Ghost In The Shell Film 2017

[chopeth]

Several of the reviews I read suggested it didn't even try to hit many of the same ideas, and thus shouldn't really be considered as trying to be like the first movie. Like, instead of seeming like a dumbed-down version of the classic first film, it was trying to do its own thing which happened to be much less interesting, but should be viewed as sort of a standalone.

It sounds dumb. If anyone else asks me to go, I'll watch it, but I don't know anyone who wants to see it at all, so I'll probably end up renting it for 1 dollar somewhere way down the line!

One thing I'm seeing in some of the reviews is that Ghost in the Shell 2 is quite good. I might have to check it out? I absolutely do not have the patience for the series, but I can do another movie!

Both the series and the second film are great

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

Both the series and the second film are great

The second film, like the first challenges your patience but it's also great viewing. The SAC series, while more light hearted to the films, was a lot better than they had the right to.

 

[Rachmaninoff]

Just saw this film yesterday. Visually reminded me a cross between The Matrix and Blade Runner. The story seemed a bit... previsible. I don't know anything about the original, though. It's a good action film, and that's all.

And the Hollywood whitewashing sucks!

 

[wankerness]

I'm so sick of hearing about whitewashing in this movie. It's dumb, but getting mad about it should have been over months ago, we've known about the casting since then and it's not like they were going to change it. I think the movie's going to flop hard anyway, so those groups can pretend it was their victory.

From what I've heard about spoilers, though, it really makes it even stupider that they cast a caucasian in the lead. Apart from being white, Scarlett Johansson also just has a totally wrong look for the character. It sure fits in with her previous roles, though. This is what, the fourth movie where she's not really a human and is exploring her consciousness/humanity? (Under the Skin/Lucy/Her)

 

[Cheap Poison]

I haven't seen it.
But besides it being an anime there was nothing that ever made the Major Japanese. Hell, she is a robot body, One might even be able to explain it away by saying that a caucasian model has a higher status and is prefered by some. (Would go against tryign to blend in though)

 

[MFB]

I haven't seen it.
But besides it being an anime there was nothing that ever made the Major Japanese. Hell, she is a robot body

Fvcking THANK YOU.

As I said, I just watched the movie the other night, but I grew up watching Stand Alone Complex as a pre-teen and never once did anything about the major jump out and scream, "SHE DRAWS INFLUENCE FROM HER SURROUNDINGS!"

 

[wankerness]

I haven't seen it.
But besides it being an anime there was nothing that ever made the Major Japanese. Hell, she is a robot body, One might even be able to explain it away by saying that a caucasian model has a higher status and is prefered by some. (Would go against tryign to blend in though)

Well....

Spoiler

I heard that it's revealed towards the end of the movie that she's got the soul of a Japanese girl, so...what?!

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

I haven't seen it.
But besides it being an anime there was nothing that ever made the Major Japanese. Hell, she is a robot body, One might even be able to explain it away by saying that a caucasian model has a higher status and is prefered by some. (Would go against tryign to blend in though)

Correct. Having said that...

Well....

Spoiler

I heard that it's revealed towards the end of the movie that she's got the soul of a Japanese girl, so...what?!

...and since the film is apparently bombing, and nobody here seems to want to watch this, I'm just going to straight up spoil the movie's reveal:

DON'T READ if you're actually planning to see the film...

Spoiler

The major IS Motoko Kusanagi. Originally a human Japanese girl abducted by Hanka Robotics to be used for cyber enhancements. Meaning, they killed a Japanese girl and literally put her consciousness into a white woman. Tada!

What makes all this completely baffling is that the movie is so deaf about it, completely unaware of it's own implication. The reveal isn't meta, nor satire, but a completely misguided way of fanservice trying to bridge this movie's references to the original. At least somebody during development should've at least saw this and question it, did they?

Oh well. It's not like my DVD copies of SAC nor the 2 films are going away any time soon.


EDIT: You know what, let's turn this thread into the awesomeness of the soundtrack of the source material. At least the film gave a bit of Reincarnation during the credits.

 

[MFB]

That's ...pointless?

Like, literally has zero logic behind it and I'm sure if someone grilled the writers, their only way out would be to say, "Well it's all we could think of to avoid the white-washing comments!" Just nut up and say you couldn't find anything specifically Japanese in the characters (not to mention they live in a place called New Port City, so even their setting is Asian themed - not actually called any specific part) so the color didn't matter to us

 

[wankerness]

Thanks for the more detailed explanation, I guess I really had heard the right thing.

