Review of Ghost in the Shell (2017) by Jake C — 08 Apr 2017

Lovely to look at, but hollow inside-wait, does that describe the main character or the movie? The whitewashing goes well beyond just the casting, and that's where the ultimate problem lies: A failure to comprehend and build upon the source material, transporting it instead from Eastern philosophical influences (death of the self, erasure of being) to the standard Western tropes of individualism and heroism.

While the movie attempts to redeem itself by subverting its central controversy-ScarJo's casting isn't racist, because it's the explicit product of Capitalism, which has murdered and stolen the identity of its Asian origin! hmmm-relying on that explanation and redemption as its principle dramatic twist and cathartic reveal undercuts the whole thing.

Whoops.