Starring Scarlett Johansson, Takeshi Kitano, Pilou Asbaek, Michael Pitt, Juliette Binoche

Directed by Rupert Sanders

Paramount Pictures, out March 30

In the future, technology has evolved to be able to enhance humanity on a mental as well as physical level. Against this backdrop, the hacking of people’s minds is a case for Section 9 and their best asset – the Major. But as the Major delves deeper in the hunt for a mysterious terrorist known only as Kuze, questions about her own past, and who exactly she is, begin to emerge.

This is one of the more difficult films I have ever had to review. Having seen the original anime, I was readily able to identify the shots and sequences that the two iterations share (of which there are many) but like the Major herself next to a human, though the two look very similar, underneath, the differences are stark.

To get the first thing out of the way – this is a gorgeously shot film. Sanders, as a former advertiser, has a good eye for aesthetics, and the visuals on display here are rich and vibrant. The city of Newport strongly echoes Scott’s 2019 Los Angeles of Blade Runner, all giant three dimensional adverts soaked in neon blazing across rain-slashed cityscapes. It nicely evinces the atmosphere of the original, while enriching and enhancing the palette. At a ground level, the city feels lived-in and real. The contrast between the splendour of the skyline, the sterile functionality of the Hanka Robotics labs and the filth-ridden streets through which the ordinary citizens trudge lending a real sense of verisimilitude to proceedings.

Unfortunately, for at least the first forty minutes or so, this masterful visual direction is somewhat let down by the storytelling, or rather the lack of it. Scenes jump, one to another, with no real connective tissue. Action sequences happen, and then we jump to another scene with no real explanation. Hints are made towards certain relationships between characters which the audience is just asked to accept with no real justification. This is especially apparent in the relationship between the Major and her comrade, Batou – it’s clear that they’re close, and that Batou is the person the Major trusts more than anyone else, but we never get any idea as to why. The attachment is (thankfully) not a romantic one, but there’s no real backstory provided to flesh out what it is either.

But in that first 40 minutes, we do see a great deal of the same (and by that I mean almost identical) sequences we saw in the anime original. Indeed, one could conceivably sit there with a tick list of these sequences, and it almost feels like that’s what the director has done. The issue is, because the story here differs significantly from the source material, those sequences feel disjointed.

The strange thing is, when the film settles into expanding on its own story proper, about halfway through, it transcends what it’s been doing up to that point, going from a me-too action film aping its predecessor to a genuinely engaging story-driven piece of sci-fi. As the Major begins to probe into her own past, who she was and what brought her to this point, the story blooms. There’s moments of genuine emotion, real human engagement and deep philosophy about the nature of humanity and its relationship to the machine. Where the original was focused on the evolution of AI, the nature of consciousness, and where the Major would go, here we are instead looking at where she came from, and how much of her humanity she can or has retained, and what her place in the world is. It’s not a lesser story as some critics feared, just a different one, and one that works well.

That’s not to say that the movie ever quite escapes the urge to mimic the visuals of its parent – as we approach the climactic finale, we get another set of love letters in the form of familiar action sequences, but by then they’re being properly shaped to fit around the established new narrative (and effectively so) such that they flow together properly in a way that the first half of the film simply does not. The ending, when it comes, is not only in sharp contrast to the 1995 anime, but also perhaps a little surprising – things have changed, but perhaps not in the way one might expect.

It’s a film then, of striking contrasts – part clunky dialogue and exposition between disjointed scenes of action, part smooth-flowing, beautifully shot sci-fi. As I pondered on this in the hours following my viewing, I couldn’t help but wonder if this might have been a deliberate directorial choice. Certainly, as the story progresses, it becomes clearer and more coherent, which ties in with the Major discovering more about the truth of who she is and what was done to her – it could be argued that we are accompanying the protagonist closely on that journey. I don’t know for sure, but it seems otherwise strange to have a film so sharply divided between such a disjointed, shaky start, and such an assured and confident second and third act.

As a final thought, I saw this in 3D IMAX, and I will say that for me the usual issues persisted. Slight shadowing around the edges of the picture, and a visible loss of clarity whenever the action got fast and frantic. I fully intend to go and re-watch in 2D, and anyone who isn’t persuaded of the virtues of the 3D format won’t find anything here to change their minds in my opinion. With a film showing this much visual splendour, I want to be able to drink in every detail, and 3D doesn’t allow for that – yet.

Verdict: A movie with a genuine split personality – part incoherent collection of action sequences, part bravura storytelling. The quality of the second half of the movie and the beauty of the effects and sequences lift this from pretty-but-brainless action movie to genuinely gripping slice of sci-fi. Fans of the original will likely get more out of it, but there’s plenty here for the new viewer too. 8/10

Greg D. Smith