Ghost In The Shell

As a teenager, i used to watch a lot of animated japanese films on VHS. My school friend Anders used to order them from the UK, and i bought some, especially Doomed Megalopolis. I remember having all 4 episodes on VHS, and i can´t tell you how many times i watched them. I loved Doomed Megalopolis, where the animation looked wonderful. Director Rintaro ( real name Hayashi Shigeyuki ), have directed a lot of anime films in many years, and i still consider Doomed Megalopolis to be one of the highlights of his career. I also enjoyed his film Metropolis, released in 2001. It may not be a film many anime fans talk about, but it is definitely worth seeing. Since my friend Anders had a very big collection of anime films, and constantly bought new releases, i remember seeing the film Ghost In The Shell in his VHS shelves. I instantly became curious what this film was all about. This film, based on the manga comic, written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow, turned out to be a wonderful adaptation of the comics. The film, released in 1995, is directed by Mamoru Oshii, and is one of the best animated films out there. Ghost In The Shell was ground breaking, because it was very original, and looked very different from many other animated films. I have seen it is out on blu ray, so i will eventually get myself a copy, since this is a cult classic. I did see the sequel called Ghost In The Shell: Innocence, released in 2004. If you enjoyed the first film, i think you will enjoy this sequel as well. The sequel is a bit different from the first film, but it does not fail as a sequel. Then we ha a film called Ghost In The Shell: The New Film, released only 2 years ago. I have not seen this one, but i will eventually at some point. Since i have been a Manga fan since my childhood, i was pretty excited when Paramount Pictures announced that a film adaptation of the classic Ghost In The Shell was going to be released, with Scarlett Johansson in the lead role. This did make me curious, how were they going to be able to turn the world of Ghost In The Shell into a feature film, with a much bigger budget and professional actors ? I remember reading that director Rupert Sanders have been chosen as the director, who actually did well with his debut feature film Snow White And The Huntsman. Since i did not know what to expect, when Hollywood is doing a feature film on such a classic anime film, i had to see this film. With a great cast, and with very strong ground material for a feature film, is Ghost In The Shell better then i expected, or is this another example of when Hollywood make bad choices, such as the remake of Ghostbusters ?

In the near future, the majority of humans are augmented with cybernetics, enhancing various traits like vision, strength and intelligence. Hanka Robotics, the world´s leading developer of augmentative technology, establishes a secret project to develop a mechanical body, or " shell ", that can integrate a human brain. Mira Killian ( Scarlett Johansson ), a young woman who is the solve survivor of a cyberterrorist attack that killed her parents. She is chosen as the test subject after her body can not be repaired. Mira´s designer, Dr Ouelet ( Juliette Binoche ) does not like this project, but is forced to make Mira a perfect weapon, from the orders of CEO Hanka Cutter ( Peter Ferdinando ). A year later, Mira has attained the rank of Major in the anti-terrorist bureau Section 9, working with operatives Batou ( Pilou Asbaek ) and Togusa ( Chin Han ) under Chief Daisuke Aramaki ( Takeshi Kitano ). The team successfully thwarts a terrorist attack on a Hanka business conference, and Major Mira destroy a rouge mechanical geisha after it murders a hostage. Mira have been experiencing hallucinations that Dr Ouelet dismisses as glitches. For some reason, no one does not seem to be telling the truth to Mira, about her past. But as she digs into information, she is about to discover much more than she expected.

Since i was a bit skeptical going into the cinema, i was afraid that the trailer only showed the best parts of the film. Thankfully, i enjoy this film adaption. And i would like to say that there are a couple of reasons why i enjoy this film. The cinematography by Jess Hall ( who worked on several good british films, such as Son Of Rambow and Hott Fuzz ), have done a wonderful job with this film. The futuristic look of the film looks really lovely. You can sense that he have tried to capture the feeling of the original anime film. Scarlett Johansson in the lead role as Major Mira Killian is a really good choice, and she definitely does a great performance, both physical and emotional. Some of the majestic city scenes looks really gorgeous, especially when Major Mira sky dive off buildings. Nice to see legendary actor Juliette Binoche here as Dr. Ouelet. This may not be one of her better performances, but i still like to see her in a completely different genre film, compared to what she usually does, european drama productions. Let´s not forget legendary japanese actor Takeshi Kitano ( who have done some really good films, especially Hanna-bi from 1997 ). His character in Ghost In The Shell, known as Daisuke Aramaki is tough, and one of the most interesting characters on screen. I am not sure if you will notice this, but i somehow felt that this film had some elements from the cult classic 1982 film Blade Runner in some scenes. Director Rupert Sanders have proved with this film adaptation that you can do a film, based on anime and make it almost look like an animated world. Everything is not perfect, but i think the transformation shows that he really tried to make this film, to please the fans of the original anime film. The CGI effects looks for the most part really good, and you would love to see more of this world. Is there anything negative ? I suppose some of the dialogue scenes does not feel very interesting, as if they are placed there to fill out some empty spots. As a science fiction action film, Ghost In The Shell have plenty to offer, not only for fans of the original anime film. The action scenes with Scarlett Johansson is exactly what we need in cinemas, rough, violent and really good looking. Since this film have flopped in box office numbers, under performing in China as well, i am not sure if we will ever see a sequel. Too bad, i think that would have been interesting. But i suggest you go see Ghost In The Shell in cinemas, until it stops showing in cinemas pretty soon. It is worth the ticket price, and who does not want to see Scarlett Johansson in tight outfits ? Exactly, we all do.

Rating: DDD