Throwback Thursday Review: 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'

I apologize for the delay on this review as I had final exams to prepare for but this week I'm reviewing Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End to continue my series of Pirates of the Caribbean reviews voyaging towards Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Next week I'll review Spider-Man 3 to tie into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as a Marvel release and go towards my series of Spider-Man reviews leading up to Spider-Man: Homecoming. In the next three weeks you can expect plenty of reviews including a Triple-R of Guardians of the Galaxy in the next few days, Throwback Thursday Reviews over Despicable Me and Prometheus and reviews of new releases encompassing The Circle, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and Alien: Covenant.

'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End' Review

Nominated For: Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End furthers the swashbuckling seafarer saga shortly after the events of Dead Man's Chest. William Turner and Elizabeth Swann are joined this time by a resurrected Captain Barbossa and the crew of the Black Pearl on a voyage to the world's end so they can retrieve an estranged Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones' Locker for a final confrontation with Jones, Lord Beckett, and the West India Trading Company's fleet. 

Director Gore Verbinski returned for one last go-around at sea and definitely delivered on spectacle, seeing as the stormy sea skirmish alone makes for an epic engagement with plenty of memorable moments. Verbinski certainly sought to make this film in the vein of other epic threequels like Return of the King or Return Of The Jedi and succeeded in upping the ante of the action. This is only enhanced by the wonderful work from Verbinski's technical crew that bring the sights and sounds of the kooky Caribbean to life including cinematographer, production and costume designers, vfx artists, sound design team, and composer Hans Zimmer.

Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio maintain their position headlining the screenplay for the franchise and successfully tie up loose ends from the Pirate predecessors even if the flow of the story has to suffer a bit along the way. Admittedly, the plot is rather convoluted at times and it becomes difficult to keep track of all the double crossings but Elliot and Rossio do a fine job unravelling things enough to provide satisfying pay-offs to all the dangling story threads that originated with Curse of the Black Pearl. I presume that this installment was originally intended to cap off a trilogy, yet the ending sets the stage for On Stranger Tides, so there's no telling if it was made with a fourth film in mind or if that decision was made after the box office receipts came in.

What At World's End lacks in coherence, it makes up for with entertainment value, so despite a runtime of two hours and forty-nine minutes At World's End is a well-paced buccaneer blockbuster. Johnny Depp's back parading about with the savvy Sparrow-schtick we've come to know and love, stretching his sea legs to play multiple Jack Sparrows in some bizarre dream sequences and hallucinations. Orlando Bloom projects forth courage and confidence as Will Turner, while Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Swann completes the transition from former damsel to Pirate Lord thanks to her valor and quick-thinking. 

In the meantime, Geoffrey Rush chews up the scenery now that he's back as the scoundrel pirate Captain Barbossa, Tom Hollander plays the clean-cut British menace Lord Beckett, and Bill Nighy's Davy Jones commands the gravitas of an accomplished antagonistic force. Remaining supporting cast members Kevin McNally, Jack Davenport, Johnathan Pryce, Stellan Skarsgård, and Naomi Harris reprise their respective roles to fill out the cast as faithful first mate, the composed British naval officer, dignified governor, devoted servant of the Flying Dutchman, and a supernatural sorceress.

In conclusion, At World's End brings sufficient closure to the Turner/Swann storyline (although I suspect the arc will resurge in Dead Men Tell No Tales based on the film's marketing) and makes for another entertaining oceanic escapade thanks to the talented cast and crew on board.

Film Assessment: B-

'Free Fire' Review

Free Fire follows the break-out of a fervent firefight once an arms deal goes awry. Straight from the get-go, writer-director Ben Wheatley establishes a Tarantino-esque tone, premise, and setting inhabited by tough wisecrackers who could've walked straight off the set of Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction. Even though the plot and setting of Free Fire calls a few of Quentin Tarantino classics to mind, Wheatley manages to distance his film enough that it never retreads familiar ground.

