This movie is racist garbage. “Ghost in the Shell” joins a sad long line of Hollywood movies who erase ethnic leads in favor of a white actor. The film is based on the manga of the same name written by Masamune Shirow which was later adapted into a animated movie and a television show. “Ghost in the Shell” follows a Japanese cyborg, Major Motoko Kusanagi, leader of a Japanese police squad, who operates in Japan. 

So of course when they made the movie, the filmmakers cast the very non-Japanese Scarlett Johansson. This is embarrassing and an insult to Asian and Asian-American actors everywhere. Casting a Japanese woman to play a Japanese woman should not be difficult. Even with a Japanese actor, the film would have been bad, but at least it would have been morally adherent. 

Despite the fact that this was meant to be a remake of 1995 anime film, this film’s plot bares little resemblance to the plot of the original. 

All that’s left is a recreation of some of the most famous scenes in the movie. This in and of itself wouldn’t be a problem, a rehash of the 1995 film would have been dull as what works in animation doesn’t always work in live action. But director Rupert Sanders fails to capture its spirit. All that’s left is a shallow thriller with a plot so predictable, I could watch the movie with my eyes closed and still know what would happen.  

“Ghost in the Shell” is known for it’s complex, political intrigue with a story with shades of grey. All of that is thrown out the door in favor of an evil corporation populated by original characters, all of which who are played by white people, of course. 

In this film, the Major finds a serial killer named Kuze, also played by a white male, who is hunting scientists who work for the above mentioned scientist. Kuze is a minor villain from the television series’s second season. 

I don’t know why they chose to use him, the filmmakers changed his appearance, actions, motivations and pretty much everything else about him. He walks around in a black robe like he’s in a Star Wars movie.

“Ghost in the Shell” is also known for it’s philosophizing. Characters often wonder where the line between the machine is in their futuristic world. But this movie throws all of that out in favor of the Major having amnesia. Amnesia! The laziest of all plot devices. 

The dialogue over explains everything like the audience are morons. One of the first lines is, “Your mind, your ghost is still human but your body, your shell is machine.” Thanks for not waiting five minutes to awkwardly explain your title. The characters more often than not state and restate the obvious. “Ghost in the Shell” fails to show, not tell. 

What is left is a pale imitation of one of the most iconic anime films out there. The similarities are surface level. The filmmakers removed the soul from the story leaving an empty shell.