ScarJo in Ghost in the Shell

I'd say definitely Scarlett Johansson.

Saw the movie. First off, as to the not using an Asian for the major it has already been explained and the movie shows the reason without stating it. There is actually a reason why you could cast scarjo or anyone and not have them be Asian. You basically have a corporate and government organization which means you are going to have foreigners mucking about so everyone is not going to be Asian. They do have a lot of Asians in there, and those who are not are obviously there because of the corporate ties they have.

The plot is very basic compared to the animated movies and tv series. The thought provoking nature of the original is replaced with a much more simplified plot that leads you along through a bunch of action sequences. The major and batau are developed, but the other characters are not. That undercuts a few situations. Some plotlines are shoehorned in for no reason.

The visuals are nice, and the action is decent. This could have been a Robocop reboot for what the plot is. It is not terrible if you are not expecting much, but it is absent of the thought of the animated versions.

He is right about the somewhat boring part. This is where you should have your mind going, but because there is no real thought to the hacking and they toss in a subplot from the original for no reason you are left on a dead end for a few.

I think a lot of disappointment will come from the much simpler plot, but it does work and it is just not the original depth.

Another thing I never got about that is

Anyway, I watched this movie yesterday and here are my initial thoughts:

- They completely wasted the characters, and failed to establish any kind of connection/comradery between them. So it rang false when there was supposed to be character drama. Like, why does that one doctor feel the way toward the Major that she does?

- The referral to the main character as simply "Major" rather than "the Major" was somewhat jarring to me.

- They went through great lengths to copy iconic imagery from the first two movies, yet completely changed the circumstances of them

- It came off as them snatching names and iconography from the previous adaptations with their own made up shit as the actual substance of it, which came off as rather ham-fisted the majority of the time, especially how they kept explaining the concept of the fully-prosthetic body and name-dropping the show.

-A lot of the establishing shots of the city looked fake as hell, partly or maybe even mostly because of the giant ad holograms. It's funny how much more convincing similar shots in 1982's Bladerunner were in comparison.

- I was rather disappointed that the Major didn't get an opportunity to show what an awesome hacker she was supposed to be.

- Other than the cityscapes, the movie was rather good-looking, though I had a laugh at the elimination of the Major's nipples from all the shots they were ripping off from the 1995 movie.

- I also liked that Aramaki was able to speak Japanese and everyone was able to understand him, as given the level of technology this only makes sense to me. I also liked that it was not explained to death or even at all, really. It's probably the only thing in the movie that wasn't explained to death like the audience was a bunch of idiots or something.

- The soundtrack was barely noticeable, and did nothing to stand out on its own. The first two movies and Stand Alone Complex all had outstanding soundtracks that stand out on their own and complimented the movie/series very well. The only use of the iconic wedding theme from the first film was relegated to the end credits (rather like Abrams Trek if you think about it), and made no sense in the context of the actual story beyond the fact that it was something from the original movie. Of course, this seems to be the movie in a nutshell. I am so disappointed, even though I was expecting to be disappointed.

Just got back from watching it. Very dull. None of the scenes really came to life and none of the characters really made any impact on me. And I don't remember any music during the movie.

I have the two animated movies on DVD and although it's been a long time since I've seen them, they were definitely more thought provoking.

This felt a bit too much like Blade Runner mixed in with ScarJo's Lucy movie (which I probably enjoyed more than this, despite the stupid plot)

I did like the scenes with the Major and her mother. That was a nice touch that I don't think was in the anime.

the problem with picking certain anime classics to adapt to an American movie audience is they are not going to please anyone. There is a sort of philosophy and thought that is stylishly similar to anime. It would bore the shit out of most people while lighting up anime fans. The GITS movies are different than SAC which was made to appeal to a larger audience. If I was looking to show a non anime fan something they would enjoy the movies would not even be on my list. I would never have a regular person sit through Evangelion, or even akira for that matter even though they are essential for any anime fan.

If you wanted to adapt popular classic anime to a movie I would try something like cowboy bebop, slayers, or techi. Cowboy bebop is basically American. Slayers and tenchi could be easily converted and not lose their style because they don't rely on huge depth of thought for their appeal.

It's a shame this movie is not getting good reviews, I was rooting for it.

Grace Park would ahve been great for the Major.

FTFY.

No, the major has tits.

Apparently no nipples on them, though.

I'm sure she can upgrade.

Just watched this movie. Man I'm glad I stayed home for this This was Blade Runner 2049, but boring. I really don't understand why they couldn't get an Asian actress for this, it boggles the mind. Was Jon Peters involved in this as well, there's another robot spider in the last act of the film? Anyway, I have to agree with the criticisms in this thread.

Hollywoo executives are cowardly, and having a big white name attached to a "weird" project calms them down.