Free Fire is very much it's own thing, a quirky hour and half crossfire. I'll let you know now not to expect much beyond the shoot-out and preceding set-up because there's little to no traditional plot structure in Free Fire once the insanity ensues. The constant crossfire does grow tiring in some moments but as soon as you're about to check out, you'll be brought back in by the outrageous antics these characters carry out. The cinematography employed also involves a number of cool camera tricks to make up for the lower budget and maintain the intense energy throughout the firefight.

Due to the film's smaller budget and the confines of the space allowed, there aren't any particularly memorable stunts or action beats but the captivating characters more than make up for this. The screenplay penned by Wheatley and co-writer Amy Jump doesn't explore the characters too deeply and that actually works in the film's favor because you're not quite sure who'll make it out alive when everything's all said and done.

The script quickly takes a turn towards over-the-top ridiculousness and Free Fire becomes an outright comedy when the aim of these characters is so poor that they can't hit one another from ten feet away. There's something sadistically entertaining about watching these characters confined to close-quarters conflict because the characters are charismatic scoundrels. You dislike them because who they are or what they've done, but you won't be able to help but enjoy every minute they're taunting and shooting at one another. Free Fire's got quite the arsenal in terms of its accomplished cast featuring the likes of Brie Larson, Armie Hammer, Jack Reynor, Cillian Murphy, and Sharlto Copley. Everyone puts forth a commendable performance but Hammer and Copley stood out for their particular personalities as the levelheaded and kooky individuals respectively.

There's not really much else to say about Free Fire due to the simple, self-explanatory premise. If this sounds interesting to you, then I say it's worth checking out. If not, then this simply isn't for you. I'd say Free Fire took its shot and hit its mark because Free Fire turned out to be exactly what I wanted; a delightful over-the-top self-contained shoot-em-up.

Film Assessment: B

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon'

Today I'm continuing my series of Transformers reviews leading up to this year's Transformers: The Last Knight with my thoughts on Transformers: Dark of the Moon. I'll take a break till June before I cover Transformers: Age of Extinction. Next week I'll review Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, followed by Spider-Man 3 and Despicable Me the next two Thursdays. Reviews you can find in the meantime include a Triple-R of Guardians of the Galaxy and new reviews of The Circle, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. Other reviews that may crop up are The Boss Baby, The Zookeeper's Wife, Going in Style, and Free Fire.

'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' Review

Nominated For: Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.

In Transformers: Dark of the Moon the war between Autobots and Deceptions rages on! The opening prologue of Dark of the Moon reveals there was more than met the eye to the '60s space race. International government agencies hid the truth that an Autobot ship was found on the dark side of the moon housing Sentinel Prime and a device with the potential to save Cybertron. Cut to present day, and the Deceptions are scheming in the shadows to retrieve this artifact and revive Cybertron with the Autobots hot in pursuit. Meanwhile, Sam Witwicky has completed college and is having difficulties not only finding a job but adjusting to a complacent lifestyle. On the bright side, he has a new unrealistically attractive girlfriend to sub out for Megan Fox's departure! Anyways, Witwicky once again finds himself drawn towards the conflict in typical Transformers fashion that culminates to an all-out bot brawl in Chicago. 

Michael Bay's back in the director's chair and thankfully his trademarks are tempered this time about. Yes, there's still blatant over-sexualized shots of attractive women and explosions galore but the eye-rolling crude humor and Bay-isms come in smaller doses and are much more restrained in comparison to Transformers and Revenge of the Fallen. Bay's more than game to capture epic action sequences featuring slo-mo to boot! In collaboration with his technical crew, Bay successfully ups the ante on delivering remarkable robo-rumbles. So hats off to cinematographer Amir Mokiri and the vfx and sound departments! I also found it to be a breath of fresh air that Dark of the Moon wasn't so reliant on a rocking soundtrack and that Steve Jablonsky composed an epic auditory atmosphere to surround the raging robots amidst their fervent fight. 

Dark of the Moon also extended its arms to allow Ehren Kruger to step up and headline the script solo this time around. Kruger managed to make the human drama more engaging this time around by fleshing out Sam's character and granting him a fulfilling character arc that built upon his journey thus far (do remember this is a Transformers movie though, so it's not that radical). 

