I'm not trying to be overly divisive here and again it's not an amazing (in the most literal sense of the word) soundtrack, but everything you just named (while genuinely stunning works) represents a fraction of the total amount of mainstream films released in that time frame. They're certainly not the norm, and while GiTS's soundtrack isn't on the level of that, it's still pretty great compared to most mainstream films.
I'm not trying to be overly divisive here and again it's not an amazing (in the most literal sense of the word) soundtrack, but everything you just named (while genuinely stunning works) represents a fraction of the total amount of mainstream films released in that time frame. They're certainly not the norm, and while GiTS's soundtrack isn't on the level of that, it's still pretty great compared to most mainstream films.
Saw it. Didn't care for it. It got the same emotional response as when I watched the original for the first time. I guess I don't get what people see in this series. The set design is alright but like the characters it feels totally lifeless. I kept thinking of other better movies (Blade Runner, The Matrix, Ex Machina) while watching GitS 2017 and wishing I was watching them.
There is a plot point in the film that might have been less eyeroll worthy if they had casted a Japanese actress. Like Iron Fist, simply casting an asian actor in the role would not have undone/fixed the adaptation's bullshit but it would at least been one less blemish
The movie is serviceable but totally uninteresting which is kind of a mortal sin for science fiction.
As far as an adaptation, it adheres to the original film but incorporates content from the other "movies?" that I have never seen and will never care to see. This is by far the most boring way to do an adaptation. There wasn't much of an attempt to transform or improve upon the source material. At least Death Note is trying to do something different.
If you're a fan of the franchise, go see it. Visually they hit the mark almost perfectly. They pull from the movie, anime, and even the manga. The script needed work, and some of the character interactions were flat. Go in expecting an alternate telling of the original movie. Not SAC or a re-creation of the original movie/manga.
I was surprised how little exposition was present, considering it was a Hollywood movie.
About the soundtrack since that's something quite a few are talking about - they brought Lorne Balfe on at the last minute to redo some of Mansell's cues in the first half, including the shelling. I saw the 15 min IMAX preview a while back and I LOVED the score in that, and to have it replaced something a lot sparser and with less power especially for that opening, was quite a bummer.
Two things I wanted to get out of the way while on my mind:
- I don't usually find characters 'annoying' but Dr. Ouelet was insufferable. Her "but Mira is a person!!" shtick got old the first time she brought it up and by the time she bit the dust having expended her thematic and narrative purpose, I couldn't care less.
- The score was unfortunately unremarkable. Never left any kind of impression and the music is barely there too. Not in a cool, atmospheric or ambient way either, whatever material they had was used sparingly and not to any great effect. It always seemed to hit the relevant emotional beat with the minimum amount of effort before vanishing.
Onto the real stuff:
The city-holograms lie closer to the opposite end of the spectrum. And although they weren't as obtrusive as I expected, they were still distracting at times and felt wasted overall. After having watched the film I can't help but think these would be better suited in a static medium such as a comic book at least in the way they were used here. Films are meant to control our attention, having these holograms liberally placed everywhere is counterproductive. It may have looked striking in preproduction but in the final product they amounted to little more than visual noise. I guess they also served as landmarks to distinguish between the more technologically advanced parts of the city and the comparatively rundown, presumably lesser-affluent areas. In a better film they would have something to say about this juxtaposition they set up. Little world-building was achieved in this location and frankly they should have lifted bits of the interlude from the '95 adaptation like they did for the rest of the film. Despite the spectacle of the more cyberpunk-looking areas, the setting has no real personality and that's a shame.
