Ghost in the Shell

What makes us real?

Ghost in the Shell is probably one of the most beloved Anime properties in recent history. the 1995 OVA based upon the astonishing Masamune Shirow Manga blew everyone's VCR minds sky high! The music, the animation quality (with gigantic attention to detail) the presence of Shoji Kawamori in mechanical designs and the depresssing future themes granted GITS a place in history. 

Today, 22 years later comes the live action remake that everyone's been talking about for all the wrong reasons? To each his own, of course. However, as we always advice, watch the movies yourself. Don't let yourself be biased by missinformed people, naysayers, trolls, fanboys and wholesome pieces of shit from the crappy world of social networks. Shit, how I miss the 90's! it was so much easier and positive back in the day! 

So, Ghost in the Shell may or may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm pretty sure that it isn't nowhere nearly as bad as they want you to believe. Starred by Scarlett Johansson (sci-fi superstar!, look at her CV!)  as The Major (not a single minute called by her original name Motoko Kusagani) an enhanced cybernetic being devoted to stop the world's most dangerous criminals. Co-starred by film legends Takeshi Kitano (as Aramaki) & Juliette Binoche (as doctor Ouelet), the GITS film adaptation is actually very different from the original OVA.  The first big change is the fact that Motoko Kusanagi is no longer one of the many enhanced cyborg organisms living in the GITS universe. This time, she's the very fist enhanced being so that clearly calls for some bigger changes in the script that is cleverly, yet predictably adapted by Jamie Moss, William Wheeler & Ehren Kruger under the correct direction of Rupert Sanders. If you've watched the original GITS you know this big change will somehow diminish the complexity of the philosophy within the film. The second change is the fact that the Puppet Master (the original bad guy in the Anime) is no longer depicted as a hacker criminal, AKA project 2501 with the ability to travel across the cybernetic network and do as he pleases with immense power. Nope! the new bad guy is called Kuze (played by Kurt Cobain wannabe Michael Pitt) which instantly means we won't be seeing the naked girl being hit by a truck while the Puppet Master takes complete possesion of her cyborg body in order to establish a connection with Motoko. 

The future.

Cyborg Geisha.

Differences aside, GITS is still a very good movie. Viewers expecting an array of original ideas, don't waste your time!, everything's been done before!. The idea of a cyberpunk futiristic world has been explored by the entertainment industry for eons! Blade Runner, Six Million Dollar Man, Megazone 23, Terminator, Robocop, The Matrix, shall I continue? The thing is, the future of mankind is so interesting as an entertainment context, that I'm sure many films and other artistic forms will keep on exploring the possibilities of a humanity lost in a technological world (aren't we already there?) so bugging about it, won't change the world dudes.

Plotwise with the above mentioned changes, the story is more focused on Major's uniqueness and the world is presented through the eyes of an enhanced woman who's questioning what makes us human and ultimately, what makes us to feel alive.  The antagonist as the word quickly suggests, it's the exact opposite of Johansson's: AI desperately looking to be alive. 

The Major.

it's kicking ass time!

The speciall effects are really good, although not that surprising in this day and age, the invisible armor Major wears in the iconic water battle, looks superb! In addition, her skin tight suit makes it look like Scarlett Johansson was naked all the time! (and that is a good thing for us admirer of the starlet) Boy! look at those curves! (I know I sound like a macho pig, but do excuse me) Some visual sequences look like they were taken from the original 1995 animation, and that is always a welcomed gesture by fans. The opening sequence (although it lacks the original superb theme) is a carbon copy of the OVA. We see Scarlett Johansson being built into the Major frame by frame. Other action scenes were also made to look almost the same as the source material. Again, we can't thank enough director Sanders for that.

The score isn't as thrilling as the original OVA score was, it just plays like your standard derivative superhero/sici-fi soundtrack. Nevertheless, you don't really notice it that much because this film has a e s t h e t i c s written all over! The visual spectacle we're offered is a delight to our eyes. Did I mention Johansson looks like she's naked all the time? Oops!

I'm gonna getcha!

Lookalikes.

Gory violence has been completely erased from existance. Obviously, this is a Hollywood technique they use to widen their audience, thus making more money out of the film and its byproducts. The original OVA had a lot of graphic violence which was essential to the understanding of how cold this future world was. Nevertheless, the film script didn't include those subplots and/or made substantial changes to them to save them from censorship. Unfortunately, those changes make GITS a far predictable film, unlike its original counterpart where there was still a sense of oven fresh ideas.

and what about the whitewashing and shit?

Seriously? do you still see the world according to color, race & gender? If yes, then GITS is clearly a film you shouldn't watch, specially the 1995 OVA where the quintessential question is what makes us human? feelings? sex? gender? offspring? self awareness? Nonetheless, we will not discuss the matter here because we couldn't care less about it. We're all human beings!, persons! which is way more than being LGBT, Latino or Asian! The day we start accepting people as equals is the day war ends. Let's see if we make it to see that day. 

Scarlett Johansson has proven to be one of the most prolific sci-fi actress in the last two decades. She's portrayed comic book characters (Ghost World, Black Widow in the MCU, The Spirit) Science fiction characters (The Island, Lucy, Under the Skin) I think she was the right choice to portray the Major. if you compare her acting side by side with the animé, you'll see she delivers a respectful homage to the original. Besides, she's got the looks.

Major, you're human.

You're not real!

Overall, Ghost in the Shell is a daring experiment at touching something sacred and turning into a brand new western live action film. Like most films, the viewer is to decide whether it is a masterpiece or disposable junk. I for one, think it's a good movie, a fair attempt at paying homage to a wonderful 1995 set of memories I found myself countless times watching with a long gone friend on my VCR during the 90's. Truth be told, this film will never outdo the original, yet I don't think this was the original intention behind the making of this movie, just turn off your internet for a while, sit back, and enjoy this film.

Here's the movie trailer: