Review of Ghost in the Shell (2017) by Jin T — 06 Jun 2017

Ghost in the Shell is one of the most beloved franchise in the anime world and one that somehow been treated lightly. For what it's worth, its wonderful visuals, robust cast, and the cinematic acting will probably want to bring cyberpunk theme back into the cinema.

At first, I thought a live adaptation of Ghost in the Shell would not happen but I guess with the magic that is Hollywood, it did. But with such sacrifice and some faith to the original material, it's questionable about it performed.

It's been a long time since I watched the original anime movie and I do remember the feel of how dark and edgy it was. I mean, I was a teenager back then and watching it at the time really piqued my interest with the whole cyberpunk stuff. However, watching this live action seems like it didn't capture what I've felt when I watched the anime version. And I'm not talking about Stand Alone Complex series. I'm talking about the 1995 version.

The visuals are pretty good and it still attains the feel of how Ghost in the Shell but it never captured the real essence of what it really is.The thing is about the original material, such as the anime and the manga versions, they already give you the feeling of how the story and characters are. Which is pretty cool. This live action movie is missing that part.

The characters are well done as its own right, as a live action movie adapted from the original source. Scarlett Johansson did a job well done as Motoko Kusanagi but I still wonder if the performance would have been better if a Japanese actress was cast instead. I'll mention that later.

The cinematography is actually pretty cool. Really brings the life of what cyberpunk era might look like. The cyber enhancements that was briefly talked was interesting enough and the robots as well. I just feel like there could have been more to fill in the gaps in between for the newcomers. Other than that, the action scenes are pretty good but it's something you've already seen and not enough to wow the audience.

The cast, don't get me wrong, has interesting choices. Even I was surprised that Takeshi Kitano is in the movie. A well known actor in Japan. His spotlight was damn too good and I loved it! But that's where it got me thinking that this was another cheat cash grab from an already existing source material. I hate to say this but I wish the Japanese cinema did it instead. I mean they've already done a couple adaptations and they're all actually awesome. Even if Attack on Titan was terrible, it still captured the essence of what the anime and manga was.

Now that Cowboy Bebop is still happening and it has turned into a TV series, I just hope that these next stage of adaptations from video games, anime, and manga do it nearly perfect and not just doing it to get some pocket money. The live action Ghost in the Shell could have been better if it was handled by the right people and not just exploited by American cinemas. But it's still a good a movie for a blockbuster type.