Ouch.
The visuals are breathtaking, as already shown by the trailers.
ScarJo is trying, you can tell that she wants this to be her new franchise.
It's edited quite nicely, it's got a (simple) story, and it's coherent.
So where did it go wrong?
One of the problems is that it takes away all of the philosophical depth from the original.
Well, that means you can still enjoy it from a simple action flick perspective, right?
Good luck with that.
This film has such a ridiculous amount of exposition, that it badly hurts the enjoyment of the film.
Many sequences consist of characters just talking to each other, and explaining the plot.
Things are definitely shown, but then the filmmakers don't think we're able to put two and two together, and hence add another explanatory scene.
As a result of that, the film doesn't take its time to develop the characters, meaning you won't care about them.
Top it off with an awful performance from Juliette Binoche, and you have your modern style over substance film.
3.5/10
Despite the white washing I loved the trailer. Looks faithful to the anime film. Hey in Anime they don't drawer a lot of the characters to even look Asian. A lot look Caucasian. Johansson looks how the character was drawn.
Hopefully this is a big hit and leads to sequel since there are follow up Anime films.
Don´t know the original but I thought the story is rather thin. Looks cool but altogether a rather generic action movie.
It has been long time since I saw Ghost in the shell, this movie is not Ghost in the shell, it does not feel like it, it just uses similar environment and forced racial equity cast. So 1/10 for that. Anyway, quite enjoyable EASY MOVIE in stolen environment. This is like watching fake ghost in the shell. I would give it 5 or 6 / 10 if there was not forced racial equity.
The film special effects of the scenes are breathtaking. And when a review starts with the special effects, the film has failed. The scenes special effects are so busy and take up so much screen time that they distract from the story. Director Rupert Sanders also must think that people who see his movies are dimwitted, because he beats up the audience with exposition explaining the film over and over to the point of abuse. We get that Major is a cyborg with only her brain being human, we get it. We got it in the first scene, but Rupert has to tell us over and over in the film. The film spends so much time on special effects shots and exposition that it totally lost the depth of the anime for which the film is based. I also found Scarlett Johansson's performance hurt by the low emotional state of the other characters in the film. When everyone else is acting robotic, it is impossible to establish that her character feels withdrawn from the world. Did I mention that Major is a cyborg with only a human brain? Overall the film has a few good scenes, a strong ending and the rest is boring and insulting. See it only for the beautiful Scenes,... and Major is a cyborg with a human brain.
Note: If you seen this film and have not seen the anime it is based upon, do not let this film turn you off of seeing it.
If only this movie was made ethically, it would have been in my all-time favourites. The visual and sound effects are crazy good, like crazy crazy. The design and colours are so satisfying. The score is electrifying. The story is generic, but it's done well. Im not going to talk about the acting or actors because it's just wrong. The dialogue was a cheesy type of good. It could have been a lot better. The stunts and fights took me to another planet, especially with the stunning cinematography. As a movie, it's great, but ethics take away a lot of feel-good feelings.
Could have been better, CGI was gr8 but ending was underwhelming.
I tried, I really tried... It was such a snoozefest. It looks pretty though.
Your body is a shell now. But your ghost? It's still inside! You're like... a ghost... in the shell!
Beautiful movie. Awful writing.
Not as good as the original, but not terrible. A lot of the nuance of the original is lost or over-explained; it's been turned into an origin story, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but just such a Hollywood thing to do. It's much easier to follow than the original, but it's not without some odd scenes that don't seem to go anywhere.
I do like that a narrative reason for casting Scarlett Johansson is sort of given, although it's still fairly weak.
The irony of Motoko being anti-tech activist, who was forcibly turned into a being of technology is an interesting area of philosophical consideration that's barely acknowledged, let alone explored. And that's probably the overall weakness of this movie: it doesn't really want to take the time to explore the philosophical quandaries that it evokes.
