By: Ashton Newton Entertainment Editor
“Ghost in the Shell” has been the center of some controversy over Hollywood whitewashing, after casting Scarlett Johansson as the main character, Major Mira Killian. Due to this, the film already had a bad public view, but despite the whitewashing, “Ghost in the Shell” is a beautiful, though poorly written, action movie.
From director Rupert Sanders, “Ghost in the Shell” is an adaptation of the manga by the same name. The story follows Mira Killian, who is trained as a cyborg counter terrorist after she almost dies in a cyber terrorist attack.
The highlight of the film is the unique artistic style. Bright colors and futuristic settings bring a unique feeling to the film. I never found myself bored of the visuals. Whether it was seeing a building through the lens of heat-sensing binoculars or seeing the advertisement-filled city streets, “Ghost in the Shell” is bursting with color from start to finish.
Another highlight of the film was Johansson’s compelling performance. She grapples with the humanity left inside her. “Ghost in the Shell” is easily one of Johansson’s most compelling performances in recent years.
The biggest drawback of “Ghost in the Shell” is the writing. Were it not for Johansson’s acting, the film would feel like a total mess.
Conversations between characters feel bland and boring, making me feel impatient toward the next action scene.
“Ghost in the Shell” definitely looks the part of a good sci-fi action movie. The stunts, the costumes and the setting feel very much tied to a different and exotic world. Even the society is completely alien toward our own, people getting cybernetic enhancements like it’s plastic surgery. One character enhances his liver so he can drink more.
These cybernetic enhancements raise big moral questions about humanity, questions that Major struggles with throughout the film. The film tries to make the viewer grapple with how they’d respond to the options of enhancements and raises questions about what it means to be human.
This would have a much stronger effect though if these questions were paired with better writing and a better performance by the supporting cast. It felt like Johansson was the only one putting 100 percent into her acting.
“Ghost in the Shell” is a mediocre film at best. The beautiful visuals and great performance from Scarlett Johansson aren’t enough to save the film from its bland writing and poor supporting cast.
Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu
2/4
+ Incredible visuals
– Bland writing
