The “Ghost in the Shell” remake starring Scarlett Johansson was met with a distinct lack of audience enthusiasm when it hit theaters earlier this year. Its current standing at Rotten Tomatoes is 45%, a score that accurately reflects how mediocre this particular futuristic action blockbuster about robots is. ScarJo’s “Ghost in the Shell” isn’t in danger of being ranked among the worst films of the year; in all likelihood it’ll have been entirely forgotten by the time critics start compiling those lists come December.
In a video essay broadly titled “How Not To Adapt A Movie,” Nerdwriter1 gives a brief explainer as to why the 2017 film doesn’t work in contrast to its source material. He also manages to get in a small dig at Rotten Tomatoes’ “Critical Consensus” on the film.
READ MORE: The Visually Impressive ‘Ghost In The Shell’ Never Reaches The Singularity [Review]
The video essay offers a few reasons for the remake’s creative failures. It touches on the utility of high contrast lighting, point-of-view in establishing shots, and general filmmaking philosophy about adapting beloved source material.
Nerdwriter1’s primary point of discontent with the remake seems to be the lack of color in the film, especially in moments where the film is directly mimicking the original. This point seems honestly to be more about the unfortunate Zack Snyder-ification of today’s Hollywood blockbuster than anything else. Nerdwriter1 juxtaposes frames from the new film with the same moments from the original anime. It’s genuinely frustrating to watch Nerdwriter1’s video and realize the opportunity that was squandered with the remake — there’s no excuse for the Snydery drabness that permeates the film when the material it’s based on is so vivid and alive with color.
By the way, if you’re in the market for a crazy sci-fi blockbuster that actually is full of colorful, amazing imagery, drop whatever you’re doing and go see Luc Besson’s “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” on the biggest screen you can find, before it leaves theaters for good. It’s a spectacular piece of work. David Sims’ review in The Atlantic just about sums up how I feel about it. While The Playlist’s own Rodrigo Perez is not a big ‘Valerian’ fan, it’s unquestionably worth seeing on the big screen so you can make your mind up for yourself.
