‘Ghost In The Shell’ Super Bowl Spot: Scarlett Johansson Goes Full Anime RoboCop
As I’m not familiar with the originalGhost in the Shellmanga or anime, I can only watch the trailers for the new film as a detached observer with no real stake. For example, I can note that thefirst trailerfor directorRupert Sanders' live-action take starringScarlett Johanssongives off some seriousBlade RunnerandRoboCopvibes, mainly because I have no ideawhether or not it looks or feels anything like the source material. All I can say is that it sure looks really pretty.
And as you’d expect, the newGhost in the ShellSuper Bowl spot that just arrived (because why wait for the actual game?) looks awfully pretty, too.
Of course, making things that look awfully pretty is something Sanders does quite well. While I’m not a particularly big fan of hisSnow White and the Huntsman, it’s filled with incredible visuals and locations and creatures that still stick out in my mind even as the story itself has melted away into nothingness. If he’s paired with the right material, I imagine Sanders could create something remarkable. CouldGhost in the Shellbe that movie? It certainly helps that I love Johansson and want her to deliver on the promise of being one of this generation’s great action heroes. She has all the proper chops.
Good or not,Ghost in the Shellhas found itself in the middle of a storm of controversy over Johannson’s casting, with many fans rightfully arguing that this role should have gone to a Japanese actress. No number of cool visuals can help me fully forget about this, especially since those involveddon’t seem particularly interested in listening and engaging in conversation with those who are upset by this. Even if the movie is fun, even if Johansson is as cool as I expect she will be, this is always going to be on the edge of my mind.
Ghost in the Shellopens onMarch 31, 2017. Here’s the official synopsis:
