Ghost in the Shell

Anime is fascinating.

Now, I'm not an anime specialist, by any means, but I have watched my fair share of it. So, naturally, when Hollywood announces an anime adaptation to the big screen, a huge chunk of me gets excited. But then there's another huge chunk which is scared. You see, for those who don't know, we've had anime adaptations before, and most, if not all of them sucked. Just look at Dragonball: Evolution, or The Last Airbender. Adaptations of two anime (okay, some might say TLA is not an anime, but whatever), that were quite, quite terrible. So, you can understand my fear for such things.

However, I've never watched the original Ghost in the Shell. That doesn't mean I had my fair share of fear though...everything could go wrong with this movie. But it doesn't, not by a long shot.

GITS is a once in a lifetime example of Hollywood not completely fucking up an adaptation of a beloved fan favorite. It's not completely perfect, but I'm not asking for much...3 out of 4 criteria wise is good enough for me, but depending on which of the criteria gets fluffed up is where the ratings lie, and sadly, the only issue with GITS lies in its plot.

The plot is not bad per se, but it could definitely benefit with a little extra...structure, I guess you could say. A lot of critics have called the plot dumbed down compared to the original, and while I can't testify on that, I can see that it needs a little work. Basically, Major Kusanagi is an android hybrid thing who's been employed by an organization to do dirty work. She breaks away to find out more about who she really is, and some more hijinks ensue along the way. It's not bad like I said, but it feels a little samey, and I guess I can see why someone might say it feels dumbed down.

But where the movie really shines is with its visuals, and the overall aesthetic of it all. This movie is pretty. The colors pop and the CGI effects wow your mind to the point where you wish you were living in such a world. It's gorgeous, and if I had to pick any one movie this year to get the best effects Oscar, it'd be this so far. It doesn't stop at visuals, either, the soundtrack is pure earcum, providing a nice 80s retrowave type feeling.

But, you ask, what about the biggest controversy around the film...the casting of Scarlett Johannson as Major Kusanagi? Well, you may call me biased because I have a huge love for ScarJo, but those who dissed the idea before seeing this movie can fuck right off, because she blows the part away. She does amazingly well with what she's given, and it's almost as entertaining, if not better than most action roles she's had in the past...including Black Widow. She's not the only shining star to see here, other fantastic roles include Cheif Aramaki, played by the ever fabulous Takeshi Kitano, who I can best explain is a mixture of M and Tiger Tanaka from the James Bond series.

I can safely say that everyone panicked for no reason when it came for Ghost in the Shell. While the plot could have a little touching up here and there, the rest of it is a damned good popcorn flick with some very, very nice visuals, so I'm going to slide it a decent 7.1/10. Bravo, Hollywood, I guess you could say...you broke the shell.