I can't agree with the sentiment that because this is a Western adaptation, whitewashing isn't as salient an issue as the controversy would make it seem to be. There are too many elements of the film that cling onto Ghost in the Shell's Asian roots for me to buy into that. The Korean, Chinese, Japanese language signs splashed everywhere, a Geisha robot with the freaking Japanese flag on it, not to mention Takeshi Kitano speaking Japanese for the entire movie. I find it problematic that this film relies so much on Asian culture but doesn't put any Asian people into its most important roles with the exception of Aramaki's casting (an economic decision to help market this film in Japan). Section 9 may be diverse, but if we go through the people we spend the most time with in the film they're all white - again barring Aramaki. Maybe if it wasn't Scarlett Johansson in the leading role their attempt to navigate this issue wouldn't be as jarring because her inclusion is a constant reminder that this wasn't driven by artistic imperatives foremost, it was driven by an economic one. Not to say the twist is devoid of value; with a more competent writer it could make for an interesting story. It's just that in a Hollywood context their 'solution' ends up feeling neither clever nor satisfying. It also would have helped if the film did anything more than just present the twist. Maybe it could have tried to address the implications or spend more time with Major dealing with it but credits roll and she's back to killing again.
These are my initial thoughts, I may warm up to some parts of the film as I mull over it.
Some nice visuals, serviceable plot that's every bit as basic as you'd expect a big budget production-by-executive-committee cyberpunk movie to be, and a decent score that combines well enough with the cinematography to create the kind of tone you want from a setting like this.
None of the actors bring anything exceptional to the table and a lot of the character stuff seems rushed.
If you're a fan of the franchise, go see it. Visually they hit the mark almost perfectly. They pull from the movie, anime, and even the manga. The script needed work, and some of the character interactions were flat. Go in expecting an alternate telling of the original movie. Not SAC or a re-creation of the original movie/manga.
I was surprised how little exposition was present, considering it was a Hollywood movie.
Two things I wanted to get out of the way while on my mind:
- I don't usually find characters 'annoying' but Dr. Ouelet was insufferable. Her "but Mira is a person!!" shtick got old the first time she brought it up and by the time she bit the dust having expended her thematic and narrative purpose, I couldn't care less.
In addition to liking the soundtrack, I had the opposite reaction to this particular thing. I even hesitated to comment on it because it's such a major plot spoiler, but here we go.
HUGE PLOT SPOILERS, NOT KIDDING
I thought Dr. Ouelet's actress did a good job, actually. I liked the whole weird mother-daughter dynamic she had with Mira, particularly in contrast with the real mother-daughter dynamic when Mira meets her original mother.
I loved the part where the garbage truck guy went after Dr. Ouelet and Mira keeps pounding the guy relentlessly until Batou has to pull her off. She didn't even have to say anything about it for the unspoken rage to come through about someone targeting her creator / mother figure.
Dr. Ouelet seemed like she really cared about the research she was doing, and had come to be fond of the best creation she worked on. In particular, I thought the part at the end was emotionally powerful when Mira is repeating "I do not authorize this" and Dr. Ouelet tells her that they never actually needed her permission -- and then of course sacrifices herself.
In addition to liking the soundtrack, I had the opposite reaction to this particular thing. I even hesitated to comment on it because it's such a major plot spoiler, but here we go.
HUGE PLOT SPOILERS, NOT KIDDING
I thought Dr. Ouelet's actress did a good job, actually. I liked the whole weird mother-daughter dynamic she had with Mira, particularly in contrast with the real mother-daughter dynamic when Mira meets her original mother.
I loved the part where the garbage truck guy went after Dr. Ouelet and Mira keeps pounding the guy relentlessly until Batou has to pull her off. She didn't even have to say anything about it for the unspoken rage to come through about someone targeting her creator / mother figure.
Dr. Ouelet seemed like she really cared about the research she was doing, and had come to be fond of the best creation she worked on. In particular, I thought the part at the end was emotionally powerful when Mira is repeating "I do not authorize this" and Dr. Ouelet tells her that they never actually needed her permission -- and then of course sacrifices herself.
We're gonna have to chalk this up to different taste Also, you removed the spoiler-tag in the quote.
