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"Ghost in the Shell" Live-Action Movie


Thomas_JCG

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Filming has begun on Paramount and DreamWorks' live-action adaptation of manga/anime sci-fi classic Ghost in the Shell. To mark the beginning of production, the studios have released a first look at Scarlett Johansson as main character Major Motoko Kusanagi.

 

ghost-in-the-shell.jpg?itok=8UonBvJG

 

The cast also includes Pilou Asbæk (Batou), Takeshi Kitano (Daisuke Aramaki), Juliette Binoche (Dr. Ouelet), and Michael Pitt (Kuze). The film is directed by Rupert Sanders (Whose prolific career only includes Snow White & the Huntsman) and is scheduled for a 2017 release.

 

Adapted from Den of Geek US

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I don't know what to think about this, honestly. I have minimal faith on Hollywood, specially with such a fresh director. However, they did got the manga creator, Masamune Shirow on board and the cast hasn't been completely white-washed. Time will tell.

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On 4/16/2016 at 11:13 PM, Thomas_JCG said:

Filming has begun on Paramount and DreamWorks' live-action adaptation of manga/anime sci-fi classic Ghost in the Shell. To mark the beginning of production, the studios have released a first look at Scarlett Johansson as main character Major Motoko Kusanagi.

 

ghost-in-the-shell.jpg?itok=8UonBvJG

 

The cast also includes Pilou Asbæk (Batou), Takeshi Kitano (Daisuke Aramaki), Juliette Binoche (Dr. Ouelet), and Michael Pitt (Kuze). The film is directed by Rupert Sanders (Whose prolific career only includes Snow White & the Huntsman) and is scheduled for a 2017 release.

 

Adapted from Den of Geek US

==============================================================================================

 

I don't know what to think about this, honestly. I have minimal faith on Hollywood, specially with such a fresh director. However, they did got the manga creator, Masamune Shirow on board and the cast hasn't been completely white-washed. Time will tell.

 

 

I look forward to it. Although I would have preferred it be directed by someone with a background in science fiction and robot movies.

Edited by ezikialrage
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  • 3 weeks later...

The controversy over this film is hilarious, using CGI to Asian-ise actors to the whole Scarlett Johansson shouldn't play Kusanagi. I honestly think Hollywood wont be able to do it justice & we'll end up with a really flat film that missed out on so much because they didn't understand it.

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4 hours ago, Vaux said:

The controversy over this film is hilarious, using CGI to Asian-ise actors to the whole Scarlett Johansson shouldn't play Kusanagi. I honestly think Hollywood wont be able to do it justice & we'll end up with a really flat film that missed out on so much because they didn't understand it.

They've confirmed that they won't be doing anything to make actors look Asian, especially since all the racist remarks they got for casting Caucasian actors but trying to make them Asian looking.

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My problem with this based on the latest trailer is that they've completely changed the plot, The Major's backstory, and her name. Apparently she is now Mira instead of Makoto. Instead of a detective trying to solve crimes like The Laughing Man, Individual Eleven, Pyromancer, etc... while working for Section 9; she's instead on the run Jason Bourne style where she's been lied to all this time, had her memories erased, and the people she worked for now wants her dead, while all she wants is answers.

 

There is a huge difference between deviating and being a complete rewrite. Deviating is one thing, but when the story goes from basically being a sci-fi detective show by her own will and being good with the people she works for to being a spy-thriller where her memory was erased and they lied to her about her origins and who she was and wanting to fight back against those she worked for because they all want her dead (basically a 1:1 rip of Jason Bourne story). It's no longer the same character or the same story. It is exactly what went wrong with Dragon Ball Evolution, where they made Namekians rulers over Saiyans and gave them the ability to mind-control Oozaru. Pretty much nothing is GitS about this film. It is GitS in name only.

 

I'm not saying the movie would be bad necessarily had it been stand alone, but they opted to call this scifi Jason Bourne clone GitS. As with several other movies, stand-alone wise it may have been good, but as part of a certain franchise it's basically written off as being terrible before it began. I'm sure I'll actually enjoy it at least somewhat as something that has no ties to anything other than the title. I'm not one who's just gonna say it's terrible without giving it a chance. I'm still planning to watch it. I've simply stated that as part of GitS, it's terrible. That doesn't mean it'd be terrible as it's own thing... Which is why I'm actually happy they're changing character names and such and kind of giving it it's own identity away from any of the anime.

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21 minutes ago, Koby said:

My problem with this based on the latest trailer is that they've completely changed the plot, The Major's backstory, and her name. Apparently she is now Mira instead of Makoto. Instead of a detective trying to solve crimes like The Laughing Man, Individual Eleven, Pyromancer, etc... while working for Section 9; she's instead on the run Jason Bourne style where she's been lied to all this time, had her memories erased, and the people she worked for now wants her dead, while all she wants is answers.

