Ghost in the Shell | Movie Trailer 2017

Scarlett Johansson appropriates the role of The Major in an adaptation that becomes more philosophical than it should.

From the time of its pre-production, Ghost in the Shell was involved in one of the most frequent scandals in Hollywood from a few years to here: white washing.You know, the practice of giving actors or actresses Caucasian roles that, in the original material, belonged to other ethnicities.

Mamoru Oshii , director of the iconic anime of 1995, said that with Motoko there should be no such controversy: "The name of Motoko Kusanagi and his current body do not correspond to the person who was before, so there is no basis to say That an Asian actress should interpret it, "he told IGN .

In the future, La Mayor (who in this adaptation is interpreted by Scarlett Johansson ) is the only one of its kind: a human from which only her brain and spine were saved, which were placed inside a totally cybernetic body and Created the perfect soldier willing to detain criminals who stand in Section 9 of the police. But he will soon begin to question his past and what reality is.

The film directed by Rupert Sanders ( Snow White and the Hunter, 2012) surprises from its first minutes with a design of risky production and that takes advantage of great form the futuristic images of the city where the story unfolds. The thermal suit of La Mayor also perfectly adapts the look of the animal and takes advantage of the characteristic of invisibility; While the appearance of the character of Batou is correctly executed.

We have the most significant animated sequences adapted for its live-action version : La Mayor's first jump, the street fight with the thermal suit and the final battle, but outside of that the Sanders team and company took a slightly Different from that of the Oshii tape: there are no musical sequences, for example, in which we only saw the passing of the city while Motoko questioned their reality. In the live-action, we have a greater development of the police investigation of the Major.

One of the problems facing the film is, paradoxically, one of those that could be its virtues, that is: while the 1995 anime was highly philosophical and questioned aspects of reality, DNA, memory, and essence of being tape Scarlett Johansson lightens towards those aspects make it more accessible to Western audiences, but is in its second act where the film seeks to cover these elements and decreases the rate at which we had become accustomed.

And although the characters themselves enjoy a development and solid performances, the "dynamic" between La Mayor and Batou is perceived as extremely rigid, as if we were between two robots where there is no human trace in them. Separate mention for Takeshi Kitano that offers that interesting Japanese bond coming from the director of classics like Zatoichi or Dolls.

Scarlett Johansson appropriates the role of Motoko Kusanagi to perfection, although it is inevitable to remember her participation in Luc Besson's film Lucy. And is that in that, his character gradually leaves his personality and humanity, almost as if it were a prequel to Ghost in the Shell. Still, accepting her in this role does not cost work (and less from a business point of view, hardly any Asian actress would generate as much box office as she). The challenge, rather, is to see if people accept the reality of Ghost in the Shell.

Director: Rupert Sanders
Writers: Shirow Masamune (based on the comic "The Ghost in the Shell" by), Jamie Moss (screenplay)
Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbæk, Takeshi Kitano
Genres: Action, Crime, Drama
Runtime: 1h 47min
Release date: 31 March 2017 (USA)