Review of Ghost in the Shell (2017) by Marc A — 05 Apr 2017

As a big fan of the original, I was pleasantly surprised with the storyline and execution, which brought a realistic and believable feel to the world Masamune Shirou built. I do have to deduct a star for the complete loss of character development for all characters, even Major Kusanagi. All the nuance was completely lost there and the characters themselves lost the sympathetic and relatable feel from the original.

A note on the idea of whitewashing. The Major began life as a Japanese girl (and Motorola is portrayed by a Japanese girl) and that is correctly portrayed here. The current incarnation of the character is a manufactured body and was never specifically portrayed as having any characteristics of race. The other characters were portrayed as Westerners, except for Aramaki, Saudi, and Togusa, who are all portrayed by Asian actors. So, not buying this BS tempest in a teapot. Go enjoy it for what it is, a re-imagining of a classic sci-fi thrillfest.