Masamune Shirow’s “Ghost in the
Shell” is regarded by many as one of the most influential manga ever written,
with an animated film by Mamoru Oshii in 1995 being said to be, not just one of
the best anime movies, but one of the best animated movies of all time. Both
the manga and anime manage to deliver an incredibly strong story that deals
with the themes of sexual and gender identity, life and death, and the takeover
of technology exceptionally well. It’s something that has deeply inspired film
makers over the years, like Alex Proyas and The Wachowskis who would go on to do films like "Dark City" and “The Matrix Trilogy."
For a long while, Hollywood has been
trying to get an adaptation of the source material in the works for a long
time, and it hasn’t been something I’ve been looking forward to. Now, this
isn’t because of the casting of Scarlett Johansson, which I’ll get to later,
but because of the track record adaptations have had in the past. Much in the
same vein as video games, Hollywood’s live-action
adaptations of anime haven’t really received the best treatment. Whether it’d
be from trying to adapt something that only fits in an episodic format, trying
too hard to fit the tone of the source material that it doesn’t flow right as
its own thing, or just flat out disregarding the source material all together,
there have been several failed experiments that have turned out quite rotten.
Films like “Dragon Ball Evolution” are proof of how these properties have been
severely mistreated, with “DBE” being one of the worst movies I have ever seen,
if not THE worst. Hell, after that reception, other anime movie
projects got canned immediately, like “Cowboy Bebop” starring Keanu Reeves.
However, with 2017, we’ve now got
“Death Note” coming out later this year, and “Ghost in the Shell” currently in
theaters. And from the look of it, it did look like it was trying to do
something right, so I and a friend of mine went to go check it out.
In the mid-21st Century
of Japan in the city of Niihama, humanity has become augmented with
cybernetics, to the point where we can save a human brain by placing it into a
mechanical body, or “shell” as it’s referred to. The latest being to receive
this treatment, Mira Killian, adapts to this new body and achieves the rank of
Major for Public Security Section 9, in the fight against cyberterrorism. When
one of their latest targets threatens Hanka Robotics, the Major and her team
must hunt down this threat, which may know a thing or two about her real past.
Now the questions remain: Is the
film at least tolerable? Does it represent its source material’s themes and
philosophy? Is the casting of Scarlett Johansson as the Major as controversial
as SJWs claim to be? The answers are as follows: More than you think; somewhat;
and not really. I didn’t think I’d say this, but “Ghost in the Shell” actually
turned out to not only be a faithful adaptation of the manga, but it’s a really
damn good movie. Granted, that doesn’t mean I didn't have issues with the movie,
as there are some things that got under my skin quite a bit.
For starters, I didn’t think it
delve deep enough into the psychological and sexual identity themes as much as
the original did. Don’t get me wrong, they are times when they do bring it up,
such as when the Major encounters a woman and asks her what it’s like to have
her eyes, and in a fight scene within a nightclub, but I just felt like it
needed more of it. I also felt like the dynamics of the good vs evil element
wasn't as strong, especially when you compare the Puppet Master and Kuze. Also,
the one thing that bothered me was involving “Beat” Takeshi Kitano. Why was he
the only one speaking Japanese during his scenes? I get the scenes where there’s
a group of people in there as well, but when it’s a one on one conversation,
the other person is speaking English, and that got really distracting.
Aside from that, I thought
everything else in the film was handled pretty damn well. I felt completely
immersed in how they recreated Masamune Shirow’s world to such magnificence,
that I can’t help but be fascinated by it. It even manages to do an excellent
job of recreating scenes from Mamoru Oshii’s animated film, such as the fight
in the water and the creation of the Major, and I was in awe at how it was
filmed. And while I would have liked for it to dive into it more, we still get
a good deal of “Ghost in the Shell’s” philosophy and themes to a satisfying
measure.
The acting in the film was also
really good too. Takeshi Kitano is absolutely badass as Daisuke Aramaki; Pilou Asbæk was a
great Batou; Juliette Binoche was likable as Dr. Ouelet; and Lasarus Ratuere
was good as Carlos Ishikawa. Now the big casting that everyone is going
ape-wall over is Scarlett Johansson as the Major. Okay, real quick, I’m going
to go into spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the movie and don’t want
spoilers, skip the section in italics.
It is confirmed in the movie that Scarlett
Johansson’s Major is in fact Motoko Kusanagi, and the name, Mira Killian, came
after she becomes an android. Now, technically speaking, the Major is a
Japanese character, and many have deemed this as racist casting. What do I
think of this? Well…I didn’t have a problem with it. For one, I’m the kind of
person that believes a role should go to the best actor/actress for the job,
regardless of race, unless it plays a significant part in the story. I didn't hate the casting of Justin Chatwin as Goku in "Dragon Ball Evolution" because he wasn't Asian, I hated it because he was a bad actor. I’m not
the only one who thinks this; there are plenty of Japanese fans of “Ghost in
the Shell” who believe this as well, and they thought Johansson was a great
choice to play the Major. And in this movie, they actually address this in the
story. There’s a part in the film where the Major visits her mother, trying to
figure out her past, and her mother is played by a Japanese woman, Kaori Momoi.
I thought this was actually a pretty well thought out way of addressing this in
the film, playing more into “Ghost in the Shell’s” themes of identity between
humans and artificial intelligence. It’s an element that I actually thought
they did better than the original, developing the Major more as a character. And
as far as I’m concerned, Scarlett Johansson nailed this character perfectly. I
remember back when her casting was announced when the film “Lucy” came out, and
thinking “Yeah, I can see how she could play the Major.” Of course, “Lucy”
sucked, but that’s beside the point. Johansson did a fantastic job, and is
probably one of the better performances that I’ve seen from her as of late.
Heck, it’s definitely better than her work as Black Widow in any of the MCU
movies.
Rupert
Sanders, the director of “Snow White & the Huntsman,” really knows how to
deliver a solid action film that has more merit to it than what most give
credit for. His style is very slick and knows where everything needs to be in
frame, really allowing the visuals to not overshadow the main points of the
story. And with how he works in slow-motion, it definitely is better than what
Zack Snyder does, that’s for sure.
Overall,
I was absolutely impressed with “Ghost in the Shell.” While I felt like some
things weren’t as strong as in the original, the rest manages to capture the
spirit of what Masamune Shirow’s manga was about. It’s a shame that the film
bombed, especially compared to mediocre disappointments like “Beauty & the
Beast,” “The Boss Baby,” and “Kong: Skull Island.” Really people? Come on!
Rating: 9/10
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