In this image released by Paramount Pictures, Scarlett Johansson appears in a scene from, “Ghost in the Shell.” (Jasin Boland/Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures via AP)
THE MOST beautiful woman in the world is a mere shadow of her former self as Scarlett Johansson (“The Avengers”) is transformed into a cyborg assassin in “Ghost in the Shell.”
Directed by Rupert Sanders (“Snow White and the Huntsman”), based on the comic “Ghost in the Shell” by Masamune Shirow and from a screenplay by Jamie Moss, this two-hour theatrical version takes place in a freaky future world where Johansson plays The Major and according to the official synopsis, “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.”
Continuing: “When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people’s minds and control them, The Major is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy,
The 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”.
And there you have it, folks.
Scarlett Johansson (left) and Anamaria Marinca appear in a scene from “Ghost in the Shell.”
This “Ghost in the Shell” is essentially a remake from the anime film of the same title in 1995—albeit an animated cartoon. Yet this time, The Major, being a one-of her-kind human-cyborg hybrid, is also a lawman, leading the elite task force called Section 9 which is pledged to stop the world’s most dangerous criminals.
There is no question that Johansson has the acting chops to carry this film on her anatomically perfect shoulders—just look at 2014’s “Lucy.”
But “Ghost in the Shell” is something entirely different—harking back to 1997’s “Blade Runner” in style and form—and then shooting the cinematography forward at least 100 years.
In this dystopian future, humans can (and do) augment and enhance themselves with robotic parts.
If for nothing else, “Ghost in the Shell” should earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Production Design.
In this image released by Paramount Pictures, Scarlett Johansson, left, and Anamaria Marinca appear in a scene from, “Ghost in the Shell.” (Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures via AP)
Johansson’s Major is a “woman” whose body is 100 percent robotic yet her brain functions as any “normal” human.
And except for the vividly wild Asian metropolis setting, partially filmed in Shanghai, Johansson’s performance is as stiff as her body parts. Unlike the Tin Man in ”The Wizard of Oz,” there is no oil can that has enough silky smooth liquid that can bring her stilted performance to… life. Johansson’s mannerisms are as robotic as her perfect outer skin and her acting is not only forced, it’s downright catatonic.
Here’s the setting.
Picture yourself living a normal human life only to wake up one morning into this metal shell that looks just like you—but is far from it.
Every single person would be screaming endlessly and descending into madness.
Instead, The Major is calm, cool and collected.
Brrr … not for the squeamish.
In this image released by Paramount Pictures, Chin Han appears in a scene from, “Ghost in the Shell.” (Jasin Boland/Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures via AP)
Johannson should be rolled up on a fetal position and sucking her thumb when she finds out what’s been done to her.
I sure would be.
The Major is a passionless “Stepford’s Wife”—a clone of femininity waiting to wake up. Everything about her looks forced which wouldn’t be so bad, except she is the lead character of this movie and sets the tone for every frame that transpires.
It’s tough to remake a remake—especially when you are both copying and extending an anime cartoon which can create just about any possible image in the screen. Herein we are still limited not by imagination but by CGI special effects which truly are incredible.
Showing a bit more on-screen passion is Michael Pitt’s (“Criminal) mysterious Kuze, who will prove himself to be much more than another supervillain for The Major to confront. Kuze’s cyber enhancements are all exterior (whereas Major is all woman in the outside) and turns out to be a lot more than just a cookie-cutter villain.
And when The Major and Kuze finally do have the inevitable confrontation in the final reel of this film, I had to be nudged awake by one of the ticket takers.
In this image released by Paramount Pictures, Scarlett Johansson appears in a scene from, “Ghost in the Shell.” (Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures via AP)
I was snoring so loudly that other movie patrons couldn’t hear the dialogue.
“Ghost in the Shell” is very violent and this film critic will not recommend it for anyone younger than 16. The action set scenes are terrific … the first coming in the film’s opening five minutes when The Major crashes into a dinner setting, with guns a blazing, seconds after cyborg mercenaries have wiped out all of the human patrons … the second when a low life scumbag is trying to escape from The Major in an exterior, water filled boardwalk; she emerges from a cloak of invisibility and beats the heck out of him.
Very well done indeed and a great use of slow motion by the director Sanders.
But this ain’t Shakespeare folks so don’t expect anything more than checking your brain’s front lobes with the ticket takers so you can watch the most beautiful woman in the world—buck naked— taking the bad guys down!
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