Clark Collis of Empire opined that the film was predictable, but praised its production values. He ranked it #48 of his personal favorites. Niels Matthijs of Twitch Film praised the film, stating, "Not only is Kokaku Kidotai an essential film in the canon of Japanese animation, together with Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and Tarkovsky's Solyaris it completes a trio of book adaptations that transcend the popularity of their originals and a new meaning to an already popular brand." (note that 2001 is not actually an adaptation). James Cameron cited Ghost in the Shell as a source of inspiration: "The first truly adult animation film to reach a level of literary and visual excellence". The website's critics consensus reads, "A stunning feat of modern animation, Ghost in the Shell offers a thoughtful, complex treat for anime fans, as well as a perfect introduction for viewers new to the medium." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 96% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 53 reviews, with an average rating of 7.77/10. These are cyborgs with incredible strengths and abilities that can access any network on Earth. Crime has developed into a sophisticated stage by hacking into the interactive network. The world has become intensively information oriented and humans are well-connected to the network. Action, Animation, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller Ītsuko Tanaka, Akio Ôtsuka, Kôichi Yamadera, Yutaka Nakano