In 1989, Ghost in the Shell was born as a manga written and drawn by Masamune Shirow that told the story of a 21st-century counter-cyber-terrorist organization called Section 9, whose head is visible on the battlefield as The Major Motoko Kusanagi. of three volumes: the third of them (in the internal chronology of the series, which is unordered) narrates the adventures of The Major in private enterprise after his mind has merged with that of the first villain in history: The Puppeteer. Shirow already started here to detail his ideas about society, machines and above all, the vector theme of all Ghost in the Shell: where is the spark that makes us human? However, it is only the starting point for a series of adaptations in animated format that do not form a coherent whole, but rather each one forms a small closed universe. From that point of view, the Sanders film can be understood as a new adaptation of that firts manga.

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Year: 2017
Category: Science Fiction, Action.
Director: Rupert Sanders
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Michael Carmen Pitt, Pilou Asbæk, Chin Han, Juliette Binoche.

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Plot

The film tells the story of The Major, a female cyborg-human hybrid unique in the world who runs an elite operative group called Section 9. Destined to stop the most dangerous extremists and criminals, Section 9 faces an enemy whose the main objective is to cancel the advances of Hanka Robotic in the field of cyber-technology.

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Opinion

There are special movies, difficult to overcome or at least equal. The 1995 film, Ghost in the Shell, animated and created by Mamoru Oshii from the homonymous manga created by Masamune Shirow is one of these examples.

For those who do not know Ghost in the shell in any of its variants: manga, animated films, video games, etc. I have to say that the adaptation directed by Rupert Sanders and Scarlett Johansson as a protagonist is a fall from his previous works, which may be admissible. But for those who know the work previously done, it is very likely that this film leaves them with a bad taste in the mouth.

Johansson gets into the skin of the police cyborg known as The Major Motoko Kusanagi and complies with his action, in a very attractive film in general. It is important to distance oneself from and be aware that the animated cinematographic language and the real image, even though they are sometimes comparable, present different characteristics. The only way in which Ghost in the Shell is positively qualified, is if we imagine that there is no previous work on this same universe.

The futuristic Japan that is shown is amazing, with excellent visual care. The boot with the credit titles imitates the creation version of a cyborg that will eventually be our companion on the screen. And most importantly, the secondary ones chosen are almost perfect. We have on the one hand a great Takeshi Kitano. It is wonderful to see it. And on the other Juliette Binoche gets into the skin of a scientist with principles where the duality man / machine is beyond doubt and where for her humanity is beyond a simple fact of life.

Lovers of films like The Matrix or Blade Runner can take a new adventurous journey through futuristic universes with robotic backgrounds and some good action sequences. Another thing is that the adoration they have for the original animated saga makes them see the film in a bad way. Comparing both films, there is not much to do because Mamoru Oshii's anime is unsurpassed.

I guess it's impossible to ignore the original material but Ghost in the Shell should work by itself. For me, it does not work. I do not think it's a bad movie, it's visually appealing and it has powerful scenes, it's not long and the issues it touches are interesting, even if it's raised very superficially. It could be said that this adaptation reduces the density, the complexity of the original work, to make it more affordable, and thus make a more commercial product.

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Trailer