Ghost in the Shell Live Action - March 31, 2017

[TangledThorns]

8 hours ago, seti88 said:

Was major george costanza in it?

 

Ha, looks more like Attack on Titan cosplay to me

[sh9000]

 

[valhary]

I just saw it and I love it!

maybe not 100% accurate to the manga but it is very similar and have all Memorable scenes of  the anime 

Mentioned separately can see the mechanical design of Kawamori in a real live movie totally worth it!

[sh9000]

 

[Golden Arms]

I saw it last night as well.  If you are a fan of the property there are a ton of references to the movies, manga and series. 

[hachi]

Watched it a few hours ago. I loved the references. It means they took a look at the source material and were able to incorporate them almost seamlessly. That said...

Number one thing I hated the most was the music. Sure there were nods to the original music, but couldn't they hire someone competent to at least make new music that was memorable? The music sets the mood and most of the time I was irritated that the music sounded just like so many other sounds from the usual movies. I wanted something unique. Maybe I got spoiled by Kenji Kawai's music, but the live action music was meh. (Except for the ending of course...)

Another thing is, the dialogue. Gah! I think it was bad in places. I don't know if it was the delivery or the actual sentences, it just didn't feel natural. Now since I liked ScarJo as the Black Widow, I think I'll hang this on the director. The storyline of the movie was OK, I just wasn't satisfied with the execution. It could have been better. I wonder how a better director could have handled this.

Speaking of wondering, while watching I also wondered what non-GITS fans thought of this movie. It didn't take me long to find out. After the movie, I noticed some girls talking to a Japanese-looking guy. They were asking, 'What was the movie all about?'. I smiled and walked slowly so I could hear their conversation. Unfortunately I didn't quite get what the guy said since he was farther away. The girls' take away was, rephrased 'Lesson: Don't trust others, trust yourself'. I think they might have been joking but yeah, the non-GITS fans won't be enjoying this movie as much as the GITS fans.

Edited April 1, 2017 by hachi
Deleted line about casting tldr I'm ok with ScarJo ;)

[barurutor]

Saw it a few hours ago as well. Liked the homage scenes to the original film and the Robocop storyline was decent enough, though dialogue was a bit 'meh'. Not sure if worth watching again on IMAX 3D though.

[hachi]

On 30/03/2017 at 11:22 PM, sketchley said:

BBC News has a review of the movie that puts it into a fairly decent light: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170330-how-good-is-the-new-ghost-in-the-shell

Perhaps the most important part of that article is that the writer appears to be a fan of the series

 

I wanted to believe and then he said 'The other characters have more personality than their animated counterparts did, but they are still too sketchy to register as individuals you can care about. ' Yeah right. I disagree. I think the other characters should have had more screen time or dialogue.

[sketchley]

9 minutes ago, hachi said:

 

I wanted to believe and then he said 'The other characters have more personality than their animated counterparts did, but they are still too sketchy to register as individuals you can care about. ' Yeah right. I disagree. I think the other characters should have had more screen time or dialogue.

I think that's what the writer is trying to say.  More screen time and more dialogue = better characterization.

One thing to keep in mind is that the article is written for the average person, who doesn't know anything about GiTS.  So, please keep that in mind when contemplating the line that was quoted.

[Major Focker]

watched it on IMAX 3D. the visuals were fantastic. and as the others said, the references were a treat.

that said, the music was pretty average. i was hoping there would be a Cyberbird equivalent somewhere.

the dialogue was fine, but not memorable, and a couple times i really cringed when i heard "This is/I am" Major. unfortunately, the latter was just during a climactic moment which kinda jarred me out of an otherwise cool sequence.

was with someone who was not familiar with GitS, and her gripe was the pacing. she loved the visuals though and thought the story was decent.

[barurutor]

Anyway, I just started re-watching the original 1998 movie and it really could use the sidebars/footnotes from the manga during playback.  A direct translation of that story to live-action film would be a critical/financial disaster IMHO.

[hachi]

12 minutes ago, Major Focker said:

watched it on IMAX 3D. the visuals were fantastic. and as the others said, the references were a treat.

that said, the music was pretty average. i was hoping there would be a Cyberbird equivalent somewhere.

the dialogue was fine, but not memorable, and a couple times i really cringed when i heard "This is/I am" Major. unfortunately, the latter was just during a climactic moment which kinda jarred me out of an otherwise cool sequence.

was with someone who was not familiar with GitS, and her gripe was the pacing. she loved the visuals though and thought the story was decent.

GITS SAC music was composed by Yoko Kanno, another great composer. I guess the live-action music composer never had a chance if his/her skills were average. (But I'm still putting a big part of the blame on Rupert Sanders...)

3 minutes ago, barurutor said:

Anyway, I just started re-watching the original 1998 movie and it really could use the sidebars/footnotes from the manga during playback.  A direct translation of that story to live-action film would be a critical/financial disaster IMHO.

