Ghost In The Shell (2017): How NOT To Adapt A Movie

Nerdwriter is this really great channel in Youtube which dissects a lot of the intellectual merit in movies, books, or music. With the release of Ghost in the Shell (2017) to Blu-ray and DVD, a lot of channels have gone back to revisit the box office flop, and Nerdwriter tries to examine exactly where the movie went wrong when it came to adapting the cult classic anime.

Though Ghost in the Shell has been praised for its stunning visuals, there’s still the fact that the anime knew exactly what it was doing when it came to presenting the world. The anime was full of rich visuals and contrasting colors, while the remake makes like a Marvel movie and is full of dull gray colors.

I also haven’t noticed that every establishing shot in the original GitS was made with a person’s-eye-view of the city. Every location presented made the audience feel like they were actually there. The new GitS had some fancy aerial shots of the city, and though it looked nice, it doesn’t present the same level of immersion as the original.

Either way, I think Ghost in the Shell was trying its best to live up to the anime, despite its shortcomings. With live-action adaptations and remakes, you can always expect someone not to be happy about it. People criticize you for not sticking closely to the original, and sticking closer to the original get you criticized for bringing nothing new to the table. It’s the Kobayashi Maru scenario of cinema.

See Also:Ghost In The Shell (2017) Gets An Honest Trailer