In previous Transformers outings I never quite cared about the human characters the way I should, but Dark of the Moon course-corrects that issue by zeroing in on the characters you've invested in and restricting screen time for those you'd rather not see. Dark of the Moon could have scraped by with a tighter running time by condensing certain sequences and removing extraneous material but the two and half hour runtime isn't dreadful to sit through. 

As for the performances, Shia LaBeouf goes out on a high note since he seems more committed and serious this time around (largely due to the shift in the way the character was written). Rosie Huntington-Whiteley does a fine job for a model by being more than just a pretty face, most of the criticisms towards her acting is probably a result of Bay's direction and not so much her performance. Huntington-Whiteley fills the Megan Fox void well and I'd even go as far to say she was better in comparison. I've got to say that the chemistry between LeBouf and Huntington-Whiteley felt far more convincing for some reason, even if the relationship seemed just as unrealistic. 

Elsewhere, Patrick Dempsey chews the scenery as the reverse Witwicky, a human allied with the Deceptions, making him an interesting opposing force for Sam to go up against. Familiar faces include Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson as their respective soldiers with Kevin Dunn and Julie White back for one last stint as Sam's obnoxious parents (relegated to cameo appearances this time). 

Peter Cullen, Robert Foxworth, Jess Harnell, Hugo Weaving, and Charlie Adler are all back voicing Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Ironhide, Megatron, and Starscream respectively while Leonard Nimoy entered the fray as Sentinel Prime. Once again, the voice acting's great but that element of the franchise has never been lacking so it's no surprise that it works again. Frances McDormand, John Turturro, Alan Tudyk, John Malkovich, and Ken Jeong each get silly supporting bits and each have a memorable moment or two that will leave you laughing but are relegated to the comic schtick. 

A strong case can be made that Dark of the Moon spotlights the best action sequences and story beats of the franchise as it's the only Transformers film aside from the first to truly entertain me. Dark of the Moon strikes a fine balance of delivering a sufficient story vessel to justify the grand spectacle and dictating that its action is driven by the needs of the story and its characters. That's not to say that Dark of the Moon was revolutionary for blockbusters, it doesn't even come close, but it does stand as a significant improvement to the franchise in my eyes that only gets scrapped back to square one in the subsequent entry. Dark of the Moon has its fair share of problems but succeeded in the vain of being the popcorn entertainment it set out to be, so I can't help but validate that!

Film Assessment: C+

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Spider-Man 2'

Sorry this was published a little late due to my trip to Orlando for Star Wars Celebration this past weekend. Anyways, I'm continuing my series of Spider-Man reviews leading up to Spider-Man: Homecoming with my review of Spider-Man 2. Tomorrow I'll review Transformers: Dark of the Moon and next week will be a Throwback Thursday Review over Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End before I continue this series with my thoughts on Spider-Man 3. Other reviews you may see throughout April include The Boss Baby, The Zookeeper's Wife, Going in Style, Free Fire, and The Circle but don't be too surprised if reviews over The Boss Baby, The Zookeeper's Wife, and Going in Style don't end up happening. 

'Spider-Man 2' Review

Nominated for: Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.
Won: Best Visual Effects.

In Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker finds it difficult to balance everyday life with his web-slinging antics. The opening thirty minutes show Parker being fired from his part-time job as a pizza delivery guy, consistently missing class, failing to attend a single performance of Mary Jane's play The Importance of Being Earnest, and on-top that forgetting his own birthday. Struggling to find his place in the world, Parker's abilities begin to wither out and he questions whether he should continue being Spider-Man.

Returning director Sam Raimi guided the friendly, neighborhood web-head to new heights for his second go around. One fascinating aspect of Spider-Man 2 is that it's a multi-faceted feature with broad appeal to children and adults. Growing up, I absolutely loved Spider-Man 2 for it's colorful, campy nature and the exhilarating action but I never realized how complex the underlying narrative was till more recent revisits. Everyone can relate to juggling the hectic schedule accompanying their everyday lives and Raimi expertly channeled the frantic nature of a busy agenda. Raimi maintained the exhilarating energy he brought to the action in Spider-Man, even pushing the envelope further in some instances (ie. the train sequence) and really fleshing out the characters to ground the outlandish world around them thanks to his team of screenwriters.

Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Michael Chabon lent their expertise to develop the screen story whilst Alvin Sargent penned the screenplay and the end result is an incredibly relatable superhero movie. The story never feels compromised for the sake of spectacle and vice versa, the action's never shortchanged to enhance the drama. Even though Spider-Man 2 is thirteen years old, the visual effects hold up remarkably well and certainly stood the test of time as Spider-Man's heroics seemed not only plausible but it was convincing thanks to the excellent technical execution of both practical effects and CGI. On top of all that, the costumes are amazing and Danny Elfman unsurprisingly composed another marvelous score that's got the grandeur one would expect to accompany the quintessential hero, the sprawling epic nature of an adventurous blockbuster, and the more compassionate character arrangements. I have a few nitpicks here and there such as the writing for Mary Jane, positioning her as the typical damsel-in-distress and her overall cliché characterization, but for the most part there's little to detract from Spider-Man 2.

Tobey Maguire's performance is an improvement over his first incarnation but once again he really fails to apprehend the duality required by the role. Maguire absolutely encapsulated the awkward geekiness of Peter Parker but was still lacking the cool, collected quippy demeanor of Spider-Man. He throws out one-liners but his inflection just doesn't allow them to come across to be as energetic as they are intended to be.

Kirsten Dunst is once again trapped in the stereotypical role of the female love interest, doomed to persistently be Spidey's damsel, while James Franco gets to sink his teeth into a meatier character arc as Harry Osborn transitions into adulthood. Rosemary Harris and J.K. Simmons each return as Aunt May and J. Jonah Jameson to respectively act as Peter's moral compass and bark orders like nobody's business.

Meanwhile, Alfred Molina stepped into the shoes of Williem Dafoe to act as the new big bad, bolstering the antagonistic presence of Dr. Otto Octavius. Molina's Doc Ock is a layered villain whose course of action can be grasped, he gets to toy with all the fun of being the mad scientist and simultaneously handle the physical aspect of the conflict thanks to Doc Ock's robotic tendrils making him a versatile threat. It's that balance of knowledge and power that allows to Doc Ock to demand attention and march about with serious gravitas.

I'll go ahead and now reveal that Spider-Man 2 is currently my favorite Spider-Man film. This is in large part to how rich and complex the character and storytelling lain out prove to be under the guise of a fun comic book movie. Spider-Man 2 has just about everything a great Spider-Man flick needs; an engaging narrative fueled by captivating character arcs, astonishing action, and ideal execution. Spider-Man 2's not just a great superhero movie, it's an incredible film.

Film Assessment: A

'The Fate of the Furious' Review

The Fate of the Furious flips the Fast & Furious franchise on its head when Dominic Toretto suddenly betrays his team in the midst of a non-sanctioned operation. The crew then are assembled by Mr. Nobody and must partner with an unexpected ally, former foe Deckard Shaw, if they have any hope of stopping Toretto and the cyberterrorist organization behind his shifted alliance. 

If you told me that Fate of the Furious was directed by Michael Bay, I'd probably buy it due to Straight Outta Compton filmmaker F. Gary Gray's decision to switch gears into full Transformers territory. The two franchises might as well cross over at this point because they've both got slo-mo, explosions, choppy editing, and shaky cam galore! 

Gray and his technical crew absolutely deliver on piecing together ridiculous action set pieces comprised of a standard street race in Havana harkening back to the roots of  The Fast and the Furious, an absurd chase through the Big Apple involving thousands of remotely controlled auto-driven cars, and the gang casually skidding over the frozen tundra and a nuclear submarine in efforts to stop World War III to name a couple. 

Despite Fate of the Furious' best intentions at delivering a commercialized blockbuster, the film feels devoid of the energy that bolstered previous entries (possibly due to Paul Walker's absence). Now I can suspend my disbelief of nonsensical action and overlook the bad dialogue provided I'm reasonably entertained, but Fate of the Furious never quite found that niche. I can't fault the film itself for this but Universal's marketing department plastered the coolest moments everywhere on the internet so Fate of the Furious never took me by surprise. I occasionally laughed at the senseless situations the crew found themselves in or the cheap one-liners but I was rarely invested in the insanity. 

