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Review:

Old vs. New

Ghost in the Shell (1995) vs. Ghost in the Shell (2017)

In this review we will look at the two movies Ghost in the Shell. We will see which one holds up better. Is the live action version better than the cartoon? Does having an A list Hollywood actress make the film better? Lets deep dive right into them both and compare the two films.

The Main Characters: Major Motoko Kusanagi

The cartoon version is my favorite. She just seems to have her self together and doesn’t doubt her self so much. The Scarlett Johansson version is a person learning about herself. The problem with this is that the origin story takes up most of the screen time of the 2017 movie so we don’t get to see more of Kuze the main villain. The cartoon version is far more charming. Major is decisive and knows how to handle most situations, inspiring the audience to have confidence in her.

Point goes to the cartoon version 1 - 0

The Villains: The Puppet Master / Kuze.

Both villains are absolutely excellent. These are some of my favorite villains. Even though they play the part of the bad guy, they both have very good points of view for what it is they are fighting for.

The Puppet Master is superb with the ideology of evolution.Kuze’s ideas of creating his own network and evolving past the humans who created him is golden.

Point goes to both movies, well done! 2 - 1

The Story: In a Shell

The cartoon movie’s story fits better as a Ghost in the Shell film than the live action version. The Scarlett Johansson version feels disjointed and confusing at times. The movie does not tell a new story but rehashes the 1995 cartoon movie and the Stand Alone Complex Second Gig episodic show. This does not work well in the live action film. The 1995 cartoon movie on the other hand, is based on the original graphic novels, but still tells a consistent story across the board. Major Motoko Kusanagi is already a cyborg who is mostly comfortable in her own skin or shell in this case, while the Scarlett Johansson version is still getting used to her new self. The Scarlett Johansson version of the story is slowed down by this instead of pushing the narrative of the story forward. The cartoon version moves the story forward, keeping in mine that the characters are meant to serve the plot and not the other way around.

Point goes to the cartoon version. 3 - 1

Boss Fights: The Spider Tank

I love both Spider Tank scenes. These scenes are both extremely well done. Both Tanks have weaknesses that actually makes sense. Both scenes are dynamic, have excellent musical scores, and pacing. Both scenes test the main characters and pushes them to their limits. Both scenes have very high stakes.

I have to give a point to both movies. 4 - 2

Atmosphere of the film: The City

The live action version has the typical cyber punk feel to it where the camera flies around a CGI city. The city looks good, but it feels as though the director of the Scarlett Johansson version did not truly understand the heart and soul of the Ghost in the Shell franchise. The city is suppose to be the real world with far more highly advanced technology. The cartoon version on the other hand has a Honk Kong like city with scenes shot from the perspective of an actual person. If a person was standing some where in the city and looking some where, that is the same angle the camera sees the city. This gives you the illusion that the city could be real, if only for a second. The cartoon version understands how technology evolves and how some things change yet some things stay the same.

Point goes to the cartoon version. 5 - 2

Cinematography: lighting, Camera work, and Set dressing

The Scarlett Johansson version is way too dark with the lighting. Its over done. The Darkness of the film should have only been in the Kuze scenes to show the audience the darkness he feels emotionally. The cartoon version uses all manner of lighting to reflect the deferent moods of the city, the main character, and the different times the film takes place ( Sun light ).

The Camera work is not bad for the Scarlett Johansson version, although some scenes could have been shot better. The cartoon version is a meticulous master piece that is damn near perfect. Some of the set pieces in the Scarlett Johansson version uses CGI that makes the characters look as though they are in front of a green screen while other scenes are just simply beautiful. This unfortunately shows inconsistency in the film. The cartoon version is just that, a cartoon. So the whole film is consistent because it uses the same technology. There is one ‘Shelling’ scene where CGI was used near the beginning of the film and you can see that the CGI did not age well.

Over all the cartoon version will hold up better as time goes by because it is a cartoon and a lot is still not going to be expected out of it like a live action movie would. Anime is very attractive to the human eye for many people.

Point goes to the cartoon version. 6 - 2

Final Verdict

The cartoon version has far better psychological concepts throughout the whole story. Evolution, stagnation, nature, adapting, determinism, and transhuman synthesis. While the live action version hyper focuses on Scarlett Johansson’s character. The cartoon version has a charm to it that the live action film only ‘kind of’ has. The Scarlett Johansson version uses the city only as a back drop for the characters while the cartoon version shows the audience how the characters feel about their city. They are apart of the city and the city is apart of them, its their home. Its obvious that the cartoon version is better but that’s not to say that the Scarlett Johansson version is a bad film, its just ok.

The winner is the cartoon version! 6 - 2.

Verdict: I loved it!

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