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.
