Film Review: Ghost in the Shell
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Cert: 12A - should have been a 15 cert due to certain scenes.
Cert: 12A - should have been a 15 cert due to certain scenes.
Director: Rupert Sanders
Screenwriter: (based on the comic 'The Ghost in the Shell' by) Masamune Shirow, (screenplay) Jamie Moss, William Wheeler.
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbæk , Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, Michael Pitt, Chin Han, Danusia Samal, Lazarus Ratuere, Yutaka Izumihara, Tawanda Manyimo, Peter Ferdinando, Anamaria Marinca, Daniel Henshall, Mana Hira Davis, Erroll Anderson, Kai Fung Rieck, Andrew Stehlin, Matthias Luafutu, John Luafutu, Kaori Momoi, Kaori Yamamoto, Andrew Morris, Adwoa Aboah,
Running time: 1h 47min
Parents advised reading before viewing a film as some scene may contain scenes unsuitable for younger viewers.
Sex & Nudity: None
Violence & Gore: Moderate portrayals of violence with some details, are depicted, albeit justified by context. Said portrayals of violence also include some infliction of pain and injury but they are not detailed, intense or prolonged.
The film is peppered throughout with scenes of violence that depict gun firing and characters who engage in physical combat involving punches and kicks.
Some of these scenes contain stronger portrayals of violence where the infliction of injury is visible.
For instance, a character is seen to stab a knife through a victim's arm where the blade is seen protruding through the arm.
In other instances, the heads of androids (human-like robots) are shattered by gunshots to the head and, in one scene, the arms and legs of two androids are destroyed, leaving them with splintered stumps at the shoulders and knees.
Some scenes of violence also contain brief depictions of bloodshed where bloodstains are seen on the clothing of victims who are killed by gunfire
Profanity: The film contains some instances of mild language such as the terms "screwed", "ass", "shit" and "piss".
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking: alcohol seen drunk by the main characters.
Frightening/Intense Scenes: Based on the Japanese manga of the same title, 'Ghost In The Shell' is a sci-fi action film that revolves around the titular character, Major, a cyborg built to look like a human and assigned to cyber crimes unit, Section 9. While pursuing a criminal, she slowly recovers remnants of her past.
Official MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence, suggestive content and some disturbing images
Likes: (Warning!! This film contains flashing lights, so advised not to watch if you have epilepsy)If you don't know this story of “Ghost in the Shell”, it's a futuristic world where science and technology have advanced to the point where companies have made leading edge advanced and controversial artificial organs, dubbed "augmentations" where human part can be replaced, kind of like the game Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
The world in which this film is set in is a cross between "Blade Runner" with a futuristic city, and "Matrix" style imaginary; in the cyber world which is great in portraying this concept. The other thing as well which was some cause for concerns was Scarlett Johansson playing a Japanese role, which I can confirm she actually was a good choice here for casting.Scarlet gave this robotic style acting performance which worked perfect for the character she is portraying, the only thing human in the character is her brain. Some of the effects of the stealth suit were good and didn't feel out of place once. Her action scenes were done brilliantly. So yea I can honestly say she done well with this role.
Pilou Asbæk is not a well know star butt, you might recognize him in "Game of Thrones" playing Euron Greyjoy. Pilou plays Batou who a straight copy of the original character in the original animated film, but its live action come across as a badass and he towers over Scarlet, like the muscle of the team, but put a great performance with this role.
Not to say this is a bad thing because I don't think anyone would want to watch a live-action film that a copy of everything in the original movie, so it got that aspect going for it plus, it gives a new fresh feel to the film.
The CGI and cinematography are brilliantly done, although one thing was off which I will cover in the dislikes, everything else was good as far as the C.G.I and choreography in action scenes. There is one scene in this film which I don't think is suitable for anyone under 15, as this scene alone was extremely creepy just in the way the C.G.I: it gave this creepy dark sinister tone that was a bit spine-chilling-- like it belongs in a horror film.
Dislikes: There was a moment with a certain scene the C.G.I felt out of focus, which I noticed (not sure it had to do with the projector, or the screen though)
The other thing is that the film although good to watch, felt like something is missing, which might go against it feel like a good build-up but then fail to deliver a great ending somehow it just felt slightly off.
Overall: Great film adaption from the original, great performances and great action.
Rating: 5 out of 5 for entertainment / 7.7 out of 10 for adaptation
Screenwriter: (based on the comic 'The Ghost in the Shell' by) Masamune Shirow, (screenplay) Jamie Moss, William Wheeler.
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbæk , Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, Michael Pitt, Chin Han, Danusia Samal, Lazarus Ratuere, Yutaka Izumihara, Tawanda Manyimo, Peter Ferdinando, Anamaria Marinca, Daniel Henshall, Mana Hira Davis, Erroll Anderson, Kai Fung Rieck, Andrew Stehlin, Matthias Luafutu, John Luafutu, Kaori Momoi, Kaori Yamamoto, Andrew Morris, Adwoa Aboah,
Running time: 1h 47min
Parents advised reading before viewing a film as some scene may contain scenes unsuitable for younger viewers.
