Ghost in the Shell (2017) (Scarlett Johansson)

Soldato
Joined
19 Jan 2005
Posts
2,727
Location
Oxford/Bristol
I think middling reviews are appropriate. Visually top notch but the story tries to cover too much ground and lacks a bit of depth and characterisation as a result. Johansson was pretty good in my opinion. As was Beat Takeshi.
As someone who enjoyed the anime the one thing I didn't want was an origin story for the Major. Couldn't resist could you Hollywood? That's the last story you should be telling, not the first one. It was notable that the origin aspects to the story were much weaker than the elements lifted directly from the anime and manga. The scene where Kusanagi meets her mother is clumsier than an Ed Balls quickstep.
When the first anime came out the philosophical questions it posed were fairly new and therefore thought provoking, but since then the Matrix, Black Mirror, Humans, Westworld and others have all advanced the conversation. The new film basically didn't (or even try to) have anything new to say.
Also no Tachikoma. :(
 
Soldato
Joined
3 Apr 2003
Posts
2,928
Saw it last night. I had seen the anime long ago but didnt remember a lot of it and went in with low expectations. I thought it was 'okay'. Wasnt terrible as most anime remakes are (rurouni kenshin excluded) but i doubt i would bother watching it again. Also Lucy was so bad...my god.
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Jan 2007
Posts
3,417
Location
London
Hmm, just got back from seeing this.
Yeah I agree with the general sentiment here - great visuals apart from one or two scenes. The world was well realised and presented.

I think they respected the source material pretty well, especially in the iconic set pieces - it was cool to see these in live action. But overall I'm not sure I like the choice they made with regard to the story. It works but as has been said it's not unique enough to bring a new twist to this genre given everything that has come out in the last couple of decades and neither is it true enough to the original story to satisfy fans of the anime.

Above all my single biggest criticism has to be the music - what the hell were they thinking with this! :( The music sounded more like Mass Effect or similar. I mean it's decent (being Clint Mansel it should be) but it's just generic cyberpunk - I really wish they'd have used the original music not only in the end credits, or even stuff from SAC which is amazing rather than trying to reinvent it.

Anyway I thought SJ was better than I expected playing the Major. Even though I'd have preferred a different actress, I think she did a very good job with her portrayal.
Batou was great though.
Yeah so overall a mixed bag. I managed to see it for a tenner and felt it worth the money but I wouldn't worry if you miss it in the cinema and wait for it to come to the tv.
 
Soldato
Joined
21 Mar 2003
Posts
4,651
Location
Nottingham
I've been a big fan of the original film since it came out, and loved stand along complex, but having watched this film, my overall opinion is that fans of the originals will feel somewhat let down, its a good enough film, but its a film for the sake of it, and doesn't really do anything. For people going into it without the benefit of knowing the source, they'd find it visually good, but ultimately pointless.

Overall, I am just left with one question... why?
 
Associate
Joined
8 Mar 2013
Posts
1,824
Location
Chiang Mai
:confused: $110m production budget, gross earnings £151m
After vanishing in its opening weekend at the domestic box office to $18.6 million, film finance sources tell Deadline that Paramount/DreamWorks-Reliance’s Ghost In The Shell stands to lose at least $60M, and that’s based off a global B.O. projection of $200M ($50M domestic, $150M international) and combined P&A/production costs of $250M. Some sources even assert that the production cost for Ghost is far north of $110M and more in the $180M range — if that’s the case, Ghost is bleeding in excess of $100M.
http://deadline.com/2017/04/ghost-i...hansson-box-office-flop-whitewash-1202061479/

gross is also just money taken at the cinema, the studio only gets a cut of that money and not all of it
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2009
Posts
11,175
With all costs considered, a movie needs to make roughly double is budget to break even. As above, quite a bit more to it than the figures we see on Wikipedia.
 

Deleted member 651465

D

Deleted member 651465

Saw this on Saturday. Went in totally "cold" and had no knowledge of the original source.

Thought the environment was exceptionally well done and the effects top drawer but the story lost its way in the middle act. They did a good job hyping the villain but then did very little with it until they eventually let the steam die off.

First half was a solid 8, but the second half was an average 5. Shame, because it was a good standalone film :(
 
Commissario
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
33,023
Location
Panting like a fiend
First half was a solid 8, but the second half was an average 5. Shame, because it was a good standalone film :(

But not as complex as the anime...

/gets coat

Slightly more seriously, I wish it had done better, because it's basically an "origin" story that got slightly mangled as they tried to get it in along with a second one. I would love to see what they could do with a film now that they've introduced Section 9 and the Major so could concentrate on a single story.
 
