Dropping the Super Bowl teaser right before the big event on Sunday night, Ghost in the Shell promises to be one of the biggest installments in science fiction for 2017. The Scarlett Johansson picture from Paramount will make it's debut in earnest on March 31, 2017. And, with the football game going above and beyond this weekend for the spectacle, what better way to enhance the experience with a complete trailer?
Directed by Rupert Sanders, Ghost in the Shell will come out in 3D and IMAX. All while Johansson transitions from the Marvel franchise to playing The Major a.k.a Motoko Kusanagi. A synthetic and cybernetic law enforcement commander. The organization Section 9 she swears to protect is under threat as the film delves in on her backstory and the conflict at large.
Anime Classic Bizarre But Timeless
Seen as something from the mold of Blade Runner or Total Recall, Ghost in the Shell is an adaptation of a Japanese comic book that would go on to spawn an animated feature. Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian argued that this edition stands up against any counterpart Hollywood could possibly put forward, setting the bar high.
"This year sees the live-action remake, starring Scarlett Johansson, of the 1995 Japanese anime classic Ghost in the Shell; as a curtain-raiser, the original is getting a small release, just a couple of years after it last reappeared in UK cinemas," remarked the critic. "It really is one of the most futuristic and strange movies imaginable and its status as animation, occupying its own exotically precise universe."
With themes of self discovery and living in a digital age, Bradshaw wonders how the Johansson film can top it.
"It is a dizzying film, a real evolutionary leap in the dark that anticipated our dependence on digital connection and our tendency to cede our identity and presence to the web. There is violence, alienation, kinky tech-porn here: it is sometimes bafflingly opaque, but always bristling with ideas."
More Whitewashing Allegations
It is easy to understand how the Japanese film industry would find it complexing that the US have not utilized a domestic actress for the central role. Especially given the relevance of the nation in the context of the narrative. While Sanders leapt to the defense of her star amid all the criticism, this blockbuster was seen as an ideal opportunity for an established or emerging Japanese performer to take the role.
Whitewashing is now a common term in the film industry lexicon. Most prominent with the award ceremonies that have had a habit of overlooking people of color or other ethnicities for recognition. Hopefully this movie goes a long way of bridging the gap to showcase the best of Japanese cinema with this powerful story.
Source: The Guardian
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