Disclaimer: Due to the subject matter of this article, the tone will be more serious than usual. Please keep your comments constructive on posting.
Content warning: This article contains discussions of violence, nudity and sexual content and is not recommended for younger audiences. Read at your own risk.
So, the new Power Rangers was admittedly pretty cool for my money. While some of the darker elements and jokes didn't always take, overall I thought it was a good update to the TV series that can appeal to both new and older fans.
On a less positive note, the live-action Ghost in the Shell remake is finally being released on Friday. Yet, despite the film getting the support of the original director Mamoru Oshii, the film still remains one of the most divisive films of the year for a variety of reasons. A large number of fans of the 1995 anime classic are vastly divided on the lead role being given to Scarlett Johansson, while even more such as myself aren't pleased about the liberties being taken with the original story (based on an equally-groundbreaking manga by Masamune Shirow).
In the midst of the many articles online debating the film as well as the overall impact it might have even with the fans of the original works being sharply divided (including one I wrote on the matter last December), Paramount and Dreamworks uploaded the opening scene of the film ahead of the film's release on March 31.
While I still admit the visuals are impressive, overall, I'm still getting the impression of one question: why? The clip just gave off a vibe of not only a shot-for-shot role rehearsal of the opening of the 1995 film as well as the first episode of the TV series "Stand Alone Complex," so what reason do I have to choose the remake over the original film; let alone anyone else?
On top of that, the clip doesn't seem like it has enough to stand out among people like me; or to distinguish itself from the source material. Apart from a few cosmetic changes, the advertising just seems like a play by play of the original's most recognizable moments. Even with Oshii giving his full support to both the cast and crew, it just looks like a bowdlerized version of the patently adult source material being Hollywoodized for the PG-13 crowd. What was once a dark and complex take on what it means to be human in the machine age has become a theme park sideshow on the same rough intellectual level as the live-action "Transformers" films (not helped by Ehren Kruger being one of the writers on the script for the remake) by way of other films such as "Blade Runner" and "The Matrix" series (which heavily-influenced the Wachowskis, ironically).
It took me a few times to notice some of the changes, but some are more noticeable than others in the initial clip. While many of the mercenaries and diplomats were indeed killed in the original source material, it was to be expected that the blood wouldn't fly in a PG-13 action film the way it would in a hard-R anime film. The only element that even came close to capturing the original story's bleak tone was the very end where the Major gunned down a robotic geisha.
On top of that, I expected that the leeway the original story had with depicting nudity and sexual content would be virtually nonexistent given how much the cinematic landscape since the original had changed. In a similar fashion to how Mystique was rendered in the X-men films, the Major, who was naked in many key scenes in the original works has instead been given a series of carefully-placed prosthetic coverups and makeup. Thankfully, the CGI tests to alter Scarlett Johansson's appearance ended up being scrapped due to angered feedback from critics and audiences.
Even though I'm not the biggest fan of director Rupert Sanders' previous film, "Snow White and the Huntsman," it's one thing when you adapt a story like Snow White. If it disappoints someone, the story is ubiquitous enough there will always be more. However, adapting a work like this is quite another. With the original film being highly-influential among other filmmakers both here and in its native Japan, the prospect of the remake finally being released after years in development Hell will be a make-or-break adaptation for anyone else remaking beloved anime and manga (including the Death Note film on Netflix I mentioned in the last post). Despite the claims of the creative team and Oshii, my reasons for not going to the movie are not related directly to the casting. Apart from the reasons I've already discussed, Oshii suggested while praising the remake that "there could only be political motives for not seeing the film."
I'm sorry, Oshii, I love the original film and manga; and that's the nicest thing I can say about the remake. I will also let everyone involved know right now that my reasons for staying home with the original film are anything but political. I had a similar talk with others about the matter when the trailer was leaked late last year; and I still feel the same way: the issue myself and others have with the casting is nowhere near as simple as the people involved are making it out to be. Beyond that, however, is the fact that everything that Paramount and Dreamworks have said have only confirmed what I feared most about the film: much like how the original's characters had an existential crisis about their identities, the remake can't seem to decide whether it wants to be an ambiguous and foreboding update to its namesake or a more idealistic and openly action-oriented film. It doesn't help that the film is admittedly the latest case of a longstanding problem the industry has had with "racebending" roles when adapting stories associated with Japan and other Asian countries,
It also doesn't help when other films have been helping lend greater diversity to a time when it's been in the highest demand in years. In addition to new and future installments in series such as Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have cast roles, I enjoyed how Power Rangers retained the "colorblind casting" that's been associated with the series since its inception, as well as how new elements were given to Billy and Trini's characters. It also begs this last question: if you're so confident about this film, why aren't you acting like it? You've spoken at length about the remake, so why would you continue to act like you have something to hide?
Generally, when studios do this; it usually implies they know they have a bomb on their hands and they want to minimize the fallout. Granted, maybe the embargo hasn't broken yet; but so far it's the only new release this weekend that has been given this treatment. It took $10 million alone to sign ScarJo, and the film's official budget has been revealed as $120 million before promotion and distribution. I can suggest that the film could be one of the biggest bombs ever short of some miracle. Barring any more boondoggles like a fifth Transformers film, the only thing I see changing about anime adaptations is them going from chintzy low-budget messes to snazzy high-budget messes.
I officially plan on staying home with the original film, and I encourage others to do the same if they're not sure. Go see Logan again, go see Power Rangers, catch up on your backlog, anything besides this film. I'm also hearing good things about Kong Skull Island and the new Beauty and the Beast. That will be all for now, I will try to get more content out as well as get my main computer fixed. See you space cowboy.
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