Geekery: Ghost in the Shell – New Official Clips
Paramount has released the first clips of the live action adaptation – come take a look.
Before we get into the clips let’s do a run down of who is on the project. The movie is based on Shirow’s story, the screenwriting team is comprised of Jamie Moss and Jonathan Herman – they only have 2 complete projects between them: Straight Outta Compton and Street Kings. Director is Rupert Sanders whose only full length feature is Snow White and the Huntsman. The cast is a mixed bag of great, expected, and “the internet exploded over how bad this is” choices.
The official plot description makes it sound like a straight adaptation:
Based on the internationally-acclaimed sci-fi property, “GHOST IN THE SHELL” follows the Major, a special ops, one-of-a-kind human-cyborg hybrid, who leads the elite task force Section 9. Devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, Section 9 is faced with an enemy whose singular goal is to wipe out Hanka Robotic’s advancements in cyber technology.
Ok – knowing all of that. Here are all of the clips that have been released.
11.13 #GITSTokyo pic.twitter.com/SlIAzQqsGN
— Ghost In The Shell (@GhostInShell) November 7, 2016
I still remember seeing Mamoru Oshii‘s animated version on the big screen when it came to the states in 1995. It was different from anything I’d seen – it brought a new kind of cyberpunk to the screen that was compelling, and the visuals were gorgeous. Kenji Kawai’s soundtrack was entirely new to most western ears. It became an instant classic, and influenced some of the biggest films in the late 1990s and though the 2000s. It was followed by two more animated movies and three TV series.
As with most things that are attached to franchises and characters I have an investment in: I want this movie to work.
There’s some care here in trying to recreate the city and cultures from the original anime. The cyborg geisha looks fantastic, and there have been some on set stills that show off great costuming. Takeshi Kitano as Aramaki in that third clip is one of the better casting choices made on the project. That’s about where the care stops in the glimpses we’ve been given.
When your base material is one of the most beautiful and iconic (link NSFW) pieces of cel animation ever made you give it a better CG budget than we’re seeing here. The FX are being handled by Weta Workshop. Maybe I’m too used to seeing what ILM is producing these days, but, man, that cloaking effect looks like crap even for a trailer. This is not an appealing preview of a movie that we know is going to be CG heavy.
I’m not happy about the casting – it’s not all about looking like the animated characters. Chin Han – who is 47 – as young, family man Togusa is odd. It changes the entire character – which is ok, but we have no idea if that’s the case right now. Johansson in these clips is showing she doesn’t carry the character well. I’m kind of reminded of her turn in Lucy in these clips – that’s not a good thing (link NSFW). I don’t really have an alternate casting recommendation for her. Rinko Kikuchi has been mentioned multiple times, but I don’t know how well she’d handle it either. It requires some weird hybrid of Linda Hamilton, Meiko Kaji, and Michelle Yeoh.
As the producer on this project, Michael Costigan, told Nerdist: “some films don’t get made because the right actor doesn’t exist to make the film. That’s what happens some times.”
I think there are many who think that’s what should have happened with this movie. Leave well enough alone, not everything needs a live action translation or a remake. Maybe if this fails hard enough they’ll give up on a live action Hollywood Arkira for good. I can hope…
