How surreal, SCARLETT
Ghost In The Shell Cert: 15A 1hr 46mins So which is weirder? Ms Johansson flying around Tokyo in yet another catsuit? Or – feminists, look away now – a film about a ‘Smurfette’ in sky-high heels?
All that teenage boys will need to know about Ghost In The Shell is that it’s the new big-budget sci-fi film in which Scarlett Johansson flies around a futuristic Tokyo wearing what appears to be a white skin-tight catsuit. Which, if nothing else, makes a nice change from the black, skin-tight catsuit from her Avengers films.
The rest of you, I hope, may appreciate a little more information. Such as the fact that Ghost In
The Shell is actually a live-action, effects-heavy remake of a 1995 Japanese anime film of cult status, which itself was based on a manga comicstrip from half a decade earlier. In science-fiction terms, that makes it after Blade
Runner (1982), about the same time as Total Recall (1990), and a little way before the first of the Matrix trilogy (1999). These all come to mind as Scarlett and the gang race through a story in which nothing – once again – is quite what it seems. It’s as if we’re trapped in some sort of creative sci-fi time-loop.
But it’s definitely a better than expected time-loop, with the allegations of ‘white-washing’ – a white American actress playing what many believe should be an Asian character – dealt with quite cleverly from the start, and almost brilliantly by the end.
Johansson plays ‘the Major’, who has been rebuilt after an accident left her close to death. To save her life, Dr Ouelet (Juliette Binoche) explains, her brain has been placed inside a synthetic body. Or to put it another way, ‘your mind, your soul, your “ghost”’ has been given a new ‘shell’. And, judging by what the Major is now capable of – leaping from skyscrapers, adopting full camouflage and a data-processing speed that America’s NSA would envy – both have been considerably souped up.
But does that make the Major human, a cyborg or a robot? To some extent, that’s what Ghost In The Shell is all about – identity – but it’s also a Hollywood blockbuster, so someone has to say: ‘I don’t think of her as a machine; she’s a weapon and the future of my company.’ Ah, that will be the sinister Cutter (Peter Ferdinando), CEO of the corporation that made her but which sees her seconded to fight cyber-terrorism for the government.
The Major has arrived at Section 9, although if you’re having trouble keeping up, fear not; you will not be alone. The Japanese original was certainly a challenge, too.
In other respects, however, the new version is a more obvious improvement. Gone is the dated and off-putting porn-influenced aesthetic that saw the Major given breasts, nipples and other sexual characteristics and which conveniently lumbered her with the habit of having to strip off – completely – as she dashed into action. Johansson’s Major has no sexual characteristics at all. That white, skintight catsuit is actually her pale plastic ‘skin’. When she’s chasing baddies, it’s as if they’re being pursued by an undressed shop mannequin – and about as sexy. Rupert Sanders, who brought us Snow White And The Huntsman, directs and litters the film with visual references to the original. But working alongside screenwriters Jamie Moss and William Wheeler, he’s improved the story, retaining the basic structure but dispensing with the silly-sounding villain known as the ‘Puppet Master’ and introducing us to the mysterious Kuze (Michael Pitt), who gets more interesting as the film proceeds. Visually, the new film resembles
Blade Runner – the streets of Tokyo ‘swim’ with giant holographic goldfish, while the skyline is littered with vast Buddhist monks and geishas the size of skyscrapers – and there are echoes in terms of story and soundtrack, too.
For Johansson, the Major is the fourth ‘enhanced human’ she’s played of late. It’s difficult to know whether she needs to shake it up a little, or she just knows her limitations. Here she’s good, but not great, possibly let down by a supporting cast, with the notable exception of Takeshi Kitano and Kaori Momoi.
The result is a visually spectacular film that should certainly do good business over Easter. But we’ve ventured down this particular sci-fi path many times before.