Rewatched after watching it shortly after release to Blu-ray years ago. Kitano is as amazing as he always is. My view has changed. I like the nods to the source now, and can understand what they were trying to do. Having originally come into it expecting something close to original movies and shows I was rightly disappointed. See it as a reimagining, like the last anime, and it's different, with it's own good and bad points.
Strange use of the word ghost as in, "We put her ghost in a machine body."
Scarlett is a robot lady officer who walks around acting tough. She doesn't do much the other officers on her team couldn't do. (She turns invisible during a fight scene, but that is only because she was fighting a tough guy she couldn't beat without using tricks.)
The movie is mainly just another police type story, but with the SciFi theme of a robot lady trying to find her humanity.
She goes rogue in the final act with a need for vengence. Unfortunately, by then I was bored and wanted to turn it off. The boring crime solving plot was dragged out too long.
There should have been more scenes with the evil robot predecessor earlier in the movie. That is when it got good.
The movie should have been written to end with a showdown between them. That would have been fun.
The actual end is her seeking revenge on her creators which was boring.
It IS visually appealing, but the story is teased in fragments and the filler scenes are trash, with the last 15 minutes relaying everything in a rush. A gentle drama about the Tachikomas might have been more enjoyable.
Well, this was underwhelming. Knowing next to nothing about the original "Ghost In the Shell", I thought I was going to get something along the lines of "Lucy 2" (the Scarlett Johansson factor being what it is with me). But what I got was closer to "Ultraviolet" or maybe "Aeon Flux".
I mean, this is my own fault. I went in totally cold. A little primer on the history of the subject matter may have helped, but watching this was tough. It just dragged. Even the futuristic look of the movie was boring. Too much advertising, maybe? Compared to the look of last year's "Valerian...", this was ugly. I've never spent much time with Anime, either. Another strike against this, I suppose.
The wrong people made this movie. It’s written like a marvel super hero origin story, which is absolutely an insult to the source.
Visually there were a handful of very good scenes but not enough to carry the movie. Acting was ok but it couldn’t overcome the terrible writing. The music awful and uninspired.
It’s a shame what could have been, but I wouldn’t say this movie shouldn’t have been made or shouldn’t be watched. Just don’t expect Ghost in the Shell.
This is totally worth seeing and rewatching. The cliche aspects are because this pulls strongly from the anime movie (so much so that many of the key scenes are almost perfect recreations) and the anime movie influenced a great many stories and styles since its release. You have to see this as it was meant to be seen and experienced. You have to remember that this is a 20+ year old movie that has been remade with great care as a live action film. It isn't cliche because it is was has been imitated for 20 years and it is still better than any imitation that has come along since 1995.
If anything, the major failing of this movie is that it tries to update the source story and dumb it down so the current generation can understand it.
the height difference between the two main characters really carried this movie
6.5/10 - Meh, this felt like a really good concept/idea executed pretty badly... :o
I cannot quite relate with any of the characters and none of them felt really likeable. I also cannot like Major at all. IMO she looks too much like a prostitute (in the scenes without any clothes) and doesn't feel badass enough (apart from the fighting scenes). Her posture often triggered me a bit (she often looks to the ground, her head tilted forwards, and her hands in a weird position that feels too much human). Maybe that's intentional to make her feel more human but I don't like it (I'd prefer her being human through her emotions - which are lacking - and her body to feel more "robotic" via a firm stand/posture but still with fluent and elegant movements).
The story was also meh and the action scene at the end with the spider tank just felt bizarre.
I liked the new anime show on Netflix ("Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045") much more and that isn't a good thing as that story was also meh and I usually don't like animes (I think that was the first and only one I watched so far). I think that I definitely have to watch the original anime - people say it's much better.
Anyway, this movie certainly wasn't all bad. It introduced some nice ideas (mind-comms, fully synthetic bodies, and other Cyberpunk stuff) and I quite liked the city design (neon lights, holographic advertisements, huge buildings, etc. - the classic Cyberpunk look never gets boring IMO).
Pretty and lacks sustenance, which results in a sugar rush and an upset stomach.
