--- title: "Ghost in the Shell: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/ghost-in-the-shell/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/ghost-in-the-shell" critics_score: 83 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Ghost in the Shell (1995): what the critics said Critics' score 83 from 9 reviews: 9 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews are uniformly positive, and the praise gathers around the same two things: the ideas and the look. Most critics treat Oshii’s film as a serious inquiry into identity, memory and what remains of a person inside a manufactured body, and several note how far ahead of its time its picture of a data-saturated world looks. The animation is singled out repeatedly, with the central city sequence named more than once as the point where the film’s brooding, melancholic mood comes into focus. The spread is narrow; the reservations are about density rather than quality. Time Out finds the characters closer to ciphers than people, and The Skinny notes clumsy exposition and a plot hard to follow at first. The Guardian goes furthest, calling it too opaque to invest in fully while saying it should be seen. Sight and Sound admits a first impression of dullness that a rewatch with subtitles corrects. Nobody dislikes it; a few find it cold. ## The AV Club — David Ehrlich Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 April 2014. The critic hails Oshii's film as a philosophical treatise and cybernetic noir that confidently explores identity and technology's inevitability rather than fearing it. It singles out the film's visual and thematic merging of organic and mechanical elements, particularly through the Major's repeated stripping scenes, as a striking illustration of human confusion in a digital age. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/humans-get-hacked-in-a-landmark-dystopian-anime-1798267894) ## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). Oshii’s film is described as a sci-fi masterpiece of profound and melancholic beauty that remains essential. It is praised for its prophetic vision of data-saturated worlds, balletic action and a standout central animated sequence, with a cold, brooding mood. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/11123482/Ghost-in-the-Shell-review-a-work-of-profound-and-melancholic-beauty.html) ## Total Film — Rob Power Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 2 June 2015. The critic revisits the 1995 anime as a sophisticated, adult-oriented classic that blends philosophical depth with visceral action and stunning visuals. They single out its prescient exploration of identity, consciousness and humanity in a cyberpunk world, along with its beautiful animation and immersive soundtrack. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/what-makes-ghost-shell-such-classic-anime/) ## Little White Lies — Greg Evans Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 18 March 2017. The piece praises Oshii’s film for its layered examination of identity, the ghost/shell divide and individuality in an artificial society. It singles out the central city sequence and philosophical dialogue with the Puppet Master for revealing new ideas on existence and change. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/ghost-in-the-shell-identity-crisis) ## Time Out — Tom Huddleston Rating 4/5. 22 September 2014. The critic praises the film's dizzying, ideas-heavy cyberpunk story and moments of visual poetry in its detailed dystopian cityscapes and cyberspace interfaces. They note that the dense plot and cipher-like characters are offset by its mind-expanding sci-fi strangeness. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ghost-in-the-shell) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 12 August 2020. The entry describes the 1995 film as a dense, Kubrickian political drama that improves on rewatch with subtitles, noting its intellectual detachment, visual poetry and influence while acknowledging an initial impression of dullness. It highlights the compact adaptation of the manga and its philosophical questions. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/lists/50-key-anime-films) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 25 September 2014. The critic finds the 1995 anime still commandingly bizarre and mysterious nearly 20 years on, with visual boldness that has aged better than many live-action films. It blends violent thriller, tech-porn and sci-fi epic but is noted as too opaque for full investment, though it should be seen. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/sep/25/ghost-in-the-shell-review-adult-manga-animation-fantasy) ## Den of Geek — Ryan Lambie Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 10 November 2016. The critic praises the 1995 film as an influential genre classic and one of the most intelligent sci-fi stories from Japan. They single out its sober, detached exploration of transhumanism, cybernetics, memory, and the melancholy disconnection that comes with a non-organic body. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/ghost-in-the-shell-why-it-s-still-disturbingly-relevant/) ## The Skinny — Stephen Carty Rating 4/5. 25 September 2014. The critic calls it one of the most influential sci-fi films of recent decades and praises its stylish action, arresting visuals, and thought-provoking questions about humanity. They note occasional clumsy exposition and a plot that can be hard to follow at first but say the positives, including its dream-like quality and striking animation, more than compensate. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/ghost-in-the-shell) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/ghost-in-the-shell.md