Ghost in the Shell (Post-release)

I was disappointed with it. Also Scarlett's acting annoyed me throughout the film. the story felt short, and didn't grasp me at all. Some plotpoints were left too superficial and they removed a lot of the deeper aspects of the original story.

Visually stunning though.
 
I enjoyed it! I have never read or watched any of the manga/anime. I was a little lost in the beginning as to what was going on and who was who. I really enjoyed the visuals in the backgrounds (Fish swimming around the buildings, etc). The ads reminded me of Bladerunner.
 
Okay... I'm a fan of the original film. I saw Innocence once when it first came out. And after reading about the recommended viewing order in the other GITS thread, I've started on S.A.C. Just saw this the other night and I very much like it. I think they did a good job of capturing the essence of the original while making it more accessible for mainstream audiences, while at the same time not dumbing it down too much (I know some object to dumbing it down at all, but...). I like the incorporation of things that were not part of the original film, but likely would hav ebeen had they been thought of at that point in the creative process. Same reason I liked the Therns in John Carter -- not introduced until the third book in the series, but need for something like them in what was going on in the first two is pretty much what spurred their invention, so it works well for me to have them in an adaptation of the first book. I like the choices of the filmmakers to expand the color palette of the characters to make things truly multinational, in particular Binoche's Dr. Ouelet. I see all this as expanding on the original concept, not "screwing it up".

I also really love this comment by Mamoru Oshii, upon visiting the production: "The Major is a cyborg and her physical form is an entirely assumed one. The name 'Motoko Kusanagi' and her current body are not her original name and body, so there is no basis for saying that an Asian actress must portray her. Even if her original body (presuming such a thing existed) were a Japanese one, that would still apply ... I can only sense a political motive from the people opposing it, and I believe artistic expression must be free from politics."

Whether she chose it or had it imposed on her along with her false memories, the main character had the features of a blue-eyed Caucasian in the anime and in all the original art back in the '90s. *shrug* For those who think the character should be portrayed by an Asian, take it up with Masamune Shirow.

--Jonah
 
I saw it, and I liked it... but more for the look than anything else. I felt the Major didn't need to be Asian, but that Scarlett didn't need to play her so stiff either. I know she was in a robotic body, but at the same time, she can jump off a building, land in a room, run across the wall.. etc, but walking down the street is difficult? I felt the story was weak, it could have been taken in a much different direction, and been a far better movie.
 
It looks like I was right about this movie. Box office bomb and with a terrible twist. Foreign box office won't even help it break even. It won't even make Tron Legacy money. The real Ghost in the Shell stories will remain animated and illustrated it seems.
 
There's actually a new GIS anime coming out eventually, it's a team up of one of the guys from Standalone Complex and the newest Appleseed CGI anime. They strayed way too far from what fans actually like with this, it's a disaster just like GIS Rise anime. They couldn't even get vapid teenagers in the theaters to watch is apparently after dumbing it down to pg13.
 
It looks like I was right about this movie. Box office bomb and with a terrible twist. Foreign box office won't even help it break even. It won't even make Tron Legacy money. The real Ghost in the Shell stories will remain animated and illustrated it seems.

Yeah. The only anime to real life adaption that I thought was remotely tolerable and somewhat close to the source material was the Kenshin Trilogy. I haven't seen the Attack on Titan adaption yet but I've heard it's not great.
The upcoming Death Note series made me cringe when I saw the trailer and what they have in mind for an Akira adaption just makes my soul die a little every time I'm reminded about it.
 
They did that live action Space Battleship Yamato that wasn't horrible. Then again it was made in Japan which helps.
 
There's actually a new GIS anime coming out eventually, it's a team up of one of the guys from Standalone Complex and the newest Appleseed CGI anime. They strayed way too far from what fans actually like with this, it's a disaster just like GIS Rise anime. They couldn't even get vapid teenagers in the theaters to watch is apparently after dumbing it down to pg13.