It’s not so much a movie as it is a collection of special effects and words meant to trick people into thinking it’s the same as the other movie.
The American adaptation of #GhostInTheShell is basically the dumber version of the original Japanese movie. Loosely inspired by the events told by Mamoru Oshii in the 90s, it works as a serviceable, average American sci-fi movie. Art direction is solid but don't expect much more than that, really.
This was not good at all. It was slow and boring, and due to this, I found it difficult to follow, b/c I had such little interest in watching it. Btw, did they blow their entire casting budget on Scarlett Johansson? In and of itself, she's usually a good choice, but for this material, it made literally no sense, since the character she played had zero emotional reaction to anything. They literally could have hired anyone to play this role, and it wouldn't have affected the film in one way or another.
"Ghost in the Shell" is probably the most decent adaptation based on anime we got compared to previous attempts. However, as a stand alone film it struggles to be remembered since it's release. For someone who has heard about the anime, but hasn't seen it, the movie at least did a good job of world building to get me interested.
It's visually good looking with some well executed fight scenes. The villain surprisingly wasn't anywhere near generic or boring. Scarlett Johansson did a decent job, despite feeling a bit missed cast. She honestly did better in "Her" as a robot.
Putting the controversy aside, it's a decent film with a lot of things going for it. It's not going to stick in my memory by the end of the week, but at least I watch to judge for myself, not like some.
For an admirer of the work (me) the film was not bad, of course, does not match the original versions but at the same time shows certain recognizable features.
The technology was very well done, the action was very well implemented in the work and the tragic and at the same time philosophical context of ghost in the shell remained intact!
And not to mention batou, my favorite hahaahha character, they did justice to the fictional man he is!!
Having not (yet) watched original this movie is great action/sci-fi. It is well made with great actors for roles. Recommended if you are looking for a light weekend action movie.
When I first saw I thought it was just ok but, I hadn’t watched or read the original material ... however it made interested in going to the source, which I appreciate and as most of the fans of the original source... yeah this one is not good.
Not much to say that haven’t been said before... if you kinda like it I recommend go watch the original series and manga you will love it!
I would give it a 6 but the 3D and the fact that because of this I went back and enjoyed the original material I’ll let it go with a 7.
i don't know why some hated it!! i loved it and i hope they make a sequel with Scarlett!! she was great. there's more to tell in this story.
The somewhat middling reviews initially kept me away, but I'm glad I finally got around to this. I actually really enjoyed this a lot. The world building was great, the scenery made you feel like you were there, the effects really solid, the acting fine, and a story that, while not "brainy" also wasn't complete nonsense. Maybe it helps that I didn't have a strong attachment to the original anime...not sure. Anyhow, I found this to be a quality sci-fi offering that seems unduly maligned.
I love so much this movie, it's really great to see Scarlett Johansson play the heroine of a character from manga.
10/10
I normally don't leave any reviews/comments on trakt, but i'm making an exception for this movie.
Why? Why did they have to ruin the story? And i really mean ruin, because they replaced it with the most bland, brainless rubbish instead. I could understand giving it another ending or something (I wasn't expecting the original ending, it's not very hollywood-esque anyway), but this just reduces it to a sci-fi action flick. Do they even know why the original was so popular?
And it is a damn shame too, because it looks & sounds awesome! That's why i still gave it 5/10. This could have been one of the best live adaptations of an anime yet.
I guess it's still enjoyable if you never read/seen the original and like simple sci-fi action movies.
This is how you ruin a movie that (originally) talks about the boundaries of ethics and human life, what the soul is and the meaning of been alive, politics and how corporations influence over governments, tecnology and its impact over society and how humanity defines itself, evolution and trascendency of the being.
We front a fuzzy mess between I ROBOT with action scenes of Matrix and boring transitions, closed with phrases taken of a cheap self motivation books.
Not mentioning that the whole plot meaning is explained at the opening scene, it looks like its assuming the audience is some kind stupid and can't figure it out along the movie (or even resolving it at the end, as the original movie was, a discovering travel).
