Ghost in the Shell has a bit of an identity problem in this day and age. Even back in the 90s, it was a movie who's artistic vision and fresh approach did a lot to hide what was secretly a derivative cyberpunk premise. It still inspired legions of imitators, and now, in a tragic case of Seinfeld Is Unfunny, a live action reboot of the franchise has to fight to stand apart from the dozens of look-alikes that have come out in the last twenty years.
Well, at least it looks pretty. We are shown a colourful, claustrophobic future in which ginormous billboard holograms peek out from the buildings and slummish skyscrapers tower over the viewer. On a smaller scale, there is a lot of nice practical effects, glistening interiors and fruity costumes - I love the attention to detail in this film.
Unfortunately that's about all I liked about the movie, throughout which I was generally bored. If you have seen the bland, unexciting, unecessary 2014 Robocop remake, then you have basically already seen this film. The plot is a carbon copy of that movie, in which evil executives take a near dead person, stuff them into a killer robot suit and hand them over to the police. As soon as we see the words "corporation" mentioned in Ghost in the Shell's opening text scroll, the audience already know who the villain is going to be at the 15 second mark. Unfortunately it takes our protagonist, Major, the entire movie to figure it out.
This is a film without surprises. It rather cynically takes all the most iconic scenes and rough character concepts from its predecessors, and mashes it into a derivative pulp that producers considered simple enough for mass consumption. You can see how scared the movie is of confusing the audience early on: "Begin robotic body manufacture" says an electronic computer voice, whilst we watch a robotic body being manufactured, you know, just in case we can't figure out that we're watching a robotic body being manufactured. Characters repeatedly clarify that "Ghost" in this movie means "Soul", on the assumption that you are too thick to get the metaphor behind the movie's title.Give me some credit, movie!
Outside of that, characters are all dour and unrelatable bunch. I don't get it, Scarlet Johansson has something of a pedigree in sci-fi and action movies, so she should have killed it here as the lead. But she just spends the movie looking kind of bored or politely confused. She's also not Japanese, and yes this movie absolutely deserves criticism for failing to provide an obvious and rare opportunity for an Asian actor. Worst still, there is a justification built into the plot, no-doubt added in to explain the stupid casting decision.
I can't recommend this movie at all. It is a pretty but unexciting movie, and all the best fight scenes will inevitably be available on youtube in a few months, so just take ten minutes to watch those and skip the rest of this.
Robocop's Second Remake in Three Years
Ghost in the Shell has a bit of an identity problem in this day and age. Even back in the 90s, it was a movie who's artistic vision and fresh approach did a lot to hide what was secretly a derivative cyberpunk premise. It still inspired legions of imitators, and now, in a tragic case of Seinfeld Is Unfunny, a live action reboot of the franchise has to fight to stand apart from the dozens of look-alikes that have come out in the last twenty years.
Well, at least it looks pretty. We are shown a colourful, claustrophobic future in which ginormous billboard holograms peek out from the buildings and slummish skyscrapers tower over the viewer. On a smaller scale, there is a lot of nice practical effects, glistening interiors and fruity costumes - I love the attention to detail in this film.
Unfortunately that's about all I liked about the movie, throughout which I was generally bored. If you have seen the bland, unexciting, unecessary 2014 Robocop remake, then you have basically already seen this film. The plot is a carbon copy of that movie, in which evil executives take a near dead person, stuff them into a killer robot suit and hand them over to the police. As soon as we see the words "corporation" mentioned in Ghost in the Shell's opening text scroll, the audience already know who the villain is going to be at the 15 second mark. Unfortunately it takes our protagonist, Major, the entire movie to figure it out.
This is a film without surprises. It rather cynically takes all the most iconic scenes and rough character concepts from its predecessors, and mashes it into a derivative pulp that producers considered simple enough for mass consumption. You can see how scared the movie is of confusing the audience early on: "Begin robotic body manufacture" says an electronic computer voice, whilst we watch a robotic body being manufactured, you know, just in case we can't figure out that we're watching a robotic body being manufactured. Characters repeatedly clarify that "Ghost" in this movie means "Soul", on the assumption that you are too thick to get the metaphor behind the movie's title.Give me some credit, movie!
Outside of that, characters are all dour and unrelatable bunch. I don't get it, Scarlet Johansson has something of a pedigree in sci-fi and action movies, so she should have killed it here as the lead. But she just spends the movie looking kind of bored or politely confused. She's also not Japanese, and yes this movie absolutely deserves criticism for failing to provide an obvious and rare opportunity for an Asian actor. Worst still, there is a justification built into the plot, no-doubt added in to explain the stupid casting decision.
I can't recommend this movie at all. It is a pretty but unexciting movie, and all the best fight scenes will inevitably be available on youtube in a few months, so just take ten minutes to watch those and skip the rest of this.