How good is SAC? Is that the one that has robots with little squeaky voices for some reason despite being super grim in all other respects?

I might be able to get into it if I really love the second movie and it's really good!

 

[MFB]

I don't remember SAC being really dark and grim, it was actually kind of slow from what I do remember, since it's chasing a political hacker called The Laughing Man.

I'm tempted to rewatch it, and even to this day, the opening theme gives me goosebumps and flash backs to watching it in my old room at my dad's house after the divorce. Crazy how .... like that gets engrained with stuff, but I don't know if it'd have the lasting impression it did without those events going on.

 

[russmuller]

I just watched the film earlier today. Here are my thoughts:

Scarlet Johansson was definitely the wrong actor for the role. She seemed like she was sleepwalking through the plot. While that may have been somewhat intentional

Spoiler

with the memory-suppressing drugs and to contrast her robotic circumstance with her search to discover her humanity,

I didn't find her performance to be compelling.

Visually it was beautiful, and I appreciate the persistent parallels to iconic scenes and shots in the original. But the predictability and lack of depth in the plot was a real letdown to me. Things like this are why I don't want a live action Evangelion movie. They're only gonna screw it up.

 

[chopeth]

Thanks for the more detailed explanation, I guess I really had heard the right thing.

How good is SAC? Is that the one that has robots with little squeaky voices for some reason despite being super grim in all other respects?

I might be able to get into it if I really love the second movie and it's really good!

Also worth watching, you probably mention the tachikomas, or however you spell it, they are the healthy innocent fun moments in SAC.

 

[Ralyks]

I'll wait until it cheap to rent. While this remake looks like it would be visually pleasing, I'd rather wait than spend too much on a ticket to have my view of the original tainted.

 

[stuglue]

not overly bothered about the whitewashing thing, this is Hollywood and the presumption is that western audiences couldnt or dont want Asian actors which i think is a wrong assumption on their part.
What bothers me is how desperate Hollywood has become for source material and the lack of imagination and writing talent . Its all remakes and reboots (i hate that term). I wouldn't be surprised if Ghost is a success to see Hollywood dig up Akira and do a live action version.

 

[wankerness]

not overly bothered about the whitewashing thing, this is Hollywood and the presumption is that western audiences couldnt or dont want Asian actors which i think is a wrong assumption on their part.
What bothers me is how desperate Hollywood has become for source material and the lack of imagination and writing talent . Its all remakes and reboots (i hate that term). I wouldn't be surprised if Ghost is a success to see Hollywood dig up Akira and do a live action version.

Ghost is a big flop, but live action Akira is already a go, with Jordan Peele of all people tapped to direct. Get Out was a really great movie (which he wrote and directed), and he seems to be passionate about the source material, but I'd rather see him do more low-budget stuff that he'd have more control over.

PS - I really didn't like Akira

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Ghost is a big flop, but live action Akira is already a go, with Jordan Peele of all people tapped to direct. Get Out was a really great movie (which he wrote and directed), and he seems to be passionate about the source material, but I'd rather see him do more low-budget stuff that he'd have more control over.

PS - I really didn't like Akira

it's going to flop like ghost in the shell. I have no faith in a good live action version of Akira, whether Peele is directing or not.

 

[Grand Moff Tim]

Is GIC an international flop, or just a flop in the US? We all know by now that doing poorly in the US market is no longer the end for a movie, now that Chinese moviegoers are a factor.

Then again, China and Japan haven't always been the best of friends, so a big budget action movie based on a Japanese IP might not have the same success as the latest pile of Transforming garbage would.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Is GIC an international flop, or just a flop in the US? We all know by now that doing poorly in the US market is no longer the end for a movie, now that Chinese moviegoers are a factor.

Then again, China and Japan haven't always been the best of friends, so a big budget action movie based on a Japanese IP might not have the same success as the latest pile of Transforming garbage would.

apparently it just bombed hard in the US, but made 41 million overseas, with 21.4 million USD coming from the Chinese box office
https://variety.com/2017/film/box-office/ghost-in-the-shell-box-office-1202027114/

 

[gunch]

Even without the whitewashing drama the movie was still tonedeaf, poorly interpreted and bland as hell

Hopefully this finally gets through to Hollywood that live-action adaptations of animated productions aren't really anything anyone wants or cares about.