Sex & Nudity: None
Violence & Gore: Moderate portrayals of violence with some details, are depicted, albeit justified by context. Said portrayals of violence also include some infliction of pain and injury but they are not detailed, intense or prolonged.
The film is peppered throughout with scenes of violence that depict gun firing and characters who engage in physical combat involving punches and kicks.
Some of these scenes contain stronger portrayals of violence where the infliction of injury is visible.
For instance, a character is seen to stab a knife through a victim's arm where the blade is seen protruding through the arm.
In other instances, the heads of androids (human-like robots) are shattered by gunshots to the head and, in one scene, the arms and legs of two androids are destroyed, leaving them with splintered stumps at the shoulders and knees.
Some scenes of violence also contain brief depictions of bloodshed where bloodstains are seen on the clothing of victims who are killed by gunfire
Profanity: The film contains some instances of mild language such as the terms "screwed", "ass", "shit" and "piss".
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking: alcohol seen drunk by the main characters.
Frightening/Intense Scenes: Based on the Japanese manga of the same title, 'Ghost In The Shell' is a sci-fi action film that revolves around the titular character, Major, a cyborg built to look like a human and assigned to cyber crimes unit, Section 9. While pursuing a criminal, she slowly recovers remnants of her past.
Official MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence, suggestive content and some disturbing images
Story: In the near future, Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind; a human saved from a terrible crash, who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals. When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people's minds and control them, Major is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy, Major discovers that she has been lied to, her life was not saved, it was stolen. She will stop at nothing to recover her past, find out who did this to her and stop them before they do it to others. Based on the internationally acclaimed Japanese Manga, "The Ghost in the Shell."
Likes: (Warning!! This film contains flashing lights, so advised not to watch if you have epilepsy)If you don't know this story of “Ghost in the Shell”, it's a futuristic world where science and technology have advanced to the point where companies have made leading edge advanced and controversial artificial organs, dubbed "augmentations" where human part can be replaced, kind of like the game Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
The world in which this film is set in is a cross between "Blade Runner" with a futuristic city, and "Matrix" style imaginary; in the cyber world which is great in portraying this concept. The other thing as well which was some cause for concerns was Scarlett Johansson playing a Japanese role, which I can confirm she actually was a good choice here for casting.Scarlet gave this robotic style acting performance which worked perfect for the character she is portraying, the only thing human in the character is her brain. Some of the effects of the stealth suit were good and didn't feel out of place once. Her action scenes were done brilliantly. So yea I can honestly say she done well with this role.
Pilou Asbæk is not a well know star butt, you might recognize him in "Game of Thrones" playing Euron Greyjoy. Pilou plays Batou who a straight copy of the original character in the original animated film, but its live action come across as a badass and he towers over Scarlet, like the muscle of the team, but put a great performance with this role.
The original film came out in 1995 and became a big fan base with the fans of manga and animation film, would I say this film copies the original scene by scene? The answer would be "No," it doesn't; some scenes you will recognize from the original, as the director has put some elements of the original film in this live-action version where other parts of the film are different.
Not to say this is a bad thing because I don't think anyone would want to watch a live-action film that a copy of everything in the original movie, so it got that aspect going for it plus, it gives a new fresh feel to the film.
The CGI and cinematography are brilliantly done, although one thing was off which I will cover in the dislikes, everything else was good as far as the C.G.I and choreography in action scenes. There is one scene in this film which I don't think is suitable for anyone under 15, as this scene alone was extremely creepy just in the way the C.G.I: it gave this creepy dark sinister tone that was a bit spine-chilling-- like it belongs in a horror film.
I can say this that director Rupert Sanders (“Snow White and the Huntsman”) has delivered a stunningly well-made movie, the visuals of the movie are like nothing there has ever been before when it comes to FX. the CGI scenery paints the image of a near-future Japan that looks astoundingly natural.
“Ghost in the Shell” might not be for everyone, there is a lot of people being negative about the film already, but it a worthwhile film to watch if you’re a fan of the original animated film.The action is great but, I felt like there was something missing.
Question for those who have seen this film, do you think this stands up to the original animated version or do you think the original was better?
Do you think Scarlet pulled off the role she was portraying?
Dislikes: There was a moment with a certain scene the C.G.I felt out of focus, which I noticed (not sure it had to do with the projector, or the screen though)
The other thing is that the film although good to watch, felt like something is missing, which might go against it feel like a good build-up but then fail to deliver a great ending somehow it just felt slightly off.
Overall: Great film adaption from the original, great performances and great action.
Rating: 5 out of 5 for entertainment / 7.7 out of 10 for adaptation
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