Ghost in the Shell 2017: Lean & Mean Edition

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.

GITS : L&M
I was lucky enough to see this excellent edit because the editor kindly aided me.

I was not happy with the original film as a fan of the ..everything GITS.
The film missed all the right notes but I felt it had everything it needed to be a solid entry if it could find someone who could play music.

The friendly editor took all the issue I had with the source material and solved them as best they could with what they had.
The editing and as a result narrative was far tighter and accurate to the source material.
I found that if you liked the anime then you will probably like this edit.

Only at one point was I even aware it was an edit and in my memory this is the definitive version. #
If you did not like the junk they added about the Majors back story and all the other fluff then this is the edit for you.
Also I am not aware of any other edits so the fact that the edit we have is a good one is a big win for all!

If you hated the film the edit won't help you but if you wanted to love it but struggled then I would say this might help.

The edit was creative and functional and helped tell the story in a more cohesive and impactful manner.
The audio and visuals were excellent.

6 movie made into a 7.5
Editing 9/10

I was very impressed by this edit. The pacing was really good and it flowed very well. I enjoyed this far better than the theatrical cut. It felt more faithful to the source material than the original cut. The movie itself is gorgeous and I feel like less = more which was shown by your cut. The didn't hate the original cut, but I came away cold and it felt too dumbed down. I'm glad this was rectified with this cut.

As much as I enjoy the unfairly maligned 2017 film adaptation of the Ghost in the Shell manga, this leaner and tighter fan-edit outdoes it in my opinion. Every change made is 100% smart and justified, it really improves the pacing -- which is kind of amazing since the original cut is an already well-paced film -- and somehow even manages to better capture the spirit of the original source material. Really great stuff.