Some tribute scenes make it worth but, in a whole, results in a very dissapointing movie.
Ghost In The Shell
An ok sci-fi action film, however don't go in expecting any depth to the story.
Visually fantastic with good world building.
Decent action scenes.
Acting was mostly stiff and the antagonist was cliché and boring.
6.5/10
#NicksMiniReview
https://t.co/hk4ejiUisb
It was okay hate when Hollywood change the game.. All the whitewashing that was this movie.. Where the Asian characters at.. Not white characters
One of the most boring Movies I've Watched.
In general it is disappointing. The interpretation of Scarlett Johanson is too forced, not becoming credible. In comparison with the anime, the main characters do not have the necessary depth. The end is disappointing. There are many more details that make you dissatisfied with the movie.
have not three last 30min watch^f
zzz
I enjoyed everything about the movie, the visuals, the dialogue, and the action scenes... Scarlett Johansson (major) got the swag of the living machine right, I feel Robocop needs some weight shedding, mechanical parts replacement and lubrication!
I was really dreading a live action of the animated series but actually enjoyed this movie more than the series itself. The battles and CG were amazing and did such an amazing job showcasing the tech. The directing and dialogue itself also did a great job of explaining the plot.
This is very clearly a Hollywood version of the original, and the plot and the whole philosophical aspect is rather simple compared to. But with that being said, I think they managed to make this simpler version of the story work well, and I actually quite enjoyed it. I would definitely watch it again.
Also, the visuals are stunning!
Weird Mix of the different animes, and the animes quite better. but good visuals.
I could say I quite enjoyed it but it had terrible flaws... one of them being the cliché, I could predict many events throughout the movie... and the sci-fi-futuristic-citiy is just cringy, they abused on that.
Although the general visuals are very good, I can't say the same about her body, sometime it felt really fake, it felt CGI (as expected I think)
one movie i couldn't watch it. disaster...
A rock solid sci-fi thriller set against a stunningly beautiful backdrop.
"Ghost in the Shell" is probably the most decent adaptation based on anime we got compared to previous attempts. However, as a stand alone film it struggles to be remembered since it's release. For someone who has heard about the anime, but hasn't seen it, the movie at least did a good job of world building to get me interested.
It's visually good looking with some well executed fight scenes. The villain surprisingly wasn't anywhere near generic or boring. Scarlett Johansson did a decent job, despite feeling a bit missed cast. She honestly did better in "Her" as a robot.
Putting the controversy aside, it's a decent film with a lot of things going for it. It's not going to stick in my memory by the end of the week, but at least I watch to judge for myself, not like some.
I'm a fan of the anime original, and I can say that they've done a good Job, but it doesn't live up to it thought, also It's got some great effects, and some super fighting/shooting action moments... sound cast... cracks my shell...
This is an okay movie but that is about it. The blurb sounded quite interesting and the trailers were promising even though I always take trailers with a huge pinch of salt. I have never read the original Manga. Whether that is good or bad with respect to the movie I do not know.
The good stuff as far as this movie is concerned is, not surprisingly, the visuals. I would not say that they are stunning but the are quite good. The environments are interesting and the special effects are not bad at all. I have to say that the tank design was pretty poor though. Not very exiting as a fictional design and utter nonsense from a functional point of view.
This is as far as the good stuff goes. The story is okay but it is pretty predictable and not that much to get exited about. It could have been more developed for sure. I would actually have liked to see the Major do a few more missions beating up the bad guys. That was where the movie shined a bit and showed the best visuals and special effects.
The acting is pretty mediocre to be honest. Even Daisuke Aramaki, which was a character that I did like, felt rather bland. The main bad guy was just a uninspiring thug.
To me the movie more or less felt like the pilote episode of a TV-show with a huge budget for visuals. It was not WOW god but showed promise and I felt like I would like to see more “episodes”. The fact that it is actually a movie and it seems unlikely that a sequel, even though the ending makes it pretty clear that they hoped there would be one, will be made left me with a unsatisfied feeling.
