Ghost in the Shell is a film adaptation of a illanga series about the first human brain placed in a mechanical body. She fights crime and uncovers the truth about her origins in a world dominated by transhumanism, but apparently not as obsessed about looking good while getting mechanically enhanced. Ghost in the Shell stars Scarlett Johansson’s body in various skintight outfits and the occasional ill-fitting quasi official garb that everyone else is forced to wear. The only person who emerges from Ghost in the Shell without my condemnation and judgment is the gorgeous, luminous Juliette Binoche who must have some serious bills to pay. Ghost in the Shell also features a tabby cat and a variety of dogs that met my approval. Ghost in the Shell is a hot piece of garbage wrapped in feces on a summer day in NYC.
I am completely unfamiliar with the original incarnations of Ghost in the Shell, the manga, the anime or the videogame, but after watching the film, I have zero desire to delve any further, which is a shame because it seems to have interesting and under-developed ideas about how to define humanity, identity, slavery, exploitation, consent. There is even an Adam and Eve H+ reference that could have been really interesting if I didn’t think that I was watching Emperor Palpatine. Just because Johansson plays a human in a mechanical body, does everyone have to deliver their lines like a robot? It felt like any of the lines could have been cut and pasted anywhere in the film and said by any character to any other character except the mother. Everyone seems in thrall to the visuals of Ghost in the Shell, but I think that Terry Gilliam, Ridley Scott, Luc Bresson, the Wachowski sisters called, and they want their ideas back. I’ll concede that the invisible camouflage is a good idea though The Invisible Man has been a thing for awhile.
Ghost in the Shell arguably could be considered a good film if it was released in the 1990s and starred Milla Jovovich, who is the queen of action films of questionable quality, may she always be praised and employed. (Side note: I loved Ultraviolet! I will watch every installment of Resident Evil.) I love watching women kick butt, but Major got kidnapped and rendered powerless three times! At one point, I wish that someone clever actually put The Little Mermaid’s “Under the Sea” song in the soundtrack.
The white washing controversy probably helped Ghost in the Shell get what few ticket sales it got otherwise it belongs in the same category as Aeon Flux. Ghost in the Shell made Lucy seem like a flawless masterpiece. Even though I paid nothing to see Ghost in the Shell, I feel like the film owes me money for wasting my time. There is actually a scene where a villain is shot and falls into a small body of water. Where is my money? There are literally too many great films and TV shows to waste your time on Ghost in the Shell.