Working backwards, I do agree that Johansson's deadpan delivery on "I do not authorize this" was one of the more memorable moments in the film but it's pretty obvious that Dr. Ouelet wasn't going to kill her given how enamoured she was with Mira, not to mention we see that she inserts a yellow tube into the device not the red one.
Mira getting heated was super-cliched for me, I've seen this too many times for it to be emotionally resonant.
Their relationship never settled for me because I don't understand why Dr. Ouelet had such an attachment to Motoko. She came off as obsessed rather than displaying signs of genuine maternal love. It's just weird that she shows so much concern for Mira's wellbeing when she's implicit in turning Motoko into a disposable weapon. It wasn't guilt was it?
We're gonna have to chalk this up to different taste Also, you removed the spoiler-tag in the quote.
Working backwards, I do agree that Johansson's deadpan delivery on "I do not authorize this" was one of the more memorable moments in the film but it's pretty obvious that Dr. Ouelet wasn't going to kill her given how enamoured she was with Mira, not to mention we see that she inserts a yellow tube into the device not the red one.
Mira getting heated was super-cliched for me, I've seen this too many times for it to be emotionally resonant.
Their relationship never settled for me because I don't understand why Dr. Ouelet had such an attachment to Motoko. She came off as obsessed rather than displaying signs of genuine maternal love. It's just weird that she shows so much concern for Mira's wellbeing when she's implicit in turning Motoko into a disposable weapon. It wasn't guilt was it?
So sorry about the spoiler tags! Thankfully the part I quoted was mild.
HUGE PLOT SPOILERS AGAIN:
Maybe I'm reading too much into the movie, but guilt could be a big part of it. She knows young people were mysteriously brought to her, but she didn't ask questions because she thought her work was important enough. So she presumably knows she's guilty there, but she tries to justify it by her work.
Likewise, in the start of the movie she asks that Mira not be put in Section 9. She wants to obsess and create these near-perfect biological-machine hybrids, know their every thought (the troubleshooting scene), take care of them, etc. She doesn't want them to be killing machines but goes along with it.
About Kuze, she said she'd tried to save him. She probably feels guilty about him too, but blames his mind for being too violent and not meshing or whatever.
Obsession is a reasonable description of her behavior. She's an aging scientist. She might have given up any sort of normal family to pursue her work. With Mira she's basically created her masterpiece. I got a bunch of weird mixed vibes of motherhood, obsessed scientist, creator, and guilty party. That combo worked for me but maybe I'm just being too generous.
Saw it. Didn't care for it. It got the same emotional response as when I watched the original for the first time. I guess I don't get what people see in this series. The set design is alright but like the characters it feels totally lifeless. I kept thinking of other better movies (Blade Runner, The Matrix, Ex Machina) while watching GitS 2017 and wishing I was watching them.
There is a plot point in the film that might have been less eyeroll worthy if they had casted a Japanese actress. Like Iron Fist, simply casting an asian actor in the role would not have undone/fixed the adaptation's bullshit but it would at least been one less blemish
The movie is serviceable but totally uninteresting which is kind of a mortal sin for science fiction.
As far as an adaptation, it adheres to the original film but incorporates content from the other "movies?" that I have never seen and will never care to see. This is by far the most boring way to do an adaptation. There wasn't much of an attempt to transform or improve upon the source material. At least Death Note is trying to do something different.
So sorry about the spoiler tags! Thankfully the part I quoted was mild.
HUGE PLOT SPOILERS AGAIN:
Maybe I'm reading too much into the movie, but guilt could be a big part of it. She knows young people were mysteriously brought to her, but she didn't ask questions because she thought her work was important enough. So she presumably knows she's guilty there, but she tries to justify it by her work.
Likewise, in the start of the movie she asks that Mira not be put in Section 9. She wants to obsess and create these near-perfect biological-machine hybrids, know their every thought (the troubleshooting scene), take care of them, etc. She doesn't want them to be killing machines but goes along with it.