Bottom line, average movie with enjoyable visuals and special effects but one which do not manage to reach above the “just another sci-fi manga movie” segment for me.
dammit, I didn't feel any climax in the story at all. It felt bland and flat. I know I didn't expect much from this movie, but still, I was disappointed.
Well I for one am a visual person and this movie more than delivered in that aspect.
I never watched the anime (I hate subtitles) so the trailer is all I had for reference.
I loved it and can't wait to see the follow up.
Lots of interesting tech. Held my attention. However not a future I'm looking forward to living in. I did kind of like the holographic fish floating thru the city
It wasn't what I expected.
The excitement part was the last battle.
Sure it pales in comparison to the anime, mostly in regards to the more cerebral aspects. But it's still a worthy Hollywood adaptation of it, unnecessary yes, but it's got a good story (even if it seems unoriginal now), fantastic visuals, cool design, and great action setpieces.
Great movie, and photography was awesome. Scarlett Johanson is superlative.
Nice graphics but quite boring, was such a let down. Not worth a rewatch.
TITLE - Ghost in the Shell
Year - 2017
PEOPLE SCORE - 7
Acting - 1
Characters - 2
Casting - 1
Importance - 2
Chemistry - 1
WRITING SCORE - 9
Dialogue - 1
Balanced - 2
Story - 2
Originality - 2
Interesting - 2
BTS SCORE - 9
Visuals - 2
Directing - 2
Editing - 2
Advertisement - 2
Music - 1
NARRATIVE ARC SCORE - 9
Introduction - 1
Inciting Incident - 2
Obstacles - 2
Climax - 2
Falling Action - 2
ENTERTAINMENT SCORE - 7
Rewatchability - 2
Fun - 2
Impulse/Buy - 1
Impusle/Talk - 0
Sucks Audience IN - 2
TOTAL SPECIAL - 50
TOTAL - 91
Just kind of felt like a RoboCop reboot. As everyone keeps writing, it was cliched, flash over substance. Seems like so many movies these days are like a Transformer movie.
Scarlett Johansson plays the hybrid daughter of Lars and the real girl in this kooky sequel
1 / 2 directing & technical aspect
1 / 1 story
1 / 1 act I
1 / 1 act II
0 / 1 act III
1 / 1 acting
0 / 1 dialogue
0 / 1 originality
0 / 1 lasting ability to make you think
5 out of 10
This is a tough film for me to review. My intention was to watch the original animated movie, first, to familiarize myself with the material, but I couldn't handle the disconnect between what was spoken and the subtitles, so I decided to jump into this version. (Now that I'm better grounded in the story, I think I'll go back and finish the animation, disabling the distracting subtitles). This film is too slow and redundant in establishing the back story. For 3/4 of the film there is too much telling and not enough showing. It needed more relationship building, more character establishing, and more story-building action rather than plot-explaining dialogue. However, the last 1/4 of the film had all those elements, and, if they could capture the pace, style and success of that story telling, I'd like to see a sequel. I give it a 6.5 (potential to be good) out of 10. Scarlett Johannson, short of being Japanese, found the character, and gave a worthy performance. And, it is always good to see Juliette Binoche, in anything that brings her to the screen.
It's been a long time since I've seen the original and I don't remember enough to really compare all the details story wise, and it will always be hard to try and live up to something that is so well loved. The graphics and technology were great but it still felt like it was missing something. The fighting wasn't all that great and was more geared toward showing off tech than any actual fighting. And despite being an action movie I felt like most of the movie was actually a bit slow. So, it wasn't bad but I didn't love it either.
Striking presentation and sensible decision making brazenly brings the beloved series to the masses.
A fairly faithful, but entirely soulless adaptation. One might even say it seems to have lost its ghost. Is but a shell. That would be an exceptionally cliched thing to say. Which would be entirely appropriate.
The characters look how they were drawn. Plus I don't have a problem looking at Scarlett Johansson...ever. Hollywood doesn't think it's white washing if they throw in some black actors.
However since it's based on Anime, every character is supposed to be Asian if they do look Caucasian half the time lol. If you look passed the casting, like I did. The film isn't bad, due to being the most visually stunning futuristic film since Blade Runner.
Hollywood doesn't expect hits if they don't cast big Hollywood actors. Might as well have cast an Asian, the movie bombed anyway.
all effects are interesting but too conventional theme for attract public, all story show be superficial and unexplored.
People have complained that this is a watered down version of the original anime. That may be true but for the uninitiated this is still a pretty good film, interesting but now conventional themes on what it means to be human, spectacular visuals and decent action. Its not perfect, purists will nitpick, but its not as dumbed down as expected.
Loved it, It takes stories and ideas from the TV show and the other films and mixes it in to a fun watch.
This feels like an origin film with an idea towards expanding in to more, I hope this lights a fire under the Japanese media market as well to make more GITS films and TV Shows in the same spirits of the originals and for the western to keep making this live action that follows this western interpretation and building on the characters its set out in the film.
I would recommend watching.
The little hope i had got crushed.
An Insult to how wonderful GITS is.
The atmosphere is impressive, the story somewhat different and simplified from the anime
Effects, music, acting crew, all superb. Almost had that full anime feel to it
What a piece of crap this was. I don't get the anime genre and this felt too chaotic and unrealistic. horrible and incoherent plot with some stunning visuals and a Johansson not fitting anywhere in the film properly
This movie had good action and it was visually stunning at times. It has a lot of its own unique style. The plot was a little underwhelming. I went in thinking it would have some more themes of what makes you a human but it didn't really explore any. This is more of a turn your mind off and enjoy the action and the cgi.
Visually stunning and very dark but the overall feel for me was disappointment. I wanted so much more but was left with a numb feeling. Found the film a little strange and just expected more. Would I buy on Blu-ray? Unfortunately no - so it's a miss from me. Still had a good night out though!
Great graphics and slightly different story. They left out some of the philosophical ideas about AI, so I think they dumbed it down for the general audience. Other than that it was an entertaining movie. I highly recommend it.
Visually stunning and painfully boring
Was a really great movie, the only disappointment was a Johanson's ass and lack of music trough out the picture
PT-BR Review: https://letterboxd.com/llsalive/film/ghost-in-the-shell-2017/
Brief thoughts after seeing this today, well it was visually absolutely gorgeous, with an awesome neo-syth soundtrack (which was underutilised imo), but some of the performances were a bit flat (probably Batou the highlight), action scenes were not as amazing as I was hoping either and it had a number of pacing issues.
For me it was worth it, just because I'm a fan of the cyberpunk aesthetic it was was really pretty and the tech was very cool.
After watching the movie I left wanting more, and had some very high expectations. I have seen the original movies from the 90s several times as well as the anime from Mid 2000 and the recent anime series, to say I'm a fan is an understatement.
This movie has a Blade Runner/ Matrix feel to it, and amazing graphics that got this movie in the right mood. I just wanted more from Major Kusanagi. It ended with a hint for a sequel which I hope they do. For a lot of people this might be a confusing movie, and they might not understand it completely.
The original animated movie had so much depth and dealt with so much mystery it would honestly be difficult to pull it off in a movie, but they got most of the elements. Again I liked it and I'm hoping for a sequel but I expected more from Major Kusanagi and Section 9.
As someone unfamiliar with the source material, I found the story to be rather cliche and predictable, but the cinematography and overall visual feel of the film to be quite lush. See it as you would a painting: beautiful to look at but without depth.
Additional Comments: I personally would watch it again. I chose to give it an 8, but that's because I'm certain that the Bluray/UHD will have some of the backstory or extended scenes, and the 3D is worth the extra point over the 6 it earns as a movie.
The visuals and style give it a definite popcorn, forgettable extravagance, that make it worth the watch, maybe not the rewatch. I like the movie a lot at times, but there are problems that can't be erased by liking the movie. I could understand someone giving it a 4 or a 5, or a 9/10 and not feel it was undue.