Soldato
Joined
12 Feb 2009
Posts
4,326
Studios generally get around half of the gross overall. But that's not always the case, but that figure is likely for big films.

The cut for individual cinemas can be quite different and it can depends on how old the film is when you see it.
A slow burner can be better for the Cinemas, worse for the Studios.

http://www.rogerebert.com/letters/how-your-ticket-price-is-divided
http://www.themovieblog.com/2007/10...e-the-money-goes-and-why-it-costs-us-so-much/

But to break even on cinema release it wants to be hitting $250-300m.

It'll probably break even in the long run Blu-ray/DVD, streaming, TV.

If it did get a sequel the budget would certainly be reduced. (Tbf there was a lot of money wasted in the production)
 
Commissario
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
33,023
Location
Panting like a fiend
I think the movie was unfairly judged before a single shot was filmed, people just made up their mind based on the casting. What is more bizarre is the Japanese themselves don't care.
I think you've got a point there, but that is often the way with remakes, or new versions of any property.

But Anime fans do seem to be extra super picky at times, as can be seen by the number of times they'll state a dub is going to be terrible before anyone has been chosen to do it (yet don't seem to care that for example the Japanese dub virtually all the major US films*), and persist in it even when as has happened a few times in the past, the Japanese director has said they rate the US dub at least as highly as their own.

The whole thing about SJ being too white has made me laugh repeatedly :) (this is a character in a body that is not her original, and frequently runs around in different onesdepending on the job she's doing, and where it is).


*And indeed have some actors who pretty much do it for every role specific US actors do
 
Caporegime
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
74,206
Location
Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
I think you've got a point there, but that is often the way with remakes, or new versions of any property.

But Anime fans do seem to be extra super picky at times, as can be seen by the number of times they'll state a dub is going to be terrible before anyone has been chosen to do it (yet don't seem to care that for example the Japanese dub virtually all the major US films*), and persist in it even when as has happened a few times in the past, the Japanese director has said they rate the US dub at least as highly as their own.

The whole thing about SJ being too white has made me laugh repeatedly :) (this is a character in a body that is not her original, and frequently runs around in different onesdepending on the job she's doing, and where it is).


*And indeed have some actors who pretty much do it for every role specific US actors do

Also, the elephant in the room is that practically all anime characters, especially females are drawn with western features, big eyes, blue eyes, green eyes, blonde flowing wavy hair, tall and big breasted females with pale white skin.

And Major in GITS exterior is entirely designed by human, it is not a Japanese person, it makes no sense at all to be a Japanese actor in the role. The Japanese culture (and Korean, and Chinese for that matter) desires towards pale and white skin, if you look at their make up, it is almost always to whiten the skin, not make it darker. It is totally opposite to western fashion to get tan.
 
Soldato
Joined
12 Feb 2009
Posts
4,326
I think you've got a point there, but that is often the way with remakes, or new versions of any property.

But Anime fans do seem to be extra super picky at times, as can be seen by the number of times they'll state a dub is going to be terrible before anyone has been chosen to do it (yet don't seem to care that for example the Japanese dub virtually all the major US films*), and persist in it even when as has happened a few times in the past, the Japanese director has said they rate the US dub at least as highly as their own.

The whole thing about SJ being too white has made me laugh repeatedly :) (this is a character in a body that is not her original, and frequently runs around in different onesdepending on the job she's doing, and where it is).


*And indeed have some actors who pretty much do it for every role specific US actors do

Though I think most of the white washing crap was not anime fans, but just randoms getting in on the act. :p

American dubbed anime is 98% terrible as it's mostly ultra low budget.
Also in my option, America accents tend to stand out as out of place in a lot of anime. Maybe all the young fans are so Americanised they don't notice. :)

Japanese dubbing is in general better because their dubbing industry is a lot bigger and it attracts the best talent, not just the VAs, but the technicians that produce it. Anime dominated Japanese cinema is having an effect on its acting community. Nearly three-quarters of Japan’s Actors’ Union are voice actors. That is why they are better it attracts the best talent. I'm pretty sure the American equivalent voice actors % is in single figures, might not even 1% of their actors. And a some of the early US anime VAs weren't even professional actors they just jumped into the job and kept going.

So any saying the current average US dub is a good as the Japanese dub is a massive insult to Japanese VAs. :)
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
10,055
I thought everything about this film was pretty great except for one thing. Johansson. She's just terribly bad at acting. The effects, the likeness to the anime (which I've seen) were brilliant imo. She just was so stale, so uncaptivating, so boring that I lost interest in it near the end. Shame. Gets a 6/10 when the ingredients are all there for a 9.
 
Back
Top Bottom