GHOST IN THE SHELL (2017) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

ghost in the shell (2017) movie

Genre              |  Science Fiction

Classification   |   M

Running time   |   120 minutes

Released         |   30 March 2017

cast

​Scarlett Johansson ... Major
Pilou Asbæk ... Batou
Takeshi Kitano ... Aramaki 
Juliette Binoche ... Dr. Ouelet
Michael Pitt ... Kuze

director

Rupert Sanders

writer

​Shirow Masamune ... (based on the comic "The Ghost in the Shell" by)
 
Jamie Moss ... (screenplay by) and
William Wheeler ... (screenplay by) and
Ehren Kruger ... (screenplay by)

cinematographer

​Jess Hall

music

​Lorne Balfe
Clint Mansell

film editor

​Billy Rich
Neil Smith

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box office result

Worldwide             $169,801,921  

Australia                 $​​​​​4,407,533

North America       $​​​​​40,563,557

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the best dialogue

Major: Maybe next time you can design me better.

Major: [narrating] My mind is human. My body is manufactured. I'm the first of my kind, but... I won't be the last. We cling to memories as if they define us. But what we do defines us. My ghost survived to remind the next of us... that humanity is our virtue. I know who I am... and what I'm here to do.
Aramaki: [in Japanese] Major. Engage targets... You're authorized.

Kuze: [Removing a piece of Major's face] What a beauty you are.

GHOST IN THE SHELL (2017) MOVIE IMAGES

Images

Posters

Images

Posters

GHOST IN THE SHELL (2017) STORY SYNOPSIS

​In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: a human who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals. When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people's minds and control them, Major is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy, Major discovers that her life was stolen instead of saved. Now, she will stop at nothing to recover her past while punishing those who did this to her.

GHOST IN THE SHELL (2017) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 29 March 2017
​Pop Movee Rating ⭐⭐⭐

Remaking Japanese entertainment for Western audiences seems to ebb and flow over the course of the years. Not that long ago, using Japanese Horror films seem to be the thing to do. GODZILLA seems to come in and out of favour every couple of decades. Even the POWER RANGERS are back in vogue at the time of writing. No one, however, has dared to adapt Japanese animation in any meaningful way. Until now! So, if you’re the person charged with doing the “adapting”, you may as well start with the film regarded as a modern day animated classic by fans of the Japanese Animation genre: GHOST IN THE SHELL.

That’s exactly what Rupert Sanders (SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN) has done, in conjunction with screenwriters Jamie Moss and William Wheeler (QUEEN OF KATWE). Debate will rage among GHOST IN THE SHEEL aficionados as to whether Sanders has succeeded in honouring the animated 1995 film, but there’s no argument that he’s turned in an above-average movie that delivers its fair share of stunning visuals.

The opening credit sequence gives the viewer a glimpse of how Scarlett Johansson’s Major character came into being, as she is stretchered into a state-of-the-art medical facility in the aftermath of an horrific terrorist attack. The only viable organ left is her brain and the techno-medicos at Hanaka Robotics take the opportunity to place her brain in their top-of-the-line cybernetic chassis, complete with a bio-cyber outing coating to deliver the most human-looking cyborg ever.

One year later, Major has been drafted into Section 9, an undercover, paramilitary group under the direct control of the country’s Prime Minister. While the viewer is left to assume the mega-city setting is some kind of futuristic Tokyo; the story never makes specific reference, but the original was set in a fictional Japanese city called Niihama.

The absence of a defined setting appears to be the writer’s “Get out of Jail” card in an effort to avert the white-wash casting commentary that surrounded Johansson’s announcement as the lead in the film. It’s hard to escape the fact that, in the 1995 film, the lead character was a Japanese: Major Motoko Kusanagi. Some effort is made to address this and a sub-plot evolves during the movie that helps to explain why Major now looks the way shes does, but it feels like an obvious concession that reinforces the producer’s decision to cast actors who would have maximum box office appeal.

In terms of performance, all the key players do justice to their characters. Johansson does a solid job balancing the cross of a cyborg with a human brain. The viewer becomes aware that there is something non-human about Major, with odd head tilts and peculiar body movement, but her real state-of-being is only revealed upon extremely close contact.

Major’s Section 9 partner Batou, played by Danish actor Pilou Asbaek, is more than just a colleague and his physical presence helps add grunt to the film’s set-pieces. One of the disappointments of the film is the lack of depth in the relationship between Major and Michael Pitt’s Kuze. Their connection feels contrived and the change in Major’s mind-set in the second half of the film doesn’t quite work based on the relatively sparse interaction she has with Kuze in the first half.

Of the main players, Takeshi Kitano’s Aramaki delivers the most authentic performance, playing the wily head of Section 9 in an understated yet all-knowing fashion that affirms to the viewer that he’s got matters in hand even when everyone else appears to be spiralling out of control.

​GHOST IN THE SHELL is a visual treat.

Both the live-action sequences and the visual effects add to the richness of the film. Where the film falters is in its update on the original film’s narrative commentary about corporate corruption and the sacrifice of individuality; challenges that were indicative of late 20th Century Japanese organizations.

In the twenty-two years since its release, economic globalization has seen very different issues emerge that are more significant by comparison. Despite this change, Sanders and his writers have adapted the original plot, delivering a pared-down version of Masamune Shirow’s story that fits neatly into 107 minutes. This sacrifice diminishes the film's narrative strength and turns the story into a futuristic police procedural leaving the viewer with the nagging feeling that there was so much more to explore. 

GHOST IN THE SHELL MOVIE (2017) USEFUL LINKS

​Ghost in the Shell (2017) - IMDb
​Ghost in the Shell (2017 film) - Wikipedia
​Ghost in the Shell (2017) - Rotten Tomatoes

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