Based on the internationally acclaimed sci-fi manga series, "
Ghost in the Shell" follows the Major (a.k.a. Major Motoko Kusanagi played by ScarJo), a cyborg policewoman, special ops, one-of-a-kind human cyborg hybrid, who leads a mid-21st century elite task force called Section 9. Devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, Section 9 is faced with an enemy whose singular goal is to wipe out Hanka Robotic's advancements in cyber technology.
The original
Ghost in the Shell manga ran in Japan from April 1989 to November 1990 in Kodansha's manga anthology Young Magazine, and was released in a tankōbon volume on October 5, 1991, before being made into a cult Japanese anime movie six years later.
Ghost in the Shell opens on March 31 and stars Scarlett Johansson, Michael Pitt, Michael Wincott, Juliette Binoche, Pilou Asbæk, Rila Fukushima, and Takeshi Kitano.
Comments
The cool thing about Ghost is that there a ton of versions to choose from. The manga (so far I have not been impressed), the movie (which is great), the other movie (ehhh), the cartoon series (maybe my favorite), and Arise (currently watching the episodes and movie).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq4Ur9S15gQ
That's why in terms of Western adaptations of manga, GITS isn't one I'm overly bothered by, as there's a lot of 70s British genre TV its in DNA already.
http://m.ign.com/articles/2017/04/06/ghost-in-the-shell-projected-to-lose-at-least-60-million
* For the record, I'm very much anti-whitewashing, but never felt that was the situation with this particular movie.
There are some stating it bombed because of the whitewashing & whitewashing controversy. I wonder if that's just an excuse. As I said, aside from the visuals, is there anything really stellar about the movie; plot, characters, music, etc? How many people didn't see this movie because of the whitewashing? How many people didn't see it because of the controversy? How many people would've seen it if the lead was Asian**? I saw someone on Twitter use recent movies like Moonlight & Rogue One with diversity casts that weren't whitewashed as comparisons, but are those really the same?
* I've read & seen enough about Scarlett to know she's very liberal, so it's interesting to see her in the crosshairs for this. I've read how she justified it & claims she would never play another ethnicity, but it's interesting how sooner or later they (liberals) come after everyone. Even when there is nothing nefarious or intentional (I'm not convinced that's the case here), things can get twisted and shoved down a person's throat.
** if you only go see or read something because the of main character's shading, gender, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation, isn't that bias? How's that any different from not seeing/reading something for the same qualifiers?
M
After my Anne Hathaway phrase, I've started picking & choicing what movie an actor or actress does before I watch it. Too much crap.
I don't think there's an actor or actress I'd HAVE to see in the theatre since SMG in Cruel Intentions & Simply Irresistible. I go to the theatre because the movie looks interesting.
*with the understanding that understanding the mind of a studio exec is at times almost impossible.
How successful would the movie have been with, say, Angelina Jolie? Did/Does she get people to rush into theatres?
I'd personally like it if Marvel would bring back those clever one-shots they used to do and feature Black Widow in one. The ones they did for Sharon Carter, Agent Coulson, and the Mandarin were all pretty enjoyable.
Of course there's no money in those, and Disney likes to make bank.
By the time they get around to a BW movie, I think either Scarlett will not want to do it or the studio may get the idea she is "too old" for it. She is 32 now and by the time a BW movie was to be made, she would be probably 35+. Young for me, but ancient in Hollywood studio actress years.
But even with a good script, it would have still been a bad movie as Rupert Sanders is not a good film maker.
The world looks too bland, too clean, action is shot incoherently unless it's a scene they've copied from earlier GITS projects, in which case it merely underwhelms.
And we get to do this all over again next year with Alita: Battle Angel from one of 6 or 7 screenwriters who worked GITS.
Yeah, that's what happened.
https://youtu.be/3GpmiVUf0M0