EXACTLY my thoughts after seeing the trailer... Honestly speaking, I didn't have high hopes for the movie(or at least tried to), but the latest trailer just don't seem GitS type at all...and they are doing it copying the setting and the world, but destroying the character..I'd hate to have one of my favorite series being turned into trash like this... However, now at least I can watch and enjoy the movie as just another Hollywood action flick, instead of seeing it as a GitS adaption...and not worry about it efecting any future (anime)GitS releases

 

 

Update:

After reading your whole comment, I realized I somewhat repeated what you said...

Edited by ani-me
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  • 3 weeks later...

I've seen the film. Now, Ghost in the Shell (1995) is my favorite anime film--and honestly, it's one of my favorite films in general. Koby is right in that the movie is somewhat a Bourne series clone. But it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. If I were to give this film a grade, I'd give it a "B" or "B-" which as far as anime adaptations go, is very generous. While the story veers from that which we had seen in the 1995 incarnation, the movie as a whole remains "sort of" faithful to the franchise. They combined many things from the franchise like Hideo Kuze and the Puppet Master, the disbandment of Section 9, the Geisha and Batou's dog, the recurring echos from her Ghost, etc. I also liked that they took time to focus on the scenery, much like that of the original movie. It also has a moderate pace and maintains a good balance of both action and dialogue. And while I agree that the film primarily focuses on her discovering her identity, which does turn out to be "Motoko Kusanagi," it does spend a lot of time emulating the detective themes particularly in the Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex series.

 

Now, my gripes are:

 

1. The Making of the Cyborg scene. It wasn't bad, but they've could've done that better. They opted to play the song (the Buddhist chant) at the end of the movie rather than the beginning.

2. I wish they would've had multiple characters that had Major Kusanagi's prosthetic model. (It's a bit of a theme in the original film.) Instead, they decided to focus on her being one of a kind.

3. While I maintain that the climax and all that led up to it was great, the denouement was a bit of a let down. But I get it, they went more of the route of the end of Standalone Complex rather than the original.

 

All in all, I liked it. I wasn't expecting it to be a clone of the 1995 film because let's honest, that film isn't for everyone. (It takes a certain kind of mindset to appreciate the original 1995 film.) But this live action film paid a lot more homage to the original film than I expected. I also didn't mind that much that they combined Hideo Kuze and the Puppet Master. The further you get into the film, the more you realize that perhaps the biggest fault of this film is in trying too hard incorporate the different themes of the franchise. With all that said, I would still recommend this film to anyone who likes Ghost in the Shell. It's not the embarrassment that Last Airbender was, nor is it the eye-gouging experience that Dragon Ball Evolution was.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I pretty much agree with athias1028's post above. I really enjoyed it though I must say that I've only seen the original anime film and have yet to see any of the other GitS movies or series. I felt the did a good job of making it something that can appeal to a larger audience while maintaining a majority of the original's theme and plot. It's the best Live Action adaptation of an Anime I've ever seen, though that isn't saying much at all. I'd recommend at least giving it a watch at some point before judging it into damnation.

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I've been vexed by the mix reviews of Ghost in the Shell (2017) as well as miffed by the online fan response. Most of those who have reviewed this movie have like you, DarkGanta, yet to see any other Ghost in the Shell material, so instead of picking up on the other cameos and themes from the other incarnations of Ghost in the Shell, they merely mark it up as an unwelcome change to the original film. The online fan response is even worse--most have dwell or still dwell on the notion of the film's being "whitewashed." There's nothing fundamentally Japanese about Ghost in the Shell. Even the creator, Mamoru Oshii is on record stating that Blade Runner and British-Hungarian author, Arthur Koestler, in his book "The Ghost in the Machine" were huge influences on Ghost in the Shell. Furthermore, Ghost in the Shell's "mojo," for lack of a better term had already been taken by films like the Matrix, Avatar, A.I., and Ex Machina (all films whose directors have admitted to having been influenced by Ghost in the Shell) so Ghost in the Shell (2017) would appear derivative even though the 1995 film on which it based inspired so many films primarily plotted in artificial intelligence and internet-based realities. What bothers me most is that this a far more than decent adaptation of anime material, unlike what we've seen before--*cough* Dragon Ball Evolution *cough* Speed Racer *cough* Attack on Titan (Japan) *cough* Death Note (Japan)*cough* excuse me. This should be a building block for better adaptationss, especially considering how good this movie is, not a chopping block for a racist segment of the fan base who can't get over the fact that a white, popular actress in a predominantly white Western market was cast as its lead.

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