In a time when the line between man and machine has begun
to blur, terrorism has a gone digital and Section 9, led by The Major, is the
last line of defense against it. When
several high ranking members of the Hanka Corporation are targeted for
assassination, the case hits close to the Major as they were the ones who saved
her life and gave her a new body following a devastating accident. Not all is as it seems and someone is
reaching out to The Major, tempting her with the truth about her past. The Major was reborn to uphold the law but
will she take it into her own hands to find out where she comes from?
I could not begin to tell you how excited I was to drive
to the movies this time. Ever since the
first trailer dropped late last year, Ghost in the Shell had become my most
anticipated movie of 2017. It looked
like Ghost in the Shell, it felt like Ghost in the Shell and it looked like I
was finally going to get a good live action Anime adaptation. Best yet, it would be of one of my all time
favorite Anime franchises. Maybe my
expectations were too high, maybe I missed a lot of the signs in the second
trailer. But by the time I hit the
halfway point of the movie…I knew something bad was happening, or at least it wasn't going to be what I wanted it to be.
Let’s start with the center of the film: Scarlett
Johansson as The Major. I get that every
time we see The Major, she’s supposed to be different. In the movies she was angsty and
philosophical; in Stand Alone Complex she was the tough as nails leader; and in
Arise, she was an up and coming newbie with a lot to prove and a lot of
drive. In this version, we see a more
robotic Major than ever before. She’s
good at her job but there’s not a lot of personality to her. Most of the dialogue delivery is dry and
unenergetic. It may work for this
version but I was not impressed. It felt
like ScarJo was going for more Terminator than any of the usual quirks The
Major is best known for. She has maybe
one moment of levity and that’s about it.
It doesn’t help that her backstory, the big mystery of the film, isn’t
that original, but I’ll get to that more in a moment. On the surface, this is a role ScarJo could
play in her sleep, especially the physical demands. Beneath, there’s something going on but I
just don’t think she emulates it well.
In the end, it’s more on the acting than the white washing controversy
that I think she may not have been the best choice for the role. Maybe that’s a bit too harsh but still, this isn’t
my favorite take on The Major, mine is still the Motoko from Arise.
Seeing as how The Major is the rock of the movie, her
dull portrayal feeds into everyone else.
And by everyone else, I mostly mean Batou. In every iteration prior, Batou is more the
lighthearted but bad ass joker who balances the much more serious Major. Here, he’s just as dull as she is. His actor tries to sound more bad ass and
fails. This just wasn’t my Batou. Nevermind the rest of Section 9 gets next to
no screentime, individually or as a unit.
Togusa should be involved a lot cause of his more human qualities but if
The Major isn’t around, it doesn’t matter much.
Interesting enough, Paz is made into a girl in this movie with a
different name and she barely gets more screentime than everyone else. Ishikawa and Saito get one line each and
Borma…well he doesn’t do a thing but that’s par for the course for him. The only stand out is “Beat” Takeshi Kitano
as Aramaki. I was always wondering how
they were going to portray him as I had never heard him speak English
before. In a nice touch, we highlight
the multicultural aspect of the Section 9 team by having Aramaki speak only
Japanese throughout the film. Everyone
can understand him and vice versa and he never changes at any point. It felt respectful and Kitano was probably my
favorite casting choice of the film. He
can be my bad ass boss anyday.
There are a huge amount of callbacks and nods to the
Ghost in the Shell franchise littered throughout the movie. From the not too bad recreation of the
“Making of the Cyborg” scene from the original movie to Motoko shooting up
Geisha robots from Stand Alone Complex, if you know the franchise well enough,
you’re going to see a lot of familiar stuff.
And for the most part, it’s nice.
Unlike Dragon Ball Evolution, which seemed to want to ignore the source
material, the filmmakers at least want to let you know they did watch most of
the Ghost in the Shell saga before going into the movie. However, where the film ultimately fails is
that the story these callbacks float around is nothing more than a generic 80’s
scifi flick. You have false memories, a corrupt company, a scientist holding
back more than she knows and a main character being hunted down to protect
company secrets. It’s Total Recall and
Robocop merged into one and wrapped in Ghost in the Shell gift paper. The moment I saw the scientist who “saves”
The Major and her corporate boss, I knew I wasn’t going to like them and that
they had generic roles to fill. The
movie doesn’t do anything to dissuade me and in the end, it left me in a bad
spot. I’m not sure what to say about
Kuze in all of this. His design is, well
interesting but his voice work (sounding like Stephen Hawkings broken or
malfunctioning voice box) is pretty distracting and he never adds more to the
film to give it more meaning.
I will say that the visuals really were the best part of
the movie. Blade Runner this is not and
I’m glad it stand out in that way.
Newport City feels almost Tron like (part of that is thanks to the
soundtrack as well). This does look like
Ghost in the Shell to me, right down to the Oshii style lingering on buildings
while the haunting music plays. The
uniforms are very Section 9. The Tank
The Major battles at the end is taken right from the original Oshii film and
looks incredible. The deep dive The
Major takes into the Geisha she breaks is pretty freaking cool. And for all the grief I give Batou’s actor
and portrayal, his eyes still look awesome.
Oh and yes, Batou does have a Basset Hound named Gabriel. I want to harp on this film but can give
credit where credit is due. Probably my
favorite scene in the movie is The Major’s showdown with a crook in the canal,
taken nearly frame for frame from the original Oshii film. This moment alone is proof that, for all the
crap I give the movie, this adaptation is a far cry from Dragon Ball Evolution. They even managed to throw in a personally
tailored version of the old Oshii film theme into the mix. I’ll admit, I never thought I’d hear it in a
US version of Ghost in the Shell. Props
for that.
As I finish this review, I realize I may be a bit overly
critical and in a way, that is my fault.
My expectations for Ghost in the Shell were borderline Star
Wars/Avengers levels. So yes, it sucks I
didn’t get everything I wanted, especially out of Motoko and Batou. But what I did get was a film that decided to
play things safe with a generic story.
It also showed me that there are filmmakers out there who have seen Ghost
in the Shell and acknowledge through visual brilliance that they have. When I saw references to the franchise, I did
smile, everytime. I left the theater
letdown overall. Right now though, I’m
grinning a big. It’s not the best live
action anime adaptation of all time…but it’s not the worst and trust me,
there’s a lot worse. But it’s a decent
step in the right direction. If the
story were better I would be more inclined to be glowing about it.
Whether you wish to see it or not…let your ghost decide
for you.
6/10
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