The Most Groundbreaking Sci-Fi Movie of All Time Is Streaming on Prime Video for Free

The best sci-fi movies are met with a seismic shift to culture, introducing such new ideas or packaging existing ideas in such a new way that it actually changes what you think is possible. The Matrix was like that, no question, but you wouldn’t even have The Matrix (or Avatar, or any number of massive hits) without the extremely influential 1995 animated film Ghost in the Shell. And whether you’re a longstanding member of Public Security Section 09 or you’ve never met The Major and Batou, you can now check out the movie for free on Prime Video’s ad-supported tier.

Directed by Mamoru Oshii and based on a manga from 1989 by Masamune Shirow, Ghost in the Shell has a 95 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes (and an 89 percent from regular users). It’s one of the most highly regarded anime movies ever made, to the point where people have spent years trying to live up to it — Oshii directed a non-canonical sequel that is so much headier than the original that it’s hard to follow, there was a George Lucas-style remastered version of it, there have been several TV adaptations, and, of course, an ill-conceived live-action remake with Scarlett Johansson in the lead. But nothing has really managed to live up to the original Ghost in the Shell.

What Is ‘Ghost in the Shell’ About?

Image via Lionsgate

On a purely textual level, Ghost in the Shell is about future-cops in Japan, where highly advanced cybernetic technology has become extremely common. Most people have modified their brains to allow what is essentially telepathic access to the internet, creating a distinct separation between a person’s mind (their “ghost”) and their body. Some people have other modified body parts, like cybernetic eyes and limbs, and everyone seems to have ports on their necks that they can use to directly plug into stuff.

The plot follows Major Motoko Kusanagi, a woman with a fully cybernetic body who is on the trail of a mysterious hacker called the Puppet Master. The Major also happens to be one of the single coolest people ever, fictional or otherwise, walking the surprisingly thin line between feeling very human and also very cold and emotionless like a machine. She’s prone to philosophical contemplation and also fights a robot tank one-on-one, so it’s all pretty cool.

Why Is ‘Ghost in the Shell’ So Groundbreaking?

Woman in front of cyberpunk skyline in Ghost in the Shell

The basic premise of the world of Ghost in the Shell is fascinating all on its own: In a world where you can easily disconnect your brain from your body, experience things from someone else’s direct point of view, and maybe even put your brain in a different body, then who, or what, are you? And if everyone is doing that, then who is anyone? What does that mean for the world and society? And what happens when people can take over your body or mind without you knowing?

Ghost in the Shell is about all of that and addresses most of it directly, through the lens of a sick-ass cyberpunk action movie. It’s stunningly prophetic about the future of technology and the internet, and it’s also very ahead of its time with questions about identity and how we decide who we are as people. It makes sense that Lana and Lilly Wachowski were so heavily influenced by it, when The Matrix really runs with the idea of someone becoming who they’re meant to be though the internet.

And, at the same time, the original movie (even the shots featuring mid-‘90s CGI) still looks incredible, and the action is great. Perhaps the quiet secret to Ghost in the Shell’s lasting power is that you could turn your brain off and just gawk at the imagery. It’s not quite the everything-turned-up-to-11 that similarly iconic anime movie Akira is, but it actually has more to say to back that imagery up once you decide to settle in and pay attention.