Ghost in the Shell

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbaek, Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, Michael Pitt, Chin Han
Directed by: Rupert Sanders
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Drama, Science Fiction
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Major (Scarlett Johansson) is a cybernetically enhance soldier. She faces a grave threat from a mysterious criminal who seems to know something about her forgotten past.

Review:

Tim: I have to admit, I've never seen the original Ghost in the Shell. I'm obviously aware of it, but I never sat down and watched it. So, I was going into Major's story cold. I have to believe something got lost in the transition to live action, because the original movie is a landmark film and this one is totally forgettable. The special effects are decent, there's some worthwhile action sequences, but Rupert Sanders' film does nothing to differentiate itself from countless small sci fi films like this. Even though some of the characters were unique, the story felt totally stale. This is a decent movie, it's not like I hated it. The problem is that it just feels like we've seen this all before.

I did appreciate the international cast, which is at least a step in the right direction. And while Scarlett Johansson does well in the lead role, she probably shouldn't have played it. It's another example of Hollywood whitewashing. That's problematic. Still, this is the movie we got, and in Johansson's favor, she has certainly played this kind of role many times before. It still feels so strange to me that Scarlett Johansson has now built this career out of playing these hardcore, fighting women. It's wonderful that she's had so many opportunities at this point. She does bring that experience to this film. The downside is that it feels so similar to a Lucy or Black Widow in the Marvel movies. Still, she's mostly good in the lead role. I really loved Pilou Asbaek in his role. He gives a great supporting turn. It's fun to see Juliette Binoche as well. Takeshi Kitano was excellent in role as well- he does so much with a fairly small, reserved role. I loved the impact he made on the film.

It is fairly interesting to learn about this world, the different players, the way technology has evolved ad advanced human beings. It's fascinating to see the melding of those two worlds together. Many films have explored these themes, but I loved the depiction of how intertwined human beings and technology are. This film really pushes the boundaries to show that intermixing and it emerges as one of the more fascinating aspects of this film. The story itself (outside of the crazy technology) is fairly standard. There's a mysterious character, the good guys trying to track him down. There's a main character with no memory of their past and the requisite betrayal and cover up. I don't know, the story may be decent, but it felt like it had little to offer that we haven't seen dozens of times already. The generic quality of the story really holds this movie back. There might be a few surprises in the mix, but the film as a whole is fairly predictable. It feels like just another film, instead of a movie that's trying to push boundaries or do something new. It's this characteristic that makes the film skip-able.

Now, while there's a ton of flaws here, this is still a decent film. It displays an interesting future of human and technological mingling. It throws some decent action sequences together and it offers some solid performances. Rupert Sanders might not have accomplished a whole lot with this film, but it's a decent sci-fi movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Ghost in the Shell (1995), Lucy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier