Technology brings hope in medicine

Bakang Israel | Thursday April 13, 2017 13:20

Scarlet Johansson (Black Widow in Avengers and Lucy) demonstrated her power of attraction as her latest sci-fi Ghost In The Shell sold out.  Sci-Fi films explore the literature of the human species encountering change, whether it arrives via scientific discoveries, technological innovations, natural events, or societal shifts. Well this highly anticipated blockbuster is also surreal in that regard as it is adapted from the Japanese animated series of the same name, originally done by Masamune Shirow, now evolved into the big screen movie in 2017. Things begin to crumble in the story when “Major, a special ops, one-of-a-kind human-cyborg hybrid, who leads the elite task force Section 9”.

“Devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, Section 9 is faced with an enemy whose singular goal is to wipe out Hanka Robotic’s advancements in cyber technology. As Major is uniquely qualified to stop this threat, things rather take a dive and the terror reveals shocking information that shakes the dynasty Hanka Robotics to its core”.

This film exquisite, despite the casting of this action blockbuster having sparked controversy following the 2015 January announcement by film rights holders Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Studios casting Scarlett Johansson as the lead role of Major Motoko Kusanagi.

Since then, the character’s name has also been distorted to be Major. Many felt hard done as the cinematic universe felt Japanese films deserved the nod. Bringing it home, this was reminiscent of Botswana film, Number One Ladies Detectives (Mma Ramotswe) and A United Kingdom that as luck would have it also featured exotic actors (Jill Scott and David Oyelo with Rosamund Pike respectively) instead of locals portraying the lead characters. Snow White and the Huntsmen director Rupert Sanders is the very same man who brings this action piece to the big screen, just like he did in 2012 with Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart in a good versus evil battle.

 

Action

What makes Ghost In the Shell fun and cool is the cinematography, the film is in 3D and has some high definition graphics. If you happen to have watched Pixels this film has a bit of television games settings as the metropolis in Rupert Sanders’ take of the film, which looks futuristic with hologram building structures making it colourful just like the real native city of Tokyo. The gadgets and technology incorporated in this film makes it a marvel to watch, for instance Major’s synthetic suit that enabled the hybrid robot to go invincible during combats together with other fascinations like futuristic dance clubs that got yours truly excited knowing that he won’t ever get mugged at a pub somewhere around 2046 as only holograms will be entertainers. This film will surely keep you engaged. That brings us to the action, the film delights with some action sequences because this latest rendition complimented Johansson as a badass action actress, like her previous iconic roles in Avengers and Lucy.  Action sequences like imitating a speed boat on water by foot, Jesus may have walked on water but this robot can do so much more. 

The movie is also made fascinating by the fact that the odds are even, the film brings a super powerful antagonist who is ice cold with abilities such as hacking into people’s minds, controlling them, then wiping their memories clean. When watching Major, you get nostalgia as it brings to mind films like Lucy, The Matrix, iRobot, Universal Soldier and the likes. Apart from that, the film is good because it has noble mystique and suspense elements. There are gigantic twists in the story that pave way for huge elements of surprises as it is difficult to identify who is the robot and who is the human. Meanwhile, the sentimental aspects of the story also get one engaged, as Ghost In The Shell taps into aspects of medicine, memory loss, revenge, justice amongst others. It gives one great food for thought moments where by you get to imagine what if the people you have been living with have been lying to you. Last but not least this drama has a stinging message about medicine as what happens in Ghost In The Shell somewhat portrays the present as well as future of medical practices. On the present day people get amputated and later awarded prosthetic organs, while this sci-fi teased the audience with possible future medical procedures that are way sophisticated.  It also taps into what makes human beings special.

 

Reception

From the markets at box office, Ghost in The Shell comes from a production budget of $110 million and I have to say the graphics look the part. Scarlet Johansson’s exploits haven’t gone unnoticed as it premiered third at the box office cashing in $18 million over the weekend. The movie has gone on to amass a $60 million worldwide gross total.

 

REVIEWED BY BAKANG ISRAEL

MOVIE: Ghost In The Shell in 3D

GENRE: Action, Crime, Sci-Fi, Drama

DURATION: 1 hour 46 mins

AGE RESTRICTION: 13

RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2017

DIRECTOR: Rupert Sanders

MAIN CAST: Scarlet Johansson, Pilou Asbak, Takeshi Kitano

Top five movies in the world this week.

1. The Boss Baby

2. Beauty and the Beast

3. Ghost in the Shell

4. Power Rangers

5. Kong: Skull Island            

Ratings

This sci-fi was worth every thebe scoring 9.5 out of 10.