Ghost In The Shell 2017 review

So I finally got to see the controversial American version of a classic Japanese anime cartoon titled Ghost In The Shell.



Spoiler Free

       Let me start by saying that prior to watching the American version, I enjoyed the Japanese cartoon, and even revisited it so I could become familiar with the characters and story prior to going into the live action Americanized version. A lot has been said about this version of the classic story as many viewers feel that the filmmakers have essentially whitewashed the story in order to make it appeal to American audiences. While the latter is true that the film has been modernized to appeal to a different type of demographic, the story is done in a way where it stays true to its original source material while delivering numerous call backs to the original. Ghost in the Shell 2017 is not a great film by any means, but not the terrible atrocity that fans of the original make it out to be because of its whitewashing. Scarlett Johansson proves to be effectively cast in the title role as she does it justice while bearing a similar look and style to the character she plays that was dominant in the original. The visual style of the film is top notch giving off the feel of the cartoon along with brilliant cinematography that reminds viewers of another ScFI classic film titled Blade Runner. Ghost In The Shells storyline takes place in the future with Scarlett's character, Major, being the first design of her kind after surviving a serious crash. Transformed into a human that is cyber enhanced, she becomes the ultimate soldier in chasing down futuristic criminals. While the movie lacks the magic of its classic original source material, it is propelled by impressive visuals and Scarlett Johanssons convincing performance that makes it worth watching ultimately. While Ghost In The Shell doesn't have the successful results of a story like Infernal Affairs being transformed into Martin Scorsesse's The Departed, it also doesn't have the results of Oldboy being turned into Spike Lee's poorly received Americanized version. Despite Ghost In The Shell being reasonably entertaining, the film lacks heart and magic to really make its story work in terms of being compelling. Its plot draws comparisons to films like RoboCop and Blade Runner in terms of what looks like a human on the outside being transformed into a part machine. The American version doesn't do any disservice to the original, but it feels like it never truly gets off the ground as it's stuck in the middle. The film starts off with much plot elaboration as it sets up characters and the theme of self discovery that builds up to the action in the second half. Ghost In The Shell feels like its a story driven film, but is never fully fleshed out as it lacks the depth of its source material.

        As a visual piece of entertainment, Ghost In The Shell delivers as it's highly effective in that regard along with stunning cinematography. However as a deep thinking science fiction film, it doesn't go as in-depth into its plot and characters as it's predecessor, even feeling that the characters in this version lack true depth such as Major and her partner. Despite the films controversial casting, Johansson does a solid job and the film makes a nice transition from Japanese audiences to the American front. Ghost In The Shell is not a disaster by any means, but it tries so hard to copy the original film that it also forgets to take a few risks of its own such as being deep and advanced in both it's plot and thinking. The action set pieces are top notch and worth watching the film for, but if one is going into this movie to get a deep reading of its concept, they probably should watch the original first then go into this movie as most audiences will be confused by this films plot if they hadn't seen the original film prior. As an American remake, Ghost In The Shell is a decent remake but also one that could've been done much better if more emphasis had been placed on its plot and story rather than action and visuals. Bottom line, it's worth a Redbox rental but then one should seek the original in order to grasp far superior storytelling with much deeper philosophical readings. Ghost In The Shells greatest crime was not expanding its grip over such an intriguing story but still stands as being an honorable remake that will entertain yet divide many fans of the original.
                                                                                                                                       7.5 out of 10