Absolutely Fantastic

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

I feel bad for not loving this movie. Don't get me wrong, it was definitely a good movie for me, but I just thought that the other entries were better. I was complaining about how the last movie was a bit hard to follow, but I think this film had the opposite problem. I think it was too clear and it took away a lot of the mystery. Of course, the animation is completely flawless as you would expect from this series. It's great to see a movie series that's been consistently good. I was disappointed that Motoko didn't appear more. Of course, Batou is still pretty entertaining on its own.It's just that this film was lacking the action of the previous two films. I also wish that there was more philosophical dialogue. Still, they certainly had great voice work and good talking. If you're a fan of "Ghost In The Shell", you really should see this. The colors are just so gorgeous in this movie. We even get some pretty tender moments involving little kids. I guess if you want to make us care you have to have the lives of a children at stake. It certainly worked here. It was still pretty creative. ***

I don't know if this was intended to be the third season / Gig in the Stand Alone Complex series. I say this as it could very well have been stretched out into the twenty-six episodes the series runs. However, the one and three-quarter hour film manages to get the point across admirably, while still getting the audience to think of what may be ahead for the human population.Togusa is now in charge of Section 9 after Major Kusanagi retired two years previous. While on a mission, he and his team stumble upon a lead to an Ultra-Wizard Class Hacker the "Puppet Master". This, in turn, leads them to other conundrums and secrets, including the children that are going missing in the city which nobody knows about. Not only do Section 9 have to investigate and solve these mysteries but they also have to resolve issues within the team, due to the major's retirement.Even with the complexities of the story and all the twists and turns within it, the screenwriters Shotaro Suga, Yoshiki Sakurai, and Kenji Kamiyama (who also directed) do a great job to tie it all together in a comprehensible and intelligent way.For me, this is the best of the three story lines in the Stand Alone Complex series as it holds some viewpoints that are relative today. We already have puppet masters in today's society and our elderly population is living longer, it's not too far of a stretch to imagine the film's visions becoming future truth, should we start to wonder down the techno-path. People are already talking about populace explosion... These are issues to fire up the brain cells.The animation is on par with the series, which is to say, of a high caliber, though still not up to the beauty of the 1995 original, and this can be said for the direction and soundtrack also.You do not need to watch the Stand Alone Complex series to enjoy this film as it is a stand alone in its own right. I would recommend that you at least watch the original Ghost In The Shell before checking this out, though it's not necessary. You do need to set time aside to watch the movie, any interruptions may affect your overall enjoyment and understanding of the story. It's also a film NOT to watch with people who don't get the concepts of Cyber Punk Science Fiction...

My first impression was that there was a huge budget cut on this one. The animation is far below the classics we are used to. It is nowhere near movies like, Ghost in the shell, Ninja scroll, Akira etc.It is all talk. And thanks to the budget, its just images with mouths moving. The plot is dull and outdone.I sat through 1/3 of this movie.I'll recommend those i remember that you should see rather than this: The three i listed above, Patlabor, Cyber city odeo, a lot of studio Ghibli's movies, Battle angel Anita & Appleseed.

There's two kind of anime(Japanese animation):one kind shows clichés of the genre and the other kind is used as an economic way for telling very variate stories which could exist with real actors but that it would be very expensive to make as normal movies.In the first category,I would put almost all of the teen anime with melodramatic stories,girls using the school uniform,tragic heroes,giant robots,surrealistic humor and magic creatures.In the second category,I would put more serious movies made to adults where the narrative has a complexity and emotional impact that we will never find in Pokemon or Digimon.As examples,I can mention Cowboy Bebop,all the movies made by director Satoshi Kon(for example,Perfect Blue or Millennium Actress) and the cyber-punk movies of Ghost in the Shell.Ghost in the Shell,based on the manga(comic) written by Masamune Shirow,has been adapted to TV and to the cinema.The films are Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2:Innocence.That films do not have much to do with the original manga because director Mamoru Oshii took the futuristic stories and concepts to explore philosophic and fascinating topics.Oshii put to them impressing images and spectacular action scenes but his emphasis is always in the ideas.As a parallel version of the same stories,the TV series Ghost in the Shell:Stand Alone Complex is more like the manga,making a balance between philosophic topics,politic mystery and futuristic action.Ghost in the Shell:Solid State Society is like a sequel of that TV series.Ghost in the Shell:Solid State Society is an exciting,intelligent,complex and very interesting film.This movie is a real masterpiece.Director Kenji Kamiyama tells an excellent story in this movie.The animation is perfect.Solid State Society is a very intelligent entertainment,which makes us think at the same time it totally entertains us.This masterpiece is a pleasure to any lover of the cinema.