Christians, Muslims, Republicans, Democrats, gay, straight, black, white; we all agree on one thing: people who say "the book is better" are the worst. Well, bring your hate to me: 2017's Ghost in the Shell doesn't hold a neon-candle to its 1995 progenitor. Some of the intrigue, entertainment and beautiful sci-fi visuals hold over nicely, but where the original is a potent and mind-bending trip of sci-fi thoughts and action, this new one is awkwardly broad, surface-y, and plain sloppy. Like all artificial-intelligence stories, it's about what makes someone "human", with Johansson playing a cyborg with a human brain ("ghost" in this world) searching for the originator of a deadly virus. Blade-Runner-like in many ways, it's a grimy world full of bright lights and mysterious characters. But where the original holds tightly to its effectively enigmatic nature, this one unnecessarily expands on backstory, spells-out themes, rolls-out unearned platitudes and projects emotions to such an extent that you wanna yell at the screen, "We get it! This is all REAL important!" At the center is Johansson. Her casting should be no surprise as she is currently a premier action heroine. However, she faced backlash after many saw her casting as the next in a long-line of Hollywood whitewashing Asian characters (Aloha, Great Wall). Ghost in the Shell has a fairly understandable explanation for her look, and even uses it thematically. However, that casting mixed with the frustrating plot changes point somewhere less noble: insurance of a franchise. Ultimately, the bare bones of sci-fi greatness are covered by insecurity, bringing us a dumb-down version of a great product.
Review of Ghost in the Shell