Music choice was poor from Clint Mansell & co, the choice to synth their way through the birth/build scene was tepid, and the choice to use the recognisable Kenji Kawai marriage song in the end credits, ruins the song's impact when it is so strikingly different to the music in the movie. I think they went with an Aoki dubstep remix version in the end though.
With the same visual setting, characters and large sprawling universe, a different director would be able to make a very clean break and a very modern movie with action, combat, noir procedural elements and strong essential conflicts, with the same crew and same material, given a handful of reshoots to re-establish characters, trim out plot and add needed tone, conflicts, plot elements. It would also be a 2hr 10 movie.
but ... this is not that movie. It may not deserve an 7 or an 8 if you find the acting stilted or the directing and plot unworkable, those are definitely glaring issues. A sequel would be infinitely better than what was produced, but, it might not get that chance either. what's left, is a mess of good ideas, great production, great actors and a hollow experience.
The casting is not a problem IMO, The actors all do a good job, despite the dubious direction notes and action oriented scripting.
I mentioned that the beginning is broken, here's why.
There's a whole year or more from ScarJo's "Character building" birth scene, to working in Section 9 that's jumped over.
We don't see the whole Section 9 team in action against a formidable threat, so we don't see how far above the plebs she is, only that she can get the job done by herself, which is not a team. We also don't get a sense of cohesion or malice from the antagonists; Kuze and Cutter are both shallow villains. Against a stronger, evolving or defining threat, Team building might have been more capable, but they never really get to go all out, which points to a flawed understanding of the material as well.
The plot, tends towards action, instead of emotion or menace, and can seem boring at times where it's trying to put you into the setting, but feels bolted on; Go here, Shoot now. Look around.
There's just a sense of disconnection between rooms and jumps where the theme or mood changes during exposition. Some of this disconnect is also because the camera always tracks the Major's location or POV when present. It also becomes the ScarJo Show as she is relearning how to act human at times, which is an unusual tone given how much time has passed since the Anime; that Androids having existential crises is not that unfamiliar for scifi or regular TV content, nor is she played as being a full cyborg and having trouble with the adaptation.
Again, it's skipped over neatly, which is a concern, especially during the 'glitches', moments where she flashes or hallucinates images, which is not treated as a significant problem or has concern shown by humans in the setting. This is perhaps a uniquely expensive cyborg system; that any significant integration or memory, visual problems are played off, is dubious.
This would be mildly disastrous in another setting. We do learn later why this is, but in the context of her being "the first" or at least, "the best" or cynically, "cybernetic weapons system that is fulfilling a lucrative government contract", it's off-putting that they don't focus or delve into the problem for the Major's benefit, or treat it as a serious problem.
Dr Ouelet (Binoche) drops the ball frequently, playing a surrogate mother and doctor for Major Mira. It's perhaps the oddest mix of distant affection and concern. Direction is quirky when it comes to these scenes as if the camera wants to pan in, but moves aside. As with Warcraft, the Editing and Direction led to character and world building mis-steps early on, where there's just a sense of confusion and odd acting choices, notably from Binoche, who is supposed to present a maternal instinct, or should have, but does not follow through.
It's also one of the plot and character mis-steps that Kuze, an italian actor, and Major... Mira Killian (i.e. like Aldrich Killian from Iron Man 3), an irish name and a scandinavian actress (sic) could have been explained as a design choice by Ouelet. Given that they can craft any imaginable face, it should have been a plot point for continuity that these bodies are her creations. But they skimmed over it, as with the choice of Major, a military rank, which begs questions the movie glosses over as well. They aren't shy when it comes to exposition later on or spending time on 'individuality' or 'consent', concepts that date the movie and feel as if they came from an earlier script that played on these ideas more.
