Ghost in the Shell 2017: Lean & Mean Edition

Ghost in Shell 2017... More like Blade Runner 2049 on steroids. The movie is not that bad actually. Obviously, it is miles away from the original anime movie.

It displays great visual appeal, but the narrative falls on its face compared to the source material or source materials... I think there is no saving the movie even with the magic hands of Fairfairy. But he did manage to make it enjoyable to watch.

The edit itself already deserves a 10 out of 10 with the iconic "shelling sequence' synchronized alongside Kenji Kawai's original soundtrack. I got goosebumps when I saw it. Great work on that.

Other than that, this edit is much more focused and enjoyable to watch than the original theatrical release. Sure, it might feel short for some, but remember the 1995 movie clocks at 88 mins. Which is even shorter than Fairfriend edit.

On a technical note, I did notice not any issues with the soundtrack and even if some cuts are hasty and it did not border me.

For GITS fans, I highly recommend watching this version rather than the theatrical release!

Wow, this was great. So much better than the original, much more focused. Until the final act, I was having a great time.
I think for me personally, the ending felt a little underwhelming, no fault of the editor. I enjoyed the more focused story, but it almost feels like a "one-shot" short story from a bigger universe.

But to the editors credit, I felt like the movie gave me credit as a viewer to follow along, and not spoonfeed me info like the original. It was really great editing in the details that got me so much more invested than I thought I would be, so I supposed it built me up too much for a somewhat simple ending.

Thanks for this edit Farfriend, it will definitely be my go-to version.

I pretty much enjoyed your altered edit of Ghost in the Shell (1. Anime 2. your edit 3.Hollywood movie). Always had trouble with the subplot of the mother, as you well stated it is going nowhere.
Didn´t notice 98% of your changes, really well made.

As stated by digmodification the audo/video sync at 16:58 catched my eye too. Also the connection between major and kuze seemed a little bit more hollow, maybe it would have been possible to keep one or two flashbacks.
I understood why you deleted the suicide of the prisoner, but i do not consent with this change. To me the original scene capped there perfectly.

But overall i enjoyed your edit more then the actual movie, so well done :)

I'm not a fan of the original source material or anime in general and originally only watched this as I was able to find a killer deal on the movie. This is my second outing with the film thus far. I purposefully did not return to my previous review of the movie or try to remember it before going in as to try and view this edit with the freshest of eyes and ears and narrative following as possible.

Audio/Video Quality:
The file looks great. Some dark areas have some artifacts which I'd have thought wouldn't be as prevalent with the file size, but they aren't overly distracting.
8.5/10

Visual Editing:
Great visual editing here. The only issue I saw was a single video/audio sync error.
9/10

Audio Editing:
Again, great audio editing here. For the most part I didn't hear any of the cuts you made. There is a lip/audio/video sync issue at 16:58 that I'm guessing was a line replacement. The audio works, but the video doesn't quite work with it. The only other cut that stood out to me was the end when Cutter dies. The music jumps unexpectedly, though it isn't overly jarring. Other than those, the audio work was pretty flawless. The new song during the credit scene was seamlessly integrated.
9/10

Narrative:
The narrative changes really focused the story. I think the only part that might have suffered was the relationship between Major and Kuze. Their bond doesn't seem as strong in this one due to some removal of flashbacks and information that was removed about Motoko. I kept returning to those scenes in my mind so I'm not sure if a first time viewer would understand the totality of their connection. Does this diminish the narrative, not at all. It's still compelling and a tighter focus on the Major makes their intimate connection less integral to the story. One interesting thing that occurred from the rearranging of the beginning was that the credits scene almost made this feel like a tv show by it's placement after the hotel raid. It also created a perhaps unintentional implication that the Major would get a brand new body each time she is hurt, though we see throughout that this is not the case. Because of this, my mind took it as a TV like intro. This didn't harm the narrative, but it did leave a small inconsistency in my mind. While I personally like some of the omitted narrative components, this edit worked pretty flawlessly. Great work!
9/10

Enjoyment:
A tighter focus worked great with this film. I barely noticed or missed any of the 15 minutes cut from the story. The rearranging of certain scenes was also fantastically integrated. It's always enjoyable to see how adjustments alter the outcomes and presentation of a story. With a few slight adjustments to the audio this would be a solid 9.5 for me.
8.5/10

Great work from a new up and coming editor :)

I recently became an anime fan, through my persistence of my nephew who is a DIE-HARD. And I'm excited to say that the Ghost in the Shell is the first franchise that has really sucked me in! I couldn't wait to see this version of the film. So needless to say, this story and world has a very special place in my cyber-enhanced heart. And I was very happy with my experience watching this edit.

The cutting was seamless. The audio levels were all balanced and video was crisp. I thoroughly enjoyed the pacing. It was very PUNCHY and didn't lag at all by trying to explain to much subplot. Straight-forward. Boom in your face! And I had a really fun time exploring the world on a grander stage.

Looking forward to seeing more projects from you in the future FairFriend.