I read about that upcoming Ghost in the Shell anime. With the two directors involved it should be good. I have no doubt that it will look good. I haven't seen the last two Appleseed shows. But for its time the first CGI Appleseed was ok. And Shinji Aramaki did work on Bubblegum Crisis which I think everyone knows was obviously influenced by Blade Runner. We might get a Hot Toys figure out of this Ghost in the Shell since I think two of the Appleseed shows and Captain Harlock got figures.

Yeah. The only anime to real life adaption that I thought was remotely tolerable and somewhat close to the source material was the Kenshin Trilogy. I haven't seen the Attack on Titan adaption yet but I've heard it's not great.
The upcoming Death Note series made me cringe when I saw the trailer and what they have in mind for an Akira adaption just makes my soul die a little every time I'm reminded about it.

I haven't seen the whole Death Note series. I watched I think the first 5 or so episodes a long time ago and it was far better than I expected. So I stopped for reasons I can't remember. Probably didn't have a good a/v setup or was watching too many other shows and wanted to focus on one at a time.

Last I heard they wanted to Americanize Akira and put it in New York. I just thought whatever and haven't paid attention to it.

They did that live action Space Battleship Yamato that wasn't horrible. Then again it was made in Japan which helps.

I think what really needs to happen is Hollywood needs to find a director that actually likes whatever anime and can bring the feel of the anime and more to a movie. Stuff like Ghost in the Shell and Jem just gave me bad feelings from the beginning because the people involved don't seem to get it.
 
They did that live action Space Battleship Yamato that wasn't horrible. Then again it was made in Japan which helps.
To me, a lot what make the anime adaptations feel like Ghost in the Shell should is that it definitely feels Japanese.
To make something feel Japanese, it needs to have been made in Japan.
 
To me, a lot what make the anime adaptations feel like Ghost in the Shell should is that it definitely feels Japanese.
To make something feel Japanese, it needs to have been made in Japan.

Maybe. I don't know. I recall when I was into Street Fighter, I was playing a Japanese guy and he said that I didn't play like an American. Or that I was good for an American. I can't remember which. This was back when Street Fighter was new though. Point being that I think you can get a culture or society even if you don't live or make something there.

I bet they could have gotten US backing to fund it for a huge budget.

I think the people behind this Ghost in the Shell knew what they wanted from the beginning. With the casting I think it was Margot Robbie first and when that didn't happen they went straight to Scarlett. They were taking the series and turning it into what they thought would be the next successful Hollywood property.

They had their reasoning for the casting ready and it's still going around which you can see. It's like people have never seen some modern Asian models before. At a recent boat show in South Korea, there was a model with blonde hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. And yes she's Asian. But people don't get that.
 
I finally saw it yesterday and... It wasn't horrible. I picked up a copy of the original before this came out, but I'll admit I didn't put much effort into watching it. I'll have to rewatch it to get a better sense of the differences in content and quality, but I wouldn't call it a complete failure artistically speaking. Money wise? I think we can safely assume there won't be a sequel.
 
Rented this over the weekend and I dug the hell out of it.
Not familiar with the original, though, so I wasn't looking for things to complain about.
My only complaint is I wish it were longer. I wasn't ready to leave that world yet when it ended.
So I watched it again.
Too bad it didn't do better box office. I'd love to see another GitS movie.
 
This movie is a great example of how a studio can ruin their own product by interfering too much. This movie would have been great save for two big problems. The dialog was super on the nose. I can practically hear the studio execs saying nothing made sense so it all needed to be explained via exposition. The clunky explanations killed so much of it for me.

Then of course making the Major white torpedoed the ship. Not that Johanssen was bad-- I actually thought she was fine, but it's studio logic to completely whitewash a character because movie HAS to star somebody that they know can open a movie financially.
 
Even if she was Japanese before the accident they took a Japanese character and cast a white woman. Their out wasn't strong enough for people to buy. You can call it whatever you like, but the reaction to it was not good and it impacted its box office.
 
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