Furious 7 tied up all the loose ends of the series nicely with a neat, little bow but veteran F&F screenwriter Chris Morgan returns to unravel that with his sixth consecutive F&F screenplay. Fate of the Furious can't help but feel like an extraneous extension of the saga because of how nicely Furious 7 wrapped things up, especially when minimal character growth occurs over the 136 minute runtime and the ending seemingly leaves little room for anywhere I could conceivably see the franchise headed. One thing that especially bothered me was that there were no lasting consequences or any aftermath from choices made by these characters. It doesn't help that the characters are virtually invulnerable either, these people are practically superheroes at this point. 

On top of that, the formulaic nature of these F&F movies is becoming more and more apparent with each new installment and I'm convinced the last four or so practically have the same ending. However, two things I can credit Morgan for are writing decent hamstrung one-liners and constructing a convincing motivation for Toretto to turn on his family (probably the only surprise in the movie). Aside from that I was awestruck at how easily entertained the people around me were, they audibly gasped and aw'ed at predictable clichés I saw coming from a mile away. 

For the most part, the cast fill out their prescribed duties but it's noticeable the material they're given is rather lackluster. Vin Diesel gets to tread new waters as Dominic Toretto explores the inherent internal conflict that accompanies betrayal. Diesel demonstrated more range in this film that I feel was missing from some of his previous performances in this franchise and lent itself well to the precarious position his character found himself in. Michelle Rodriguez's scenes opposite Diesel provides the soap opera-esque relationship drama for Letty and Dom, which is incredibly melodramatic and over-the-top but somehow works thanks to the chemistry between the two. 

Amongst the supporting roster, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson hams it up as Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham's Deckard surprisingly steals the show now that he's on the good guy's side (watch out for his plane sequence that's an absolute delight and demands a spin-off). Statham and Johnson's verbal sparring turned out to be a highlight as both get a few good insults while Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson serve as supporting comedic relief with their characters Tej and Roman competing for the affections of Nathalie Emmanuel's Ramsey. Emmanuel gets to spout technical know-how and hack plenty of databases in the same vein as her role in Furious 7 but sadly has little else to do. Kurt Russell returns as the franchise's Nick Fury, Mr. Nobody, and he's brought Scott Eastwood and accomplished actress Helen Mirren along with him because clearly the ensemble wasn't crowded enough already. 

In the antagonistic department, Charlize Theron enters the fray and you'd expect a certain level of gravitas to accompany an Academy Award winning actress like Theron in a villainous role. However, Theron absolutely phones it in as Cipher, making her the blandest foe the team have come across yet. Cipher doesn't ever trade blows with the crew, which is incredibly disappointing when you take her stint as Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road or the trailers for her upcoming action flick Atomic Blonde into account (both of which serving as sufficient evidence she can handle an action sequence). It's probably worth mentioning to keep an eagle eye out for cameos since there were a few familiar faces I didn't expect to see and there's no post credits scene so you can race out of the theater once it's over. 

When it's all said and done, I'm not really sure Fate of the Furious was a necessary addition to the franchise. It feels driven towards financial rewards rather than furthering the characters or story in a meaningful way. Legitimate fans and casual viewers of F&F who have loved each installment and are simply seeking a good time will be more than satisfied with Fate of the Furious, but anyone hoping for an interesting continuation of the F&F family story will probably be let down. The Fate of the Furious has just about everything longtime viewers of the series have come to expect; outrageous vehicular stunts, cheesy quips, and a strong focus on family, but it fails to deliver an engaging adventurous atmosphere for our characters.

Film Assessment: C-

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'

Sorry for the delay but this week I'm continuing my series of Pirates of the Caribbean reviews with my thoughts on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. I'll then take a break to resume my respective Spider-Man and Transformers reviews before I revisit Pirates of the Caribbean again. Reviews you can expect through the remainder of April include Throwback Thursday Reviews over Spider-Man 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End in addition to potential reviews over The Boss Baby, The Zookeeper's Wife, Going in Style, The Fate of the Furious, Free Fire, and The Circle.