Unfortunately, where the movie tries to invoke thought or concern, it does not work. The best ideas are cribbed from the Anime, and presented as visual motifs and eye candy. Yes, it works well, but it does not gel into the story, especially in the final act where dubious choices are made on behalf of the Major, that don't feel earned at that time, although they are satisfying within the setting. The ending, works. The middle, works, and you do get used to the world setting.
Given modern Sci-Fi ideas, any straight adaptation would fail to have a resounding feeling of accomplishment, given that The Matrix stole all of the uniqueness, and dressed up those elements to make them cliche. What's left that stands out, is the Noir and the procedural elements, both of which they drop the ball on. Noting in the movie feels original unfortunately, because it is playing it safe.
Admittedly the visuals are knockouts, the CG is top notch, you wouldn't know it was filmed in New Zealand with Hong Kong features, buildings and ambient settings, Several times i've had to remember what was supposed to be Japan in the movie, since it strays so far from Japanese cultural settings.
I've also since seen and read about 20 reviews of varying quality and content, and while each have their fair share of complaints and advice, none really define the problems or give it fair criticism.
I'd like to see a sequel with the same cast, and same production teams, with the freedom to move around more, to explore the japanese setting, more than the H.K. skyline, and have some quintessentially more unique protagonists. Laughing Man 2.0 with a touch of Wikileaks flavored revelations, would probably work exceptionally well, as it allows for the buildup and the team to work together, more politics, and more antagonists, more action, and more tech noir.
Original review:
Saw an Advanced screening.
It looks okay, not sure what I'd give it as a rating though.
Some CG is a bit wonky with driving scenes sic., they also pulled a ton of homage scenes from the original anime movie, the new movie, arise, and the SAC series. More than it should have at times, because they murdered the intent of the original scenes to pay respect. The beginning of the film feels Very, Very broken, but it gets better after about 20 minutes once you get settled in the world. Almost as if they reassembled or cut it a few dozen times and forgot what it was supposed to be.
Overall it is a bright and sunny blade runner in HK.
Odd mix of visual and audio and tech/world building styles and direction as well. Good, but a little bit of a compromise with the source material(s) to get 3 or 4 anime movies worth in 1 movie.
It doesn't feel as wonky as the Warcraft movie although the similarities are there in the frequency of CG to actors. Design looks practical and shadows, skin and effective suspension of belief that the Warcraft movie did not pull off.
Plot is amalgam of kuze and puppet master stories, and it's good. They pulled the punches on the metaphysical aspect of 'the dive' into cyberspace or the digital brain, but it was inevitable. It was the weakest part of the movie in some ways.
Will edit if I think of anything else. Probably give it a watch with someone who hasn't seen ghost in the shell to compare their experience with the material.
the teaser trailers look good so far, hoping for the best!
feel so hyped for this
Review by GreeneidalVIP 9BlockedParent2017-08-02T01:32:35Z— updated 2022-05-27T22:45:40Z
Update
I wanted to give Ghost in the Shell another chance. This time with other people in the room to chime in, and… The result is about the same as the first time I saw it (check the old review if you are interested). Still pretty as hell, but lacking in almost everything else. Stick with the anime for your Ghost in the Shell fix. Which reminds me, that one is long overdue for a rewatch...
Old review - same rating
When it comes to cinematography Ghost in the Shell is by far the best in some time, but story and acting wise it leaves a lot to desire.
The story is shallow and has plot holes the size of Grand Canyon. I know you can fit just so much in one and three-quarter hours, but this is ridiculous. I have no idea how someone that isn't aware of the universe from before has a snowball's chance in hell to make sense of this. And to add insult to injury, there's so little character development that you barely care for the Major let alone the supporting cast.
When it comes to the acting, Scarlett Johansson does a passable Major, but for some reason, she lacks the elegance of the Major from the anime. She reminds me more of an alien than a robot with a human brain. The supporting cast is mostly ok. The ones we get to see enough of to make an opinion on that is...
I can't really recommend this one to anyone, but you might wanna watch it if you are a hardcore fan of the anime universe just for the sheer beauty of it...
Definitely beautiful, but severely flawed...