Ghost in the Shell (2017) - I should like this more

I love science-fiction.  I love cyber-punk.  I love action.  And I'm at least tolerant of excessive use of computer-generated effects in cinema in general.  Oh, and I guess I might as well confess that my DVD collection contains many films containing women in skin-tight attire wiping out hordes of muscular henchmen (think 'Resident Evil' meets the 'Underworld' saga).  Anyway, seeing as I like all those (plus I'm a fan of Marvel's Cinematic Universe which contains Scarlett Johansson doing all of the above) then you'd think that the film 'Ghost in the Shell' was absolutely made for me 100%.

I've finished watching it at last (it was on an online streaming service, allowing me to watch the whole film in three segments - I guess that some people may say that the 'stop/start' approach to watching a film may ruin the enjoyment of it, however I beg to differ in this case).  And, although I may be sounding a little cynical about the whole experience, I definitely didn't hate it.  In fact, there's very little negative I can say about it.  However, the problem is that there's very little positive about it, too.

It's the very definition of 'average.' If you've seen one film where someone has superpowers and has to kill a load of people (combine it with memory loss for added cliches) then you've basically seen this one.  Scarlett Johansson plays 'Major' - a cyborg assassin in the near future who hunts down and kills... blah, blah, blah.  She then gets double-crossed... blah, blah, blag and you're left with her running around killing every human baddie and spider-tank that stands in her way.

I guess I better write this review quickly as I'm already starting to forget what it was all about.  I know it was based on an anime series/film (er, I think!), but I know for a fact that I've never seen the source material so I can't claim to know how two two mediums compare.

There's plenty to say that's good about it - cool city-background (CGI, obviously), neat and original gadgets and tech (I think I mentioned the 'spider-tank!') and Scarlett Johansson is pretty damn easy on the eye (for us guys, anyway) and basically plays the MCU's 'Black Widow,' albeit in cyborg form (and looking more 'CGI' when she runs up walls!).  If you're not familiar with the genre and generally haven't seen many similar movies then I'm guessing you'll absolutely love this film and I apologise for my (distinctly average) final score.  However, I've seen so many of these sorts of films that they really need to pull off something really special in order for it to rise above all the others I've seen.

I would imagine that, judging by the ending, the producers of this film really were hoping that this will be the start of some sort of major (no pun intended!) franchise.  However, I just can't see that happening.  Although, if it does get a sequel, I'll happily sit down and watch that, too.  Again, I didn't hate this film - far from it - it just didn't really leave much of a lasting impression with me.  Sorry, Scarlett.

6/10 May just keep you awake if Freddy Krueger was haunting your nights