Yes, that's why I wasn't really complaining about the storyline. The average person would be rolling their eyes or falling asleep if the original movie dialogue were adapted.

25 minutes ago, sketchley said:

I think that's what the writer is trying to say.  More screen time and more dialogue = better characterization.

One thing to keep in mind is that the article is written for the average person, who doesn't know anything about GiTS.  So, please keep that in mind when contemplating the line that was quoted.

One thing I thought, who was that other girl in section 9 supposed to be? I would have preferred it if they gave more speaking lines to Togusa or Ishikawa. Instead they add some no-impact/useless character.

[sh9000]

 

[technoblue]

I'm really looking forward to seeing this, but the weather isn't cooperating out my way (April Fool's snowstorm) and I have to wait a little longer.

[Negotiator]

Really enjoyed it.

you can see the love put into it

Edited April 1, 2017 by Negotiator

[Marzan]

Just came out of the theater and I'm happy but not over the moon. Like others, I'm very pleased with the homages and visuals that are true to the source material. The tone and choices of actors are good too. The music is a bit meh but I'll forgive because of that ending. What I didn't like as much was the dialogue. It felt a bit dumbed down from the original. It felt like everything had to be explained and left little for the viewer to chew. I wish they had shown more and said less in a way.

[Hikuro]

you know, I left actually feeling a bit ripped off. I mean the number of scenes they ripped off and yet ever just so slightly retuned for their purpose were just the same as the old animated piece. I kind of got close to walking out a few times because it was happening so frequently. I'd almost guess 25% of the film is just rehashing for live action. And the bit about The Major just left me rolling my eyes. I probably won't buy this film when it's released.

[Atheonyirh]

It was honestly a fine movie. They had to westernize things some and make conceits for a western audience, but for what it was it was more than adequate and put to rest any concerns I had regarding its handling of characters.

 

Aramaki owned hard as all hell, too.

[M'Kyuun]

Saw it today, and I liked it, but I have mixed feelings. I like the homages to the '95 film, and there are quite a few, as Hikuro mentions, although a number are changed to suit the story. For those of us familiar with Oshii's film, sadly, there really aren't any original standout scenes; all the memorable shots were lifted from the animated film, and to me, this is the greatest weakness of the film, IMHO. Many of those shots will give you a deja-vu feeling, as they are very faithful to the Oshii film. The movie itself is a visual treat, esp those city-scapes, which feel very much like GiTS. The special effects were really well done. I personally didn't mind the Major's backstory; it made sense, and gave a plausible explanation for her character, while introducing her to folks with no prior GiTS knowledge. While philosophical topics are explored, it didn't have the exposition of Oshii's film to make that exploration as blatant. To some degree, I think that's a good thing, as I've always found some of the dialog, at least in the English dub, to be clunky and un-natural, esp her and Batou's conversation on the boat and some of the Major's questions to the brain hacked guy after she beats his ass in the water-sheened lot. Just my opinion. In the end, I think it's a good GiTS movie- all the necessary elements are there. But I also think it relied too much on the '95 film for content/scenes, and could have benefited from more originality. My hope is that it will do well enough for a sequel with a unique non-derivative story line, and where the other Section 9 characters besides the Major, Batou, and Aramaki will be fleshed out more.

 

[Big s]

My daughter and I loved it. It's a bit more lite than the anime, but still a good sci-fi action drama.

[spanner]

I went as saw this today with my son, was ok but not great.. The visual effects were really good! but still I left the cinema lot feeling that impressed by it all. To be honest I even struggled to see much of a connection to the original anime and I also felt Scarlett Johansson didn't really fit into the role as well as she fit into that tight body suit. And even in some spots it was like she was playing her Black Widow character! Though im not such a big fan of hers..

It was either this or watch Kong, Skull Island but that doesn't look any good either..

Edited April 2, 2017 by spanner

[Nightbat]

Well, it isn't unexpected that the philosophical side of GITS would end up on the backburner in a Mainstream adaptation

[Marzan]

4 hours ago, Nightbat said:

Well, it isn't unexpected that the philosophical side of GITS would end up on the backburner in a Mainstream adaptation

The last trailer that played before GITS in my cinema was The Fast and the Furious 8. I cringed 3 times during a minute of trailer. If that's what people are enjoying now, it really is no surprised that they made GITS more light than the Oshii films or Kamiyama TV series.

[azrael]

And that's gonna sting...

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/

1.The Boss Baby                $49,000,000
2.Beauty and the Beast         $47,543,000
3.Ghost in the Shell (2017)    $19,000,000

[M'Kyuun]

Honestly, if those are domestic numbers, I'm not surprised. While it has its fans, most anime as a whole, just isn't that well known here in the States. There are a few exceptions, like Pokeman, Naruto, and DBZ, but outside of a handful of really popular animes aimed at kids, the more mature anime is obscure. We saw GiTS at an 1130 showing yesterday, and there were only about 20 people in the theatre to see it, so even with Scarlett attached, a big name doesn't always sell a movie. My wife and I were the first two people in the theatre, followed by another couple prob in their 40's or 50's who had no idea what the movie was about, and most likely, had never heard of Ghost in the Shell. I'm guessing they were bored, or they anticipated an empty theatre so they could get up to some sexual shenanigans (we had an older couple than this having sex a few rows down from us during another movie a year or two ago- crazy times we live in). Anyway, I imagine profits will be much higher in China and Japan. I hope it makes some kind of profit; it's a better movie than some others I've seen (like every Bayformer movie thus far.)

[spanner]

6 hours ago, Marzan said:

The last trailer that played before GITS in my cinema was The Fast and the Furious 8. I cringed 3 times during a minute of trailer. If that's what people are enjoying now, it really is no surprised that they made GITS more light than the Oshii films or Kamiyama TV series.

hehe! I also saw the F&F trailer and also cringed! Those movies are just dreadful..

When we saw GITS there was only about 10 people in the cinema including my son and I. 

[spanner]

though the new XXX movie was by no means any real good but was acceptable. Though I love Nina Dobrev and Ruby Rose!

[Keith]

It delivered more than enough for me, and I support more Scarjo Kusanagi efforts.

[Big s]

I think it's definitely better than the majority of movies and is hands down the best anime to big budget live action film. It could have been a bit deeper, but it's still a good movie and will probably get more overseas cash.

[sh9000]

 

[myk]

4 hours ago, spanner said:

hehe! I also saw the F&F trailer and also cringed! Those movies are just dreadful..

When we saw GITS there was only about 10 people in the cinema including my son and I. 

I stopped enjoying Fast after #4, which is where it should've ended.

As for Scarlett in the Shell, I thought the movie was incredibly slow paced and equally shocked that it was only an hour and forty six minutes long; it felt like Return of the King, as the story moved so slowly.  Part of my frustration was my inability to sympathize with Scarlett's pain; there was this painfully obvious identity, who am I crisis going on but it was so simplistically presented and acted so shallow and carried no weight through Scarlett that it just didn't work for me.   

Yes, this is probably the best anime to live adaptation there is, but that isn't staying much, since animated to live adaptations are Teh suck, anyway.  Maybe if they had picked an actress who's worth a little more than T & A and/or have writing that isn't such an "empty shell" to begin with...

[Chet]

Just saw this over the weekend.  It drags at the start, but improves in the later half.  Overall, I enjoyed it, but non-manga/anime fans may not enjoy it as much.  Given the complexity of the original manga (and even the anime film), I honestly don't know how they could have done it better.  I would rank it a bit higher than Zack Snyder's Watchmen.  Bottom line: go into it with low expectations and you may come away entertained.

[trojan_gambit]

8 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Honestly, if those are domestic numbers, I'm not surprised. While it has its fans, most anime as a whole, just isn't that well known here in the States. There are a few exceptions, like Pokeman, Naruto, and DBZ, but outside of a handful of really popular animes aimed at kids, the more mature anime is obscure. We saw GiTS at an 1130 showing yesterday, and there were only about 20 people in the theatre to see it, so even with Scarlett attached, a big name doesn't always sell a movie. My wife and I were the first two people in the theatre, followed by another couple prob in their 40's or 50's who had no idea what the movie was about, and most likely, had never heard of Ghost in the Shell. I'm guessing they were bored, or they anticipated an empty theatre so they could get up to some sexual shenanigans (we had an older couple than this having sex a few rows down from us during another movie a year or two ago- crazy times we live in). Anyway, I imagine profits will be much higher in China and Japan. I hope it makes some kind of profit; it's a better movie than some others I've seen (like every Bayformer movie thus far.)

Same here. I watched the movie on the 2nd day of screening. The studio was only half full (or half empty if you're negative minded ). And that is with ScarJo name in it.

As manga/anime adaptation, GitS is better than Tom Cruise's Edge of Tomorrow.

[hachi]

24 minutes ago, trojan_gambit said:

Same here. I watched the movie on the 2nd day of screening. The studio was only half full (or half empty if you're negative minded ). And that is with ScarJo name in it.

As manga/anime adaptation, GitS is better than Tom Cruise's Edge of Tomorrow.

 

I dunno, I kinda enjoyed Edge of Tomorrow, I thought it had much better execution than GitS. (Note that I haven't read yet the original All You Need Is Kill novel.)

[Gaijin]

Just got back from seeing it. I enjoyed it and will be buying the Blu-ray when it releases. 

It was perfect for mainstream. Who don't care anyways. I'm happy though.