Ghosts of past haunt Shell
Ghost In The Shell (M, 107 mins)
In a world where cybernetic enhancements have become commonplace, ‘‘Major’’ Mira Killian (Scarlett Johansson) is unique.
She is the first ‘‘person’’ with a fully synthetic body. One of Section 9’s leading operatives, her role is to clean up cybercrime. But when someone starts murdering and ‘‘hacking’’ scientists from the global technology company Hanka Robotics, Major finds herself ‘‘deep diving’’ into a mystery that could completely change the way she views her world.
Based on the much-loved manga and anime of the same name. this live-action, sci-fi adventure certainly look amazing. Our own capital city has been transformed into a bustling futuristic Asian conurbation, while the wizards of Weta Workshop have also come up with seriously impressive physical technology to make you believe Scarjo as a cyborg.
The decision to eschew CGI in favour of something more textural and tactile is a masterstroke and actually make some scenes feel more like the original anime than many may have ever dreamed of.
Unfortunately the impressive visuals are allied to a shell of a plot, one haunted by the ghosts of sci-fi past.
Sure it’s arguable that the likes of The Matrix and TV’S Westworld were in fact influenced by the original Ghost, but to come so hard on the heels of Westworld and boast such a thin veneer of story and character (somewhat necessarily given its comparatively short running time) leaves one feeling a little shortchanged.
Elements of Alien: Resurrection, Surrogates, Robocop (especially the Ed-209ish spidertank), Deadpool and Johansson’s own Lucy also find their way into the plot of Rupert Sanders’ (Snow White and the Huntsman) film, while the central location owes an obvious debt to Blade Runner (amusingly this even resurrects former airline Pan Am to invite comparisons).
Ghost does get a boost from some quirky casting though. Johansson once again proves she is the current queen of sci-fi, while the film also reminds us why you can’t ‘‘beat’’ Japanese master Takeshi Kitano when it comes to detached cool – even if his haircut makes him look likezoolander‘s Mugatu.
In the end, Ghost in the Shell reminds one of another adaptation with whizzy visuals and an asskicking leading lady battling an evil corporation while wearing a series of eye-popping outfits – Resident Evil.
Let’s hope everyone involved here has the good sense not to follow that series’ descent into mind-numbing dreariness. – James Croot.