Who are you?

Take all your memories — that time you scraped your knee on the playground, that sunny spring day spent inside, that rainy day looking at a loved one’s grave — and put them in a box. Now, do a mental inventory of your biological metrics: Height, weight, age, hair color, genetic anomalies, race, gender. Put them in the box. Lastly, think of all your friends, family and loved ones. Think of all the support they offer, all the love they give and put those feelings in the box too.

We’re still missing something, aren’t we?

Philosophy calls it a consciousness. The church calls it a soul. In the cyberpunk world of “Ghost in the Shell,” it’s called your ghost. As technology becomes more invasive, our questions about identity will not just linger but deepen. The 2017 live-action film “Ghost in the Shell” skips a rock over this deep pool of existential issues. It never dives deep because it’s too afraid to acknowledge its own shell — an overblown, action gorged, Hollywood blockbuster.

The setting of the film fairly reimagines that of the original. The cyberization of human beings has begun to blur the lines between robot and human. Brain and body augmentation through technology is as ubiquitous as the modern day internet and cellphone. It’s not quite a dystopia and it sure isn’t a utopia, leaving a future worth shrugging at.

The main characters are well-rounded but lack qualities that make them pop off the screen. Major Mira Killian (Scarlett Johanssen) is a full cyborg, with only a human brain, attempting to juggle her passion for justice with the counter-terrorist unit Section 9 and the pursuit of her own past. Batou (Pilou Asbæk), a tough caregiver, simmers his brooding on the surface and tries to be a comic relief. (If the failure is intentional, that’s unclear.) Chief Aramaki (Takeshi Kitano) plays the part of ‘wise old man’ by offering bits of delectable dialogue but comes off as two-dimensional.

From a plot perspective, “Ghost in the Shell” doesn’t try to be any of its predecessors, offering a unique take on each of the characters and slowly revealing or creating the main characters’ backstories. The diverse cast blends well into the world it builds. The plot even tries to cleverly deal with claims of whitewashing but can’t fully develop the metaphor because of its oversimplified script.

Aesthetically, “Ghost in the Shell” is eye-candy. The vast cityscapes, futuristic fashion and advanced computer interfaces that build the cyberpunk feel of the movie are inspiring. The camera work, while not revolutionary, is the best part of the movie. Action sequences that could have been shot-for-shot remakes are given new life through bright colors and unique animation.

The film pays appropriate homages to various elements in the original film and anime series. On the surface, it’s a fun flick and a good primer to the universe of “Ghost in the Shell.” But, a lackluster performance from Johansson makes the film falter.

In its mediocrity “Ghost in the Shell” does achieve what other live-action remakes haven’t yet: It’s not completely awful. But the film doesn’t reach its full potential and lacks the inner universe that makes great science fiction more than just another part of the pop-culture lexicon.