Ghost in the Shell 2017: Lean & Mean Edition

tldr:
* should I watch this edit? If you like cyberpunk aesthetics and action then yes you should.
* is it better than the original cut? Yes it is.

First of all it's important to make a brief statement about the original Ghost in the Shell (2017) movie. It's visually mesmerizing but completely devoid of substance. A shell without a ghost. It's full of cringe moments, most characters are flat as a board, there is virtually no exploration of the philosophical questions the original movie explored.
Second, I find it difficult to completely detach myself from the flaws and failures of the original movie while reviewing this one. So it may be that my review of FairFriend's work ends up being unfair.

I actually rewatched the original movie only a few days before watching this one. And the only scene I end up noticing as missing was the one where Motoko visits her mother. That says a lot about the barnacles the original movie had and that were rightly shaved off.
Improvements that I've noticed:
+ fixing the soundtrack for the opening scene by using the one from the original anime. Yes! That got me excited!
+ removing almost all of the cringe moments

Missed opportunities - things that should have been done to improve this cut but were not:
- dropping the cyber mech liver scene. It's cringy as hell.
- fix the soundtrack of the driving and action scenes. For a Lean and Mean edition this was a seriously missed opportunity here.

Subjective improvements - things that could have been done differently; debatable if it would improve things or not:
- I love Depeche Mode but using that as the credits track was a really bad choice IMO
- like walkerw said in his review, a more ambiguous ending in regards to the last scene of Kuze
- on the final scene, as Motoko is narrating, include a few seconds of Motoko meeting her mom in the cemetery, thus showing a more human side of her and closure


About my ratings:
* The audio rating has nothing to do with quality. It has to do with the missed opportunity for a proper soundtrack.
* The enjoyment score reflects that. As I noticed some of the scenes feeling dull for not having the right soundtrack to them. And if you're going for an action based cut you need to have them to fuel the action.


edit: updated my rating of the audio editing since it's related to quality of editing and not related to preference/enjoyment of the choice of music

go to way to watch this movie

Definitely does what it was set to do - bring it to feel closer in spirit to the much adored animated film and remove on the nose lines and filler plot points.
Though I still have gripes with some bits in the movie itself, I loved every editing decision in the Lean & Mean Edition.

As others have said, this definitely improves on the original and takes it about as far as it can go with the available footage. Makes it downright watchable!

Well. Good job. I saw this movie only once, in the cinema. I love the anime, and I liked the movie, but I didn't remember much. But this. I will remember this! It was really good. Cutting out some her "name", and some bullshit moment, made The Major a much more responsible, relaxed, and more professional. Her charachter ark was really different here. Without her mother moment, made Dr. Ouelet a more significant mother model, and The Major as a more beloved protagonist. When she was at "her" Tomb, it was like: "She was me. But i'm not that person anymore, and I accept that. I am 'The Major' ". It's a really powerful moment. So yeah. I really like this cut.
Oh one more thing. The best cutting was from the pool scene to the prison scene. Its REALLY good. I really liked that.
I will watch it again, when I have time.
Once again. Good Job!