First off: Rest in Peace Tanaka Atsuko, one of the best to ever do it.
I think this is the second or third time I've watched Ghost in the Shell, and to be honest, as I was watching it in a theatrical re-release, it occurred to me that I had completely forgotten the second half of the movie (I distinctly remembered the waterway chase and following sequence), which inadvertently allowed me to re-examine this movie with a fresher set of eyes.
Having read some of the original manga by Shirow Masamune, and watched a little of Standalone Complex (I really need to get around to watching that eventually), it's very apparent that this film was directed by Oshii Mamoru and his kind of ethereal style and flair really helps to set this version of the material in a different lens compared to even other entries in the same franchise. From the shot selection, to the soundtrack and sound design and the lingering on images and words, there was a lot of 90s anime goodness to re-experience.
Although the message and content of this movie has actually become even more relevant in the modern day compared to when I first watched this movie over 15 years ago, I think that what really stood out to me was really the human element rather than the inherent danger of AI sentience itself even though that has become an increasingly cognizant issue in real society. Rather the true issue was framed more in the human context about our relationship to technology and to what lengths that humans would go for the sake of power or convenience, even potentially exchanging every aspect and atom that might make them undeniably human, to the point where even the person in question can no longer say if they were still human in any shape or form.
I think that my internal reaction to this movie has definitely changed since my last viewing: not necessarily in regards to my interpretation of the themes and materials, but just simply by how much has changed in the world and how it has become more thought provoking on a practical level in our daily lives.