About Kuze, she said she'd tried to save him. She probably feels guilty about him too, but blames his mind for being too violent and not meshing or whatever.
Obsession is a reasonable description of her behavior. She's an aging scientist. She might have given up any sort of normal family to pursue her work. With Mira she's basically created her masterpiece. I got a bunch of weird mixed vibes of motherhood, obsessed scientist, creator, and guilty party. That combo worked for me but maybe I'm just being too generous.
No worries, thread seems to have slowed down so it shouldn't have caught many people's eyes.
LOL I completely forgot about some of those details since watching the movie my bad. The point you raise about giving up normal family life does ground her a bit more but during the movie those qualities just didn't mesh with me. This may say more about me than the movie but it was almost pathetic how she behaved >_>? The most believable relationship for me was Motoko and Batou for what it's worth.
btw has anyone noticed that in the trailers there are some scenes that are missing in the movie, like the one with the monk? I hope that they will be restored in the blu ray...
So sorry about the spoiler tags! Thankfully the part I quoted was mild.
HUGE PLOT SPOILERS AGAIN:
Maybe I'm reading too much into the movie, but guilt could be a big part of it. She knows young people were mysteriously brought to her, but she didn't ask questions because she thought her work was important enough. So she presumably knows she's guilty there, but she tries to justify it by her work.
Likewise, in the start of the movie she asks that Mira not be put in Section 9. She wants to obsess and create these near-perfect biological-machine hybrids, know their every thought (the troubleshooting scene), take care of them, etc. She doesn't want them to be killing machines but goes along with it.
About Kuze, she said she'd tried to save him. She probably feels guilty about him too, but blames his mind for being too violent and not meshing or whatever.
Obsession is a reasonable description of her behavior. She's an aging scientist. She might have given up any sort of normal family to pursue her work. With Mira she's basically created her masterpiece. I got a bunch of weird mixed vibes of motherhood, obsessed scientist, creator, and guilty party. That combo worked for me but maybe I'm just being too generous.
btw has anyone noticed that in the trailers there are some scenes that are missing in the movie, like the one with the monk? I hope that they will be restored in the blu ray...
Somehow Rupert Sanders has made the most Nolan-esque Zack Snyder movie I've ever seen.
If possible, I recommend watching it in a language you don't understand. That way this condescending trash would probably seem like a really great GitS movie. It is so ridiculously fucking good looking.
Big GITS:SAC fan I also kinda liked ARISE. Saw it last night I liked the production design the artists did that work. Also surreal to see Section 9 in real life. The main action sequences were cool to see because they were taken beat-for-beat from the anime...but the film just felt empty and hollow.
So sorry about the spoiler tags! Thankfully the part I quoted was mild.
HUGE PLOT SPOILERS AGAIN:
Maybe I'm reading too much into the movie, but guilt could be a big part of it. She knows young people were mysteriously brought to her, but she didn't ask questions because she thought her work was important enough. So she presumably knows she's guilty there, but she tries to justify it by her work.
Likewise, in the start of the movie she asks that Mira not be put in Section 9. She wants to obsess and create these near-perfect biological-machine hybrids, know their every thought (the troubleshooting scene), take care of them, etc. She doesn't want them to be killing machines but goes along with it.
About Kuze, she said she'd tried to save him. She probably feels guilty about him too, but blames his mind for being too violent and not meshing or whatever.
Obsession is a reasonable description of her behavior. She's an aging scientist. She might have given up any sort of normal family to pursue her work. With Mira she's basically created her masterpiece. I got a bunch of weird mixed vibes of motherhood, obsessed scientist, creator, and guilty party. That combo worked for me but maybe I'm just being too generous.
I just saw it in 3D and in my mind 3D was okay but not necessary at all. I found it quite weird how they put all those scenes in from the other material but weaved it into a different story. At times that was almost distracting and took me out of the movie, I was waiting for the characters to say the lines I remembered. I thought that the overall theme of the movie was quite good an interesting take on where our society is headed.
