The key to GitS was always moving the imagination ball forward. GitS 2 was a big mindfk, but then the TV series, the TV movie, and then the OVA - each step forward was a powerful reinterpretation of the core concept - the thinning of spirit within technology and how it might be leveraged by brilliant minds.

From what I saw with the previews, they only wanted to copy the legend. There was nothing about adding value and building on what came before.

That's why it's so flat.