Ghost in the Shell: A Science Fiction Futuristic Drama
Rated PG-13
Ghost in the Shell is a futuristic science-fiction film from director Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman and Black Hole). Based off of the popular Japanese anime from the mid-’90s, Ghost in the Shell is based in Tokyo sometime in the future. Its previews highlight what looks to be an exciting and visually stimulating film, but there is very little substance beyond what the previews showcase.
Major (Scarlett Johansson of The Avengers and Lucy) is the first of her kind—part human and part robot. She has the brain of a human being and a body made up of a very highly advanced functioning machine. She was designed to be a soldier—savvy and strong enough to take down the world’s toughest criminals. She is incredibly well designed and is particularly effective at her job, which is a very good thing in the crime-riddled area in which she works.
Major works on a team under the careful direction of Chief Daisuke Aramaki (Takeshi Kitano of The Blind Swordsman and Brother) and alongside several close allies including Batou (Pilou Asbaek of A Hijacking and Lucy), her only friend. This team is known as Section Nine. There are several scenes that highlight just how effective the team is at its job, but eventually it runs into its most difficult enemy yet—an unknown hacker targeting Hanka Robotics, the company that manufactured Major under the direction of Cutter (Peter Ferdinando of Tony and Starred Up). Key figures at Hanka Robotics are being killed and Section Nine is forced to race to uncover the evil antagonist responsible for the heinous crimes.
Engineered by a renowned scientist, Dr. Ouelet (Juliette Binoche of The English Patient and Godzilla), Major can do anything that a computer can be programmed to do, but she still has the empathy of a thinking human being at the same time. She takes down villains day after day, but begins to wonder about her own past, of which she has no memories. When she mentions her concerns over her lack of memory, Dr. Ouelet simply helps her work the glitches out of her hard drive and she is then able to move on with her tasks.
When Major encounters the hacker (Michael Pitt of Seven Psychopaths and The Dreamers) who is somehow managing to literally hack into people’s minds before killing them, she encounters her two greatest challenges—a new opponent whose technology is nearly as good as her own and an overwhelming desire to discover her true past human identity.
Johannson’s portrayal of Major is intentionally (presumably, anyway) robotic, but her lack of emotion makes for a very uninteresting main character. Viewers will obviously want to root for the main character heroine of the film, but her lack of affect makes it feel like a chore.
Ghost in the Shell received a lot of negative publicity very early on in its production for “whitewashing” the cast of an originally Asian story. With Johansson as its lead, it is easy to see why it did, particularly when Major’s past identity comes to light late in the film.
The film is at times visually stunning, particularly at the very beginning when Major’s body is being assembled and when her robotic body is able to turn invisible on a dime, but beyond that, there is little of substance to interest viewers. Ghost in the Shell tries so hard to be both an action-packed and a thought-provoking story, but it fails at both. It feels far more boring and shallow than is intended and is overall a very disappointing movie going experience.
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