It is said that, to sell any foreign entity to an
American audience, one must first know those consuming the product to
begin with. Are you trying to sell Mexican food? Mix together some
random combination of meat, cheese or vegetable and give it a Spanish
name. Trying to sell a Japanese role playing game to the American
public? Simplify the combat system and translate the dialog. And,
best of all, trying to sell a story that argues about the nature of
their own humanity? Bog it down with backhanded commercialism
comments and add some pretty scenery. If Ghost in the Shell is any
indication, the Japanese have long ago mastered this particular art.
Okay, to be nice, Ghost in the Shell is a pretty
awesome movie from a strictly cyberpunk/sci-fi standpoint. The
original message of the 1995 anime (What Makes Us Human?) is still
there and, although dumbed down for mass consumption, does feature
moments of philosophical brilliance. The story, though mixed
together with limited success with not only remnants of the '95 movie
but also the late 90s TV series, still manages to pull off something
resembling a cohesive and immersive plot. The characters range from
decent mirror images (Batou) to straight-up improvements over their
source material (Aramaki). Throw in a setting and overall oppressive
feeling of a world tinted with a fresh coat of paint to cover up its
unpleasant underbelly and you have a movie that tries and mostly
succeeds in at least being a cliff notes version of the property.
Regardless of your opinions on the casting or even the need for this
property to exist in live-action, you can't deny that the production
didn't skimp over details when it came to giving you something pretty
to look at.
Unfortunately, while it is a very well-shot movie
filled with some deep-rooted philosophies, the movie ultimately fails
on its insistence on focusing solely on the image rather than the
brain. Yes, The Major (Scarlett Johanssen) is a lot of fun to watch
in action, but she's mostly just playing a blank slate (a literal
amnesiac) with the occasional doubts about her own humanity. Yes,
Kazu (Michael Pitt) is an interesting villain with a sympathetic
story and a few interesting twists to go along with it, but he
doesn't really have much of a point out of being a catalyst for
Major's own awakening. Even the city, so well rendered and full of
unique sites, gets stale after the fiftieth freaking pan shot because
the filmmakers apparently couldn't think of a better way to do screen
transition. I get it! The city looks cool! You don't have to keep
proving it to me every time you want send me somewhere else!
As for watching it, did you watch the original and wish
there was more humor to go along with its dour tale of humanity lost?
This will offer enough moments of levity to at least feel more
entertaining than the original's rather depressing plot. Did you love
the original and, as a knee-jerk reaction, spit on any attempt to
recreate that particular tone? This probably won't change your mind
and you could find better uses of your time trying to figure out how
to get over yourself.
Rupert Sanders (Snow White and The Hunstman) continues
to make visually stunning, if thematically flawed, movies that pretty
much no one asks for with Ghost in the Shell, a cyberpunk-themed
story about how being human doesn't necessarily involve humanity.
Fatally injured in a terrorist attack, The Major (Johanssen) is
augmented to the point of near complete machine and put to work
fighting cyberterrorists. Along the way, she will realize that
everything about her may or may not be a lie, Aramaki (Takeshi
Kitano) will be the most awesome version of himself ever and the soul
of the original will be lost in translation in exchange for a
by-the-numbers action movie with only hints of the whole
darkness-of-the-human-soul stuff Japan doesn't seem to have any
problems with. Hey, looks cool, though!
My score: 5/10. So...did anyone else notice that The
Major is actually an Asian woman inside the body of a white woman?
Isn't that kind of like sidestepping the “whitewashing” puddle
just to fall of a freaking cliff?
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