'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' Review

Nominated For: Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. 

Won: Best Visual Effects.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest continues following the exploits of the savvy Captain Jack Sparrow as the tentacular Captain of the Flying Dutchman Davy Jones seeks to uphold a briny bargain and adjoin Sparrow's soul with his collection. Therefore, the only alternative to Sparrow is to locate Jones' heart in hopes he can wield it as leverage over the supernatural seafarer. Meanwhile, Sparrow's predicament interrupts the wedding plans of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann so they're once again embroiled into the oceanic escapades. 

Director Gore Verbinski returned to steer the franchise even further into the strange waters Curse of the Black Pearl dipped its toes into. For one, the crew of the Flying Dutchman are cursed to resemble sea creatures so there are hammerhead shark men and coral-infused anthropomorphized beings running about; and that's not even taking the mythos surrounding Davy Jones into account. 

Verbinski really relishes in the swashbuckling setting he's established as the nonsensical action sequences turn out to be even more amusing and it's always exciting to see what ruses Jack Sparrow will employ to escape precarious situations. Dead Man's Chest definitely delivered on upping the entertainment value by featuring a sword skirmish atop a traveling watermill wheel, standard ship shootouts, and a full-scale assault from the monstrous Kraken. 

The technical team behind Dead Man's Chest further enhance the proceedings with commendable cinematography, rough production design, and remarkable visual effects work depicting Jones and his crew that held up surprisingly well in the eleven years since theatrical release. Klaus Badelt left his scoring duties behind so Hans Zimmer lent his expertise in that department to compose epic emotionally-resonant character themes that meticulously matched Badelt's pre-existing sea shanties.

Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio resume their scripting duties to build upon their pre-existing sea of scalawags, furthering plot points touched upon in Curse of the Black Pearl while taking the characters in new, interesting directions. Dead Man's Chest does meander about in search of storytelling coves Curse of the Black Pearl left behind, but for the most part remains a well-paced adventure film. 

The crew is composed of fresh and familiar faces who stretch their sea legs and sail unexplored waters. Johnny Depp's back with all the silly swagger he can muster in the role of Jack Sparrow while Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley return as star-crossed lovers Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann. Bloom and Knightley get to chart new waters for their characters as they explore morally ambiguous territory and all that accompanies life at sea.

Bill Nighy enters the fray with a motion capture portrayal of Davy Jones, barking scurvyous Scottish demands in slimy squid-like fashion and Nighy brings the necessary gravitas to stand out as a memorable roguish antagonist.

Amongst the supporting cast, Kevin McNally, Jack Davenport, and Johnathan Pryce fill out their previous roles as loyal first mate Gibbs, former naval commodore Norrington (now a broken man), and the stately Governor Weatherby Swann with Stellan Skarsgård and Naomi Harris coming onboard to play Turner's barnacled patriarch Bootstrap Bill and a voodoo sorceress Tia Dalma respectively. Overall, Dead Man's Chest is a rousing galavant across the sea that floats on the merits of its cast, technical execution, and undercurrent scoring but occasionally runs adrift in search of side stories to tell. 

Film Assessment: B-

'Ghost in the Shell' (2017) Review

Ghost in the Shell is the live action translation of the 1995 anime Ghost in the Shell depicting a futuristic society where humans enhance themselves with cybernetics. Major Motoko Kusanagi is the first of her kind with a human soul (a ghost) inside a synthetic body (a shell) working alongside Sector Nine, a tactical cyber-cop unit, to bring down the heinous hactivist Kuze. In her pursuit of Kuze, Major begins to uncover hints of her past life leading her to seek out her own individuality and the truth about what happened to her. 

Ghost in the Shell is directed by visionary director Rupert Sanders, who previously helmed Snow White and the Huntsman, and stars Scarlett Johansson. From that prognosis, parallels to Lucy are clear (Visionary director Luc Besson also teamed with Scar-Jo) and it's not too difficult to see why I had concerns walking into Ghost in the Shell minding I felt Lucy was a mess. On top of those concerns, Ghost in the Shell trails an abysmal live action anime adaptation streak akin to the failed video game movies of late and drew plenty of criticism for it's casting of Scarlett Johansson in the role of Major. 

This year's movie releases happened to be composed of quite a few controversial commercial blockbusters such as Beauty and the Beast (2017) and Power Rangers for their inclusion of gay characters and Ghost in the Shell falls in line with February's The Great Wall for their respective whitewashing controversies (casting a Caucasian actor/actress in a lead role many believed should be reserved for other ethnic talent). Whereas the casting of Matt Damon in The Great Wall wasn't technically whitewashing, Scarlett Johansson's casting as Major does qualify in my eyes considering the Major traditionally resembles a Japanese woman in the anime and manga. However, Johansson bodes well in the role and when you take into account that Major's a cyborg and not a human being, designating an ethnicity to a robot almost seems silly and contrived. Therefore, you may notice that the critical consensus on Ghost in the Shell is quite divisive (currently standing at a 46% on Rotten Tomatoes) and plenty of comparisons are being drawn to the original. While this was inevitable and is almost always the case for any reimagining of something people hold dear (just look at what happened to Ghostbusters last year), I feel some of the criticism was a bit much. 

One unfair criticism is that Ghost in the Shell didn't break new ground and seems to borrow too heavily from other science fiction like The Matrix when the 1995 anime adaptation was actually a massive source of inspiration to the Wachowskis when making The Matrix... On that note, any hoping to see a beat-for-beat retread of the anime will be MAJOR-ly disappointed as Ghost in the Shell takes many liberties with the source material. It does however pay homage to the anime by tying in familiar story beats and occasionally recreating the classic action sequences frame-by-frame. 

Director Rupert Sanders, cinematographer Jess Hall, and the vfx team go above and beyond in terms of materializing the anime aesthetic while adding new depth to the visual plane. If there's one aspect of Ghost in the Shell that's undeniably grandiose, it would be the visuals. The images are absolutely stunning and they're only enhanced by the awesome accompaniment. I didn't think it was possible but Lorne Balfe and Clint Mansell managed to compose an original score that feels true to Kenji Kawai's original ethereal sound while modernizing it to better fit this adaptation. This is probably one of the best film scores I've heard this year and cannot wait for it to drop on Spotify. 

Ghost in the Shell is certainly more entertaining than the original in terms of spectacle but in its commercialization, Ghost in the Shell succumbs to narrative contrivances. Jamie Moss, William Wheeler, and Ehren Kruger penned the screenplay, making a number of changes to the  story by fleshing out Major and her backstory and I applaud those changes for making Major an intuitive presence and not quite as distanced and robotic. However, Ghost in the Shell seeps into sci-fi storytelling clichés that handicap the film from stepping out of the original's shadow. 

Ghost in the Shell also features a relatively diverse cast, even with the white washing issue, who lend well to the source material for the most part. Scarlett Johansson captures a sweet spot between feeling either fully human or completely robotic and walks the line carefully in her portrayal of Major. Johansson's more than proven her worth as an action heroine elsewhere in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Black Widow but I feel she performed admirably here as well and I'd love to see her return in a sequel, it probably won't happen though considering the pitiful box office performance last weekend. 

Supporting players Pilou Asbæk and Takeshi Kitano standout among the Sector Nine agency while Juliette Binoche and Peter Ferdinando feel relegated to cliché characterization among the narrative changes. Michael Pitt however makes for an interesting antagonist that's relatively unpredictable in nature, especially if you're expecting things to turn out exactly as they do in the anime. 

In conclusion, I feel this is well worth your time if the trailers peaked your interest and can certainly advise fans of the anime to check it out but anyone already up in arms over the Scar-Jo casting probably won't be swayed. I'll add that I enjoyed the film considerably more than I was expecting to and feel this film lends itself well to a cinematic experience so if you're gonna see it, then you should it in theaters. Ultimately, Ghost in the Shell effectively translates the iconic imagery and ornate sounds of the influential anime but suffers from shallower storytelling resulting in a more entertaining adaptation that doesn't quite grasp the philosophical themes of the original. 

Film Assessment: B-