Ghost in the Shell is a remarkably good-looking film. It has a strong female protagonist. It's a dark and moody cyber-punk thriller with some well-rendered fight scenes. It deals with interesting concepts of humanity, sense of self, and memory. In fact, you can probably trace a line from the themes of this film to that of the Matrix trilogy without any difficulty.
If that's what's right with it, what's wrong with it? Everything else. The English script is horrible and the English dub is flat and lifeless (I'd rather have seen it subtitled but that's not what they played at the movie theatre... perhaps some of my disappointment is undeserved because of me seeing the wrong version of the film). Another problem that I have with the film is how preachy it gets from time to time. Of course, that's much more a matter of Masamune Shirow than the movie's screenplay.
There's unnecessary nudity. Of course some of that is the genre and its target audience. The rest of it is the source material (which is also part of a genre and aimed at a specific audience).
Most of the problems that I have with the movie come straight out of the comic. However, many of the best parts come from it as well. The film is basically a straight translation from page to stage. The only real thing that they changed is that they streamlined the story (and changed the ending to where she is "reborn" into a child's form instead of a man's). I understood the film in one viewing, whereas I've read the manga twice and still have problems follwing it.
My final review? Ehhhh... It's worth seeing, especially in the theatre, because it has some great visuals. However, if you never catch this film, you haven't missed too much. All the good parts of it have been stolen and incorperated into better films.
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