Ghost in the Shell began life as a Japanese comic book in 1989, and then several anime film beginning in 1995. Now, it's a live action, big budget Hollywood movie starring Scarlett Johansson and directed by Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman).
Again, it's the near future and scientists have successfully put a real human brain (Abby Normal?) inside a synthetic, cyber-enhanced body. This super soldier weapon is named Major (Johansson) and her mission is to track down a murderous hacker.
The big controversy surrounding the movie is the casting of American Johansson in the role of a character who was originally Asian. Unfortunately, Hollywood wants a big American star for their films so as to get a broader audience. Even though she is miscast, Johansson delivers a good performance. It's just too bad the movie itself isn't that good.
While Ghost in the Shell is smart and visually arresting, it's also dark, humorless and too cerebral, with routine action scenes. If only it was more like Paul Verhoeven's classic RoboCop from 1987, which has humor, satire and energy to spare.
