GHOST IN THE SHELL Review

For all the hoopla surrounding the whitewashing of what were originally Japanese characters and the hype that surrounded the source material from which Ghost in the Shell is based one might imagine it being easy to go into this movie with some sort of expectation. Given I have no connection to Masamune Shirow's original 1989 manga or the 1995 anime and understood that in order for such a property to get the big budget Hollywood treatment that it would require someone like a Scarlett Johansson in the lead role I went into Ghost in the Shell with no qualms and more or less an open mind in the hopes that ScarJo was only continuing to make interesting action movies concerning A.I. as she'd done not three years ago with Lucy. While Ghost in the Shell doesn't feel like a breakout in the same way that Luc Besson film was it is still very much an entertaining if not more dour experience than I half expected it to be given the color scheme of the marketing. Speaking to color scheme, it is in the futuristic environment that Ghost in the Shell finds its greatest strengths. Rather than simply offering a few neat visual cues here and there director Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsmen) owes his production designer, Jan Roelfs (Gattaca, 47 Ronin), and art department a huge thank you as it is this fully realized if not somewhat familiar future world that gives the film a sense of uniqueness despite its overall derivative nature. Of course, the deal with Ghost in the Shell is very much the same as the case was with 2012's John Carter in that much of what the source material inspired in popular culture (namely The Matrix) this big screen feature will now be accused of resembling. It's a sad state of truth, but the order of exposure appropriates how properties are perceived in the larger scope of the public eye and in some cases can tarnish the brand name. Ghost in the Shell isn't bad enough to offend or truly tarnish the name of the material it has re-imagined, but more it isn't noteworthy enough to seemingly live up to the past incarnations that share its namesake. Given I have no connections to those earlier versions of these ideas I actually came away thinking Sanders film was well constructed, that it held more emotional heft than expected, and executed its main ideas clearly if not as effectively as it could/should have.

Full Trailer for GHOST IN THE SHELL Starring Scarlett Johansson

I have no idea what Ghost in the Shell is about or why it has become such a talking point besides the decision to cast an American movie star like Scarlett Johansson instead of an Asian actor despite the character coming from a Japanese media franchise originally published as a seinen manga series. The source material has been around since 1989 and a film adaptation has apparently been in the works for over a decade, but given the brand has little impact outside its country of origin it makes sense why a major studio like Paramount would cast a name like Johansson in a pricey sci-fi flick that has franchise potential: she's a reliable performer and a box office draw. I can understand the accusations of whitewashing from those who have been long-time fans of the material, but this is simply how things work-just be thankful you're getting a big-budget movie adaptation with a credible talent in the lead as things could have no doubt gone much worse. If you've seen any of the Marvel Studios movies featuring her Black Widow or even Lucy one should feel comfortable with Paramount and director Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsmen) choice. Speaking of Sanders, while I wasn't a huge fan of his previous film, Huntsmen certainly had an undeniably appealing visual style and it seems the filmmaker has again brought an interesting aesthetic to his adaptation. Having no prior knowledge concerning the story or plot the manga series covered I would see this movie based on the visuals in the trailer alone, but all of that said I'm intrigued by what Ghost in the Shell might have on its mind. The film will apparently follow Johansson as The Major, a special ops, one-of-a-kind human-cyborg who leads an elite task force known as Section 9. Devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, Section 9 is faced with an enemy whose singular goal is to wipe out advancements in cyber technology. Ghost in the Shell also stars Pilou Asbæk, Michael Pitt, Juliette Binoche, Kaori Momoi, Rila Fukushima, Chin Han, Danusia Samal, Lasarus Ratuere, Yutaka Izumihara, Tuwanda Manyimo, and opens on March 31st, 2017.