Movies based off of books and shows can be difficult to pull off. With books, everyone has their own vision of what the movie should be like. With shows, the aesthetics have been established, but can the same feeling be pulled off on the big screen? Will the characters be faithfully adapted? Does the director understand the source material? Do the actors? Will fans riot if even the tiniest thing doesn’t go well? A major issue these days is white washing, when white actors portray characters who clearly should be Asian or another race due to being portrayed as such in the original source material. The current offender of this is Scarlet Johansson who’s playing Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell. Ghost in the Shell is one of the best known Japanese animated films.
The 1995 film is about a cyborg policewoman searching for a hacker with the help of her public-security agency called Section 9. The film is set in 2029 and a majority of the population have cybernetic bodies, or ‘shells’. The movie’s been praised for its animation, philosophical themes, music and has served as inspiration for other well known movies such as The Matrix. It’s understandable why fans would be upset if the live action film doesn’t live up to what made the 1995 impactful.
Like before, one of the most negative things about the live action movie is that the main character, Motoko Kusanagi or “The Major” is being portrayed by Scarlett Johansson. A counterargument is that the Major is a cyborg, she doesn’t exactly have a race and the only ethnic thing is her name. It would’ve, however, been great if an Asian woman took the role, but Hollywood always wants a well-known actor to be the lead so it gets more publicity. It’s disappointing that this is the case but perhaps Scarlett Johansson will still stay faithful to the character, after all, she has been in similar roles before.
I’ve seen the 1995 movie and I enjoyed it. I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favorites since I’m not much of a sci-fi fan, but I appreciate the style and the music. One of the favorite parts is the intro. The mix of a Bulgarian and Japanese choir playing while The Major is being created is mesmerizing to watch. I’ve heard a rumor that they’re gonna use that intro in the live action movie. I hope that's the case because that intro is one of the most iconic parts of Ghost in the Shell, plus it’ll give fans more hope in the movie.
The trailer was recently released and I thought, visually wise, it’s appearing faithful to the source material. Currently, it looks better than other shows that have been adapted. Take Dragon Ball Evolution for example. Even if you aren’t familiar with the source material like me, you know that the actors look nothing like the characters and the setting’s completely off. At least in the Ghost in the Shell trailer, effort is clearly shown.
Excusing race, the characters look and act similar to their counterparts. The trailer even mimicked parts that have happened in the 1995 film. One of the most iconic moments from the 1995 film--when the Major dives off the building before turning invisible--is repeated the exact same way in the trailer. But even if the movie does share parts from the original, does it mean it’ll be good? Maybe, maybe not. The movie could still end up bad and not give the original enough justice. There was a lot of philosophical elements in the 1995 film, and that might all be scraped away to make room for action scenes. The trailer definitely has a lot of action, which might further concern fans since there actually wasn’t that much action in the 1995 film. But who knows? Perhaps the philosophy will still be in the movie and Hollywood just believes that putting up an action-filled trailer will attract a larger audience.
Will Ghost in the Shell be successful? Well, currently it takes a more faithful stand than other animated adaptations. It looks much better than Dragon Ball Evolution, and especially better than The Last Airbender which ruined everything that was great about the show: Avatar the Last Airbender. I’m not saying Ghost in the Shell will not ruin everything, it already ruined everyone’s hopes of the lead role being played by an Asian actress. But whatever happens, we still have the 1995 film and its other adaptations to cherish.
