing spree I finally made time to watch Ghost In The Shell. Redwampa and Spencer have in fact made a mini-masterpiece, the movie never fails to draw on, cleverly, not only the anime classic, but sets the standard for feature lengths, somehow managing to cram in intelligent comments on directorial skills.

This is a movie that feels like the guys sat down and planned every shot, fast paced and succeeding in often ignored skills: entertainment during the so-called well written conversation. Yet for all it's subtleties GITS never fails to stun during these assumed mediocre moments, drawing you in with every line.

The movie succeeds in a way that's too often hard to capture in 3dmm, Characterisation. The character of Lexen is genuinely a bastard among bad guys, presenting us with thought into what will make him actually visually vicious, reinforcing all the more Jaymond's fantastic drawling tones, which while watching made me feel like a real tit upon reflection of my own voice acting. Greg Strnad and Ramza also have to be congratulated, Ramza achieving some vividly moving moments through the entirety of his role, and Jay, pulling off an effective and troubled heroine.

The writing is constantly intelligent, there's no doubt in my mind that Red and Spencer knew exactly what they're doing. However, it's the little things that make the film such a visionary masterpiece; the crisp bubbles that appear on water, the tension created purely through editing and carefully structured music cues, the view through machine's eyes, camera movement as the chopper flies past, the cliffhanger of the General, and last but certainly not least, the inventive and entertaining spin on action, which is far from pointless placed next to Motoko's past for example.

True the film has some accidental but none-the-less ill-placed silence, and a few shots appear awkward or clumsy, but the movie stands the test of time in every respect. Ghost In The Shell will no doubt thrill us for a long time to come, and the movie deserves every bit of credit it receives. This is a classic in it's own right. Fast paced, moving, funny and intelligent, and consistently riveting within it's hour long runtime. Red and Spencer; I salute you.

10/10