Ghost in the Shell 2.0

Honestly, just watch the original.

This "2.0" movie is legit just the same movie, with some cgi scenes sprinkled in. It just comes across off, and a waste of my 5AUD to rent this movie on Prime.

Most of the movie is just the original, with different sound samples and original voices. The random bits of cgi I found quite off putting. If you can't find the original, then watch this simply for the storyline. Since this movie is pretty much the same, you'll have that in this movie, and the story line is awesome.

This movie will constantly switch between original artwork and cgi in some chapters, so if that is going to annoy you, then you should skip this movie and pretend it doesn't exist.

The wonderful story is intact, but why does this exist? The original is just slightly better in that it doesn't have random bad CG. There's nothing special to make this version stand out.

There is not much to say. 2.0 is an unnecessary, invasive and generally destructive "remaster" which violates the tone, breaks the immersion and adds strange 3D scenes, attempting to unite the original with the sequel in style, all the while their stylistic differences were so important to highlight the advancement of the story.

Avoid this and watch the original 1995 Ghost in the Shell.

First up, I want to make it clear that my rating goes to "Ghost in the Shell 2.0" and not the original film. The rating has nothing to do with the original storyline or old animation blablabla but only this new version, which is completely unnecessary in every imaginable way. The classic animation utilised in the original film looked amazing, and removing some of these classic masterpiece animations and intercutting them with new CGI stuff looks and feels, well, wrong.

It's not BAD CGI, but unnecessary, and jarring when intercut with the older (and in my opinion superior) style.

Don't watch "Ghost in the Shell 2.0". Buy the original version and enjoy that one instead.

As many have noted in their comments, the new CGI in this remastered version of the original Ghost in the Shell movie do more harm to the film than good. I mean, they are nice and all, but they don't add anything to the story and they contract strongly with the original animation.

This being said, the movie is almost the same, so just as great. As a subject it is one of the masterpieces of modern sci-fi. One of my favourite films, GitS spawned two films and a series just as great, all adding more to the initial exploration of the human soul in the face of ever more complex and intrusive technology.

I believe its beauty stands in the many levels that the film can be perceived at. If you are looking for flashy technology, police procedure and explosions, you have them all. If you are looking for dark political intrigue, there is plenty of it. If you are going for more philosophical aspects, like the source of the self, the true spring of identity and consciousness, that is at the very heart of the story. It's a win win situation. I can hardly wait for the film that is to be filmed in 2011. I just hope they don't turn it into some mellow brainless thing, like so many movies nowadays.

Bottom line: I've seen the original a long time ago, so I can hardly comment on the differences. My advice to you is to watch either of them, because it is totally worth it.