In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: a human who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals. When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people's minds and control them, Major is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy, Major discovers that she has been lied to, and her life was not saved. Instead, it was stolen.
It's no secret we are sci-fi fans, with Blade Runner, Ridley Scott, Phillip K Dick among others always piquing our interest. So we are pretty excited about the new Ghost in the Shell film being released by Paramount and DreamWorks pictures at the end of this month. Full disclaimer, we haven't actually seen it yet. So this isn't a review, but from what we have seen it looks pretty major.
Set in 2029 Japan, the story cyborg Major Motoko Kusanagi and her elite cybercrim-fighting task force. She is played in the film by Scarlett Johansson, a casting decision that outraged fans who accused the filmmakers of whitewashing the beloved 1980's manga series. Which is fair enough. The original is about as Asian as things get: Japanese cult manga, ground-breaking anime, Hong Kong–inspired locations, Eastern philosophy–based story. So of course Scarlett Johansson's casting as the dark-haired, obviously originally Asian lead sent netizens into a rage.
But, this is Hollywood and casting decision's are lead by many things, although mostly dominated by the all mighty dollar. And for a film of this magnitude with a female lead, there were limited choices in terms of who could actually financially be able to carry the film. Margot Robbie was actually in earlier talks for the lead, but went on to be casted as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad instead. Politics aside, the fact that we have a strong, kick ass female lead is something to celebrate, and Scarlett is all of that.
Closer to home the film was mostly shot in Wellington New Zealand with Weta Workshop working on all the amazing effects. Watch the clip below for a behind the scenes look at the Geisha masks used to download the minds and thoughts of humans.
Directer Rupert Sanders says the film is about the hope that humanity will prevail amongst a technological revolution. As we all look at our increasing dependancy on technology are we really aware of where our future may be taking us?
"We are very trusting of technology. We give so much of our location, of our desires, of our thoughts into these devices that, ultimately, we trust. You already see kids in their strollers flicking through iPads as though they're software designers. And one of the questions of our film is, "Can you trust?" Part of what we're trying to say is that humanity at some stage is gonna be absorbed more and more in technology. The important thing is that we figure out a way that humanity is needed by technology rather than the other way around. I think technology will evolve beyond us and [when that happens], what's the need for us? We're greedy, we're wasteful, we are destroying the environment that they would need to survive."
GHOST IN THE SHELL
Opens 30th March 2017
ADVANCED SCREENING 29TH 7PM BONDI JUNCTIONhttps://www.eventcinemas.com.au/Ticketing/Order#token=773f3229d61b25208ccd485d652bd38c&step=tickets