Review Tuesday: GHOST IN THE SHELL [2017]

GHOST IN THE SHELL

In the future humans will be increasingly enhanced with electronic upgrades. The ultimate is achieved with the ultimate creation in The Major, a human brain incorporated into a mechanical body. The best of both worlds to create the ultimate soldier. However, when memories start coming back, the Major questions the circumstances around her origin. 

For years there has been word that Hollywood was trying to put together a live-action film around the cult anime classic, GHOST IN THE SHELL.  Since they seem to be out of new ideas, Hollywood has to tap any avenue they can. So I was immediately disappointed when I heard that Scarlett Johansson was selected for the role. Apparently she's the only woman capable of actions roles these days. While Scarlett is very cute, she is not what The Major was, a tall slender, emotionless, fighting machine. So when the movie hit theaters, I had no interest in spending my hard-earned dollars on this abomination that was thoroughly panned by fans and critics alike. 

Recently a friend allowed me to watch his copy of the movie. Perhaps the unbelievably low-expectations helped, but I found the movie to be quite entertaining. The special effects were seamless. The cast was excellent. While Scarlett seemed entirely too shapely for a battle-robot, the effects and script made it all work. Yes, there were many great departures from the original anime in this movie that were created for plot devices, but the number of scenes that were translated beautifully from the anime to a live-action movie were beyond impressive. 

The story worked. You got to know the key characters. Gorgeous visuals. Indeed, this movie exceeded my expectations. It wasn't hard to do with the negative image I had in my mind going into this.  But in the end I found myself generally pleased with the production.  

AMAZON