The Ghost was in that Shell - SPOILERS

Rating: 9/10 (6 October 2017)

If you've been wondering what happened the Ghost of the live action adaptation of 1995 anime Ghost in the Shell, you can stop looking. Apparently, he decided to occupy this carapace instead.
If you were a fan of the 1995 anime and were disappointed by the 2017 film you might find some solace here, if not you probably have no idea what I'm on about. I didn't feel like Blade Runner 2049 delved into the fundamental questions of what makes us human, what does it mean to be alive, "does this unit have a soul?" nearly as deep as 1995 Ghost in the Shell did but the ideas are there.
Okay, I'm done talking about another film. I loved Blade Runner 2049. I have seen the original Blader Runner twice but not in the last 12 years at best. Thus, my recollection of that story is more than hazy. That also means that I didn't really appreciate it as a follow up to a previous work but as a story on its own and my expectations were not that high, I just wanted to have a good time.
The film felt beautiful to me, in many aspects. I loved the score, the visuals and the characters towards whom I felt really invested in (for the main ones at least). Ryan Gosling is excellent but the lack of expression of his character does take a bit of value away in my opinion. There's one particular scene when he realises that his false memories are actually his own true memories (or so he thinks) that felt quite powerful to me, a brief but intense moment. I would have enjoyed to see more intensity, rage or anger from this character. Any display of strong emotions would have been fine but in that case, I think that more fury/passion would have made this character even more relatable and impactful, to me at least. Now, the performance that really got me came from an actress I didn't know before, Sylvia Hoeks playing Luv. What a performance, she steals the show as far as I'm concerned and it was thrilling to watch her character unfold. I loved Harrison's Ford performance and what Jared Leto brings to his archetypal but great rendition of a man that basically believes himself to be a God. I was also impressed by Dave Bautista's acting, even if he only makes a small appearance, and all the other actors were on point.
Before going to the theatre, I was genuinely concerned that 2h45 was going to be too long. I remember seeing 1H30 flicks that felt too long so imagine my surprise when I realised the film was about to end after what felt like 1H45. This is quite a feat considering the fact that most of the film unfolds leisurely, is full of lengthy slow scenes and not a whole lot of action.
Another thing that's noteworthy is that to me, it felt like the story addresses a lot of questions but in a more subtle way than I'm typically used to. Meaning it does not slap you in the face with its ideas and questioning but rather suggest a lot of things, leaving you free to make you own opinions or even to pick up on them. I'm pretty sure that I'll pick up on things I missed when I watch it a second time.
Nevertheless, part of the story lacks coherence as well as plausibility. For coherence, I don't remember the original film much, but you're never really explained how Replicants work, what makes the new generation obedient, how does it all work, what are the rules embedded in a replicant, how and why can he bypass them, how does it all work really. How does society accepts that a humanoid sensitive being should be considered a slave/property? I'm gonna stop there but I feel like there's a lot of information that's just missing about this world they're living in or questions I kept asking myself in vain because the story doesn't deal with them at all. I'm aware that it would have needed a lot more time to do so but the lack of information bring about of lack of coherence in my eyes. Then, about plausibility, here's what disturbed me. Luv is able to infiltrate a police station, steal evidence, kill a forensic, kill a chief inspector with apparently no consequences or any investigation following up on that. I get that the pregnancy of a replicant is taboo, that they want to keep it secret and I get that considering her "owner", Luv should indeed have significant resources that would allow her to steal evidence and assassinate a high ranking officer. Problem is, the way it's handled in the film makes it look like she can just walk in wherever she wants, kill whomever she wants, that there is almost virtually no system in place to prevent it and that once it's done, life just continues as if nothing happened. It's a mistake in my opinion but it didn't take much away from my experience.
I also felt like the way the film ended left many, many things hanging: the revolution to come, Wallas's fate, the Colonies and Blade Runner vast Universe in general but it turns out that though the director is opened to the idea of a follow up, it's not something he has thought about at all... I don't really get it but hey, that's just how it is.
To sum it up, stunning visuals, captivating atmosphere, great acting, strong emotional impact, few but intense and significant action sequences: a great cinematographic experience for me.
Final verdict: 9,3/10. This rating isn't an attempt to evaluate the actual objective value of the film but merely reflects my own enjoyment of the work.