Ghost in the Shell (2017)

I'll start out by saying the American live action remake of the anime classic Ghost in the Shell, is problematic for all sorts of reasons. I am of the opinion that the original Ghost in the Shell is somewhat overrated. I struggle with the impulse to remake every wonderful movie instead of just enjoying the original movie. I don't feel animation needs to be translated into live action without a reason. The issues of race and gender which are wrapped up in the politics of making this film as complicated and you could do a whole piece on just that. I'm not going to get into those things. I am just going to speak to my experience of the film.

People like to praise "visuals" in movies. Recent examples like Doctor Strange, Neon Demon, and even Beauty and the Beast are films which get a pass on a lot of other faults due to how great they look. I am a big believer that film is a visual medium and films should find an artful beauty in the way they are presented. In fact some of last year's best films succeed in big part to how gorgeously they are crafted (Moonlight, Midnight Special). My point is that films need to be visually stunning AND engage us intellectually, emotionally. They aren't JUST something to look at. Films are something we watch but we hear them too, we feel them. There needs to be more.And the thing about Ghost in the Shell's so called impressive visuals is that they feel like stuff we have seen before. Ghost in the Shell suffers from being so narratively and stylistically pulled from films like Blade Runner. Heck even Attack of the Clones has everything we see here from a visual effects point of view. I'm not sure I felt like this film showed me anything new. I wasn't wowed or impressed because it is neither innovative nor used in an innovative manner.

So if the film's look and direction is average does it succeed in its story? As I said, I am not the biggest fan of the original it is based on but I appreciate the themes it explores. Sure I think the themes have been explored better (more intriguingly for my tastes) in other films, but they remain interesting ideas of identity and the nature of existence. Once again, the live action Ghost in the Shell feels like a copy, a facsimile of something else.  The plot feels more "dumbed down" like the film makers needed to make things more explicit for us. I felt the film makers were holding my hand through it in case I didn't understand it all. I found myself bored a bit watching this version. I guess I find myself bored watching the original a little too to be honest.

Which brings me to my original beef with these sorts of films. Why? I need a reason to experience a remake. Offer me a new take, something original which makes me enjoy it in a new way. The purpose of Ghost in the Shell appears more to be to expose the story to a new audience, folks who won't see it otherwise. That's not me so this film didn't speak to me.

I didn't hate the film and perhaps for new eyes the story could be interesting enough for an action movie. Other than critiquing it's casting choices which are disappointing at best, the film works on basic Hollywood blockbuster standards. But it didn't give me what would have made me watch it ith wonder. I shouldn't be surprised as director Rupert Sanders' only previous film is another I feel generally ambivalent about, Snow White and the Huntsman.

Ghost in the Shell
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Juliette Binoche, Pilou Asbaek, Chin Han, Takeshi Kitano, Michael Pitt
Director: Rupert Sanders
Writers: Jamie Moss, William Wheeler, Ehren Kruger