I wasn't expecting much from the movie, being a huge GitS fan. And after seeing it last night the movie basically aligned right up with my expectations, a Lucy-like action movie with a pseudo GitS skin, completely missing all the nuances that made the 1995 film so masterful. Not to mention
a twist that left me wondering if it was clever or just an incredibly hypocritical statement on whitewashing.
It was ok for what it was, it was almost worth seeing just for the guy behind me blurting out "I HAVE MIXED FEELINGS" as soon as the credits started to roll. My friend and I immediately burst into laughter.
Bottom line: If you care about the series at all/really admire the manga, the 1995 film, or SAC I can't recommend this movie. If you're crazy curious, trust me, you aren't missing anything. Most of the "cool" shit was shown off in the trailer. The movie doesn't add anything compelling to the GitS world, we already have so many amazing adaptations, this one's completely missable.
Saw it today, after lunch time ,whilst on a shopping trip, stopped by the Cinema, and my feelings were, ehhh i enjoyed it and though it wasnt Amazing, it was good, will buy the Bluray, the scenery was beautful to look at, effects were cool.
Went to a shop afterwards and found second hand copies of stand alone complex second gig vol 1 & 2 for £5 for both, no idea what it is or if it's inncomplete but i think its a tv show as it lists episodes. (I also bought the barebones 2003 Akira and appleseed as they were also cheap and second hand and i have not seen them)
I did attempt to watch the Anime film just a few weeks ago, i watched half and got distracted, need to rewatch, almost bought it, i swear it was on the UK netflix just last month when i watched it and thought id finish it on Netflix, but its gone.
Also horray for no Dubstep in the actual movie, at least i dont remember any.
For what it's worth, I've seen the original film and SAC seasons 1 and 2.
This felt technically competent and had some very cool art direction, but like many reviews have already pointed out, the movie ironically feels like it's missing a sense of identity. There's not much flow between scenes, and moment to moment it feels like the direction is just communicating basic spatial information or showing off its cool visuals.
The film spends very little time sitting still and letting us soak in the world or letting the characters breathe. The anime film had these long takes of the city soaked in rain, and that set a pensive and lonely tone both for the film and for the Major. Here, when Major says, verbatim, "it feels like everyone's a part of something, something I'm not" -- there's nothing in the film visually that communicates these emotions to me beyond the knowledge that she's supposed to be the only person who is completely cybernetic sans her brain. I only know how Major feels when she literally tells me exactly how she feels. And even then, when Major at the end of the movie says that
she "belongs" in the real world, and that she knows what her purpose is,
I literally have no idea what she's talking about or why she feels that way. That's frustrating to me, and seems rather common in these big-budget Hollywood movies: visual storytelling that does nothing to communicate to me how the characters are feeling, instead falling back on plot or acting to do that work. Visuals, script, and plot all need to be emotionally resonant and in sync, or you end up with a hollow-feeling movie.
On that note, the scene I liked the best was the
mind hack into the geisha robot
. With pacing and visuals, it created a simple but palpable sense of dread. To Sanders' credit, most of the borrowed cuts from the anime film feel reverential and not like lip service, but given the rest of the movie, there's little sense that the movie understands what makes the direction in those cuts effective.
While the twist here is par for the course in sci-fi, the implementation was a bit better than I thought it would be. I did like the scenes with
Motoko's mother
, and wanted to see Major and that character interact more, because that's supposed to be one of the draws of fiction, isn't it? This is a take on a familiar human relationship that only a sci-fi premise can offer. It goes without saying that Section 9 really got shafted here, as without watching any of the other GitS material I have no idea who they are. Most of all, I really wanted more of Major and Batou. Pilou Asbaek seems like a charming guy in interviews, and it's such a waste when half of his dialogue is completely empty stuff like "You don't talk much about your past" or "You trust me, right?" Unfortunately, I don't understand the praise I've read for Beat Takeshi here -- neither his acting nor the movie tell me anything about who he is, what he wants, or what he stands for, and his stoicism gives him some presence but little else. Everyone is a victim of the lackluster script in this movie, but Takeshi and Asbaek suffer for it more than most given their heightened roles. ScarJo did a better job here than I expected, and I would've liked to see her with a better script. Juliette Binoche put more heart into her performance as Dr. Ouelet than I expect from that type of character, and I appreciated that.
