I think Johansson could do a good job playing The Major, I was impressed with her role in _Lucy_. But I still have serious reservations about this. Its not that I think the manga source material is so sacred and un-adaptable; GITS has been adapted 3 or 4 times by different directors, each version being very unlike the source ... and also very unlike each other. The GITS manga, and movies and TV series, are one of the few examples of pop media stories are just as thoughtful and speculative as their more literary counterparts. Most people are familiar with the movie version from the late 90s, but the TV series is a completely different animal; just as well made, in my opinion. And the movie sequel is again quite different from the original movie. I havent watched the latest OVA prequel to the TV series, but reports are that it is also very good, and very different. What makes me leery of this is that most Hollywood filmmakers simply dont understand this type of cyberpunk story. They think its a kind of action movie on acid. But one thing all the GITS adaptations have in common is that they throw the audience right into the middle of a very complex narrative, sink or swim, and dont go to a lot of trouble to connect the dots. In a lot of ways, its more like a solve-it-yourself whodunit. Only the mystery is more along the lines of What the hell is going on here. And the answer has to make sense in the context of whats presented. It helps to take notes when watching or reading a story like this. And the answers arent in the back of the book... The Matrix movies, which are kind of an informal adaptation of GITS, and a few other anime/manga from that period, come closer than most western attempts to pull something like this off. And the aforementioned _Lucy_, made by French director Luc Besson did a very credible job. But both of those movie were very heavy on exposition and characters awkwardly explaining things to each other. In the GITS stories you get some facts and some action, and a startling dose of speculation. And its up to you to make sense of it. But, and I stress this, the information to do this _is all there_. On average I have to watch/read a GITS story two or three times before I really get what it was about and what was really going on. While that could be great for ticket sales, I have real doubts if the studio making this will sit still for that kind of story. As much as I enjoy the various Marvel and there comic book movies, by and large they are not particularly thoughtful.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 03:36:47 +0000
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