I liked the movie adaptation. That said, if you have seen the various iterations of Ghost in the Shell, they don't seem tied to any common theme other than the basic one of whether or not a person's ghost (soul,id) can remain intact in a body that is heavily changed with cybernetics. The live action movie held that theme as well.

It was definitely dumbed down thematically though, especially from 1st/2nd GiG. While they were pretty pretentious (e.g. 'second order simulacra'), at least they were full of things to think about. The whole 'give consent' theme was as far as I can tell introduced in the adaptation and immensely cringe inducing.

What also irritated me is how they created a weird mish mash of the seperate Ghost in the Shell stories for no good reason. Why did they have to combine the 2nd GiG antagonist with the original movie's key plot scenes? It was just strange and unnecessary.

I don't at all mind the westernisation / white lead. Felt that controversy was nonsense. It's a Hollywood adaptation, why even bother remaking it if you're not going to have a new take on it or adapt it to be more familiar to local (American / English) audiences?

Same thing with the Netflix Death Note adapation. No idea if it will actually be any good but couldn't care less that they moved the location to the US and made the lead characters white. There are already multiple Japanese live action Death Note movies with Japanese leads. What's the point in another?

Hollywood big-budget productions have lost all sense of artistry (with few exceptions). The directors all seem to think that audiences are inherently impatient twitch machines and if they hold on a shot for more than two seconds or give us a chance to breathe we'll get up and walk out.

Maybe that's true for some audience members, but you can't create art for the lowest common denominator and expect to produce anything great, or even good.

They wonder why Rotten Tomatoes and audiences are forsaking them? They need to break out of the corporate group-think and embrace artistry again. Yes it means you stink sometimes, but they produce big-budget stinkers anyhow (emoji movie anyone?). At least it would give filmmakers a chance to be great.

I've seen most of the GitS material incl. the comics & anime. I actually found the Hollywood adaptation watchable.... because I placed it in its own little isolated corner and the lowest of expectations -- Hollywood, blockbuster, skin-deep sci-fi... and I came out much relieved it wasn't as bad as the critics said. At least I had a nostalgia blast from the visuals. My blockbuster movies watching has evolved into a state of "don't care to be angry/don't pay to watch at the theatre/ just wait them out to be on Netflix/clearance DVD BluRay)

Seriously... how can anyone expect anything of above average depth from a Hollywood blockbuster anymore? Don't be silly and set yourself up for disappointment.

I can totally understand their reasons for risk-aversion. From their perspective, they got burned too many times financially (not saying it's not their own doing) to make films that demand thoughtfulness from the audience. I just don't believe in Hollywood will give us anything deep anymore for these big budget films...

And yet all that risk aversion got them a whopping 169 million world wide.

By risk aversion I meant intellectually, not financially. It would be a rarity for Hollywood to give us anything with a deep plot/philosophical in a blockbuster. Heck even a sensical plot to not easy to come by these days.

I don't expect too much in a blockbuster, it's meant to be loud, and fun first & foremost, meant to stimulate the senses more than the brain. A really good plot is an appreciated good bonus, not expectation.

I am glad GitS is doing well. Much more deserving than TF:TLK at least IMO.