Overall -- competent but with little of its own to offer. In a way, I'm a bit disappointed that this is the introduction of GitS in Hollywood. It's not bad enough to reboot, and not good or interesting enough to gain a foothold for a second shot at the material.
Sigh.... i take it back. save your money. The only somewhat redeemable aspect of the entire movie was Clint Mansells' score and some still shots. That's it. As for the acting... most of it was bad. I had no problem with Scarlett being cast in terms of looks, but she's a terrible one dimensional actress.
This movie makes me appreciate the Wachowskis more than i already do. Why some of you like to take a stab at them is beyond my understanding. Even something as disjointed and ridiculous as Jupiter Ascending ooozes originality with amazing execution.
But this, this is what happens when hollywood execs want to try and make a quick buck.
I really enjoyed it. Much better than I expected -- better than I could have ever hoped for a Hollywood anime adaptation. And I don't buy the criticism that the film is shallow. I actually think it had some nuance that GitS 95 didn't have.
So um.... I actually really loved this. And I don't have nostalgia for the original either. I saw a couple episodes of stand alone complex and 2nd gig when I was a kid but always thought they were boring, mainly because I was a kid. But this was really good in my opinion. Not a outstanding movie but really good none the less. Like the plot is bare bones, that is pretty obvious but you can tell they weren't going for plot of the year here but instead focused on the visuals. And alot of them were really great imo. Also I don't see how the actors phoned anything in. Honest 8/10 for me. Had alot of fun.
The weakest parts were some of the dialogue. The guy who plays Cutter is awful. Right out of the gate they're like "It's a ghost... in a shell!".
The acting of the leads are phenomenal. ScarJo never breaks character and her body language gives off an uncanny valley feel. A few of the supporting cast are good too but Takeshi (body language), Asbaek, and ScarJo do their characters justice. Togusa wasn't really well utilized but he had one cool scene.
There are very few moments of levity, there's like three scenes that could be counted as mildly funny. GitS isnt' a series known for comedy, but the movie didn't really give the audience time to breathe - a few more scenes with Section 9 showing some humanity would have helped to also show how different Major is.
The 3D was amazing, the visuals were stunning, the cinematography was crazy.
As the credits began to roll a redneck in a wife beater groaned loudly "THIS MOVIE SUCKED!".
As for the whitewashing, the movie is so fucking aware of this that it writes it into the script. They knew it was unavoidable so they made sure the movie was screaming at the audience "WE KNOW." The odds of this ever being made without ScarJo attached are 0. We can go on and on about how Asian actresses are never given a chance, and that's true, but unfortunately this is the shitty racist country in which we live. Sorry America, this isn't just Hollywood's fault, it's ours too.
In the future, everyone stays inside, glued to their virtual porn. I'm pretty sure that's what those dudes were doing in the house they raided. Why would anyone need to go anywhere?
Saw it. Didn't care for it. It got the same emotional response as when I watched the original for the first time. I guess I don't get what people see in this series. The set design is alright but like the characters it feels totally lifeless. I kept thinking of other better movies (Blade Runner, The Matrix, Ex Machina) while watching GitS 2017 and wishing I was watching them.
As for the whitewashing, the movie is so fucking aware of this that it writes it into the script. They knew it was unavoidable so they made sure the movie was screaming at the audience "WE KNOW." The odds of this ever being made without ScarJo attached are 0. We can go on and on about how Asian actresses are never given a chance, and that's true, but unfortunately this is the shitty racist country in which we live. Sorry America, this isn't just Hollywood's fault, it's ours too.
