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ArsTechnica's reviewer, Sam Machkovech, opines:
The producers of this week's new Ghost in the Shell film must really believe nobody has seen its source material. That's the only way to enjoy this live-action reboot: oblivious to 1995's original anime film or its manga comic-book precursor. Scarlett Johansson runs around futuristic, CGI-filled worlds in a skin-tight outfit. She shoots guns, kicks faces, and beats the bad guys. Not bad.
But this pedestrian action movie looks nigh unbearable through the lens of the original series. Every bit of social commentary and science-fiction mystique that made the Japanese film and books so stunning has been wrung dry. Respect for the viewer goes into the garbage, replaced by an obnoxious, paint-by-numbers plot of good versus evil. And while I went into my screening ready to laugh off rumors of cast white-washing, I left the theater aghast at how blatantly that issue figured in the final product.
[...] The original film isn't an untouchable anime opus. Its sleepily slow pacing could have been tightened, and the script has its potholes. A live-action reboot may never have lived up to some of the original film's concepts, such as the maelstrom that is East Asian politics, but it could have kicked a lot of ass by at least retreading the basic plot details. Even today, the original feels like a topical, modern commentary on an Internet-of-things world—and that could have been easily reheated. Plus, this reboot deserves credit for a few cool CGI and action moments, along with perfectly solid action-movie acting performances. Johansson makes the most of the script and motivations she's given, and Pilou Asbæk (Johannson's co-star in Lucy) is a pitch-perfect choice to play her police sidekick Batou. (Plus, that character's implanted, robotic eyes look killer in this live-action version.)
But in this reboot, new, compelling plot threads are left to languish, and the original, genre-defining plot is carved up in the service of one of the more fine-but-forgettable action films in recent memory. It's like someone turned Gone with the Wind into a buddy-cop comedy starring Scarlett and Mammy. This reboot couldn't have missed the point harder.
What say you Soylentils? Worth seeing? If you are familiar with the originals, how did this version measure up for you? Is it worth watching as just a summer shoot-em-up action flick?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 03 2017, @05:06AM
I had no problem with the concept of a lesbian scene, and knowing there was one originally makes it fine. At first I thought it was being thrown in as some "contemporary culture" thing. As someone else commented it is a cultural problem. I don't care about the race part, I do care about the proper fit for the role. Whether it was the script, the directing, or Johannson's acting, she felt very wrong in the trailers. Less introspective / thoughtful, and way more angsty.
Again, I did not see the full movie and will not just to figure out how finely I split the hairs.