She should have stayed Mira Kellan. Original Character. Not Japanese person trapped in White Body. The fact that they think that making the whitewashing a plot point absolves them is stupid. It's not a loophole that absolves them of anything. I'd be fine if she was just Mira Kellan. Like Tom Cruise was Cage in Edge of Tomorrow. Making her Makoto Kusanagi was exactly what I wanted NOT to happen. They did exactly what I expected. THey used "cyborg body. interchangable race. DEEP PHILOSPHICAL THEMES OF IDENTITY" as a copout. It was a way for them to whitewash and pat themselves on the back for it.
I'll say this, while its regrettable that they whitewashed Makoto, they should have been congratulated for the amount of diversity it had. Particularly with regards to the amount of asian cast members.
She should have stayed Mira Kellan. Original Character. Not Japanese person trapped in White Body. The fact that they think that making the whitewashing a plot point absolves them is stupid. It's not a loophole that absolves them of anything. I'd be fine if she was just Mira Kellan. Like Tom Cruise was Cage in Edge of Tomorrow. Making her Makoto Kusanagi was exactly what I wanted NOT to happen. They did exactly what I expected. THey used "cyborg body. interchangable race. DEEP PHILOSPHICAL THEMES OF IDENTITY" as a copout. It was a way for them to whitewash and pat themselves on the back for it.
Do you actually believe that your proposed solution would have made anyone less outraged? If they ignored it entirely? At least they had the conscience and the balls to address it somehow. And luckily, it actually made sense with both the subject material of the movie and the running theme(s) of the movie.
The reviews making a giant deal out of it are 100% doing it for clicks. It's honestly pathetic.
As for the whitewashing, the movie is so fucking aware of this that it writes it into the script. They knew it was unavoidable so they made sure the movie was screaming at the audience "WE KNOW." The odds of this ever being made without ScarJo attached are 0. We can go on and on about how Asian actresses are never given a chance, and that's true, but unfortunately this is the shitty racist country in which we live. Sorry America, this isn't just Hollywood's fault, it's ours too.
All of the main scientists were white and they had a white CEO doing all of this shit to Japanese people. The plot of the film is literally white people fucking over Asian people.
I had a laugh last night after coming back and realizing it.
I'll say this, while its regrettable that they whitewashed Makoto, they should have been congratulated for the amount of diversity it had. Particularly with regards to the amount of asian cast members.
Yeah. There were Asian cast members in key positions and they actually got Japanese actors and actresses to do it. I didn't know Kaori Momoi was in this and I was very pleasantly surprised when I found out in the opening credits.
As for the whitewashing, the movie is so fucking aware of this that it writes it into the script. They knew it was unavoidable so they made sure the movie was screaming at the audience "WE KNOW." The odds of this ever being made without ScarJo attached are 0. We can go on and on about how Asian actresses are never given a chance, and that's true, but unfortunately this is the shitty racist country in which we live. Sorry America, this isn't just Hollywood's fault, it's ours too.
How is it our fault too? But I do agree that, yes, this is the shitty racist country we live in. Which is why I'm choosing not to support racist trash like this.
Do you actually believe that your proposed solution would have made anyone less outraged? If they ignored it entirely? At least they had the conscience and the balls to address it somehow. And luckily, it actually made sense with both the subject material of the movie and the running theme(s) of the movie.
Just got back from seeing. I've never seen GITS before in my life, so I watched it with a clean slate. I must say, I really enjoyed it! The movie was gorgeous! Story was pretty good and easy to follow. Really like how diverse the cast was. I'm not a big fan of Johansen, but I thought she was okay. I give the movie an 8/10. Definitely wanna go watch the whole series now.
Also, you removed the spoiler-tag in the quote.
