I finally caught it on Netflix.
In short - I was expecting a crap film - it’s not crap. It’s not exactly “art” like the original either. It’s a blockbuster adaptation.
Both films examine the same question: “What is the value of an android?” but take very different interpretations:
The original 1995 anime poses it as an open question, and escalated it over the course of the plot. It’s the main conflict of the film, but it is not presented in very hard hitting plot points; but each of the plot points serve to escalate the question through example. The open question shapes the motivation of Motoko and eventually leads to her decision to transform herself through the final act.
The 2017 plot is a much more on-the-nose take. The question is posed in reference to the people who created her: “how much do these people value me?” and the answer is the main twist - she believed they did, but they don’t: they had 98 failures before her, and euthanized them. This triggers her creators to want to silence her, and triggers her to kill them for self-preservation and vengeance/justice.
It’s basically what happens to film plots when they have to answer to professional producer sign offs. The whole blockbuster industry has very specific ideas of what a film has to be; and it’s not them telling everyone what they should like, it’s backed with screen tests and lots of research. It means more easy to digest film, but also a lot less variety (think Brave New World).
It’s not necessarily the greatest plot for a blockbuster style film (given that they have to fit in the box of the original while fitting into the blockbuster formula), but I think it’s the greatest possible blockbuster style adaptation of the original film. I would have preferred something more along the lines of the original - but I don’t think most would have. Not many enjoyed the original before it became fashionable to do so.
It’s probably the best animated to live action film adaptation I have ever seen. At least what I can think of.
In short - I was expecting a crap film - it’s not crap. It’s not exactly “art” like the original either. It’s a blockbuster adaptation.
Both films examine the same question: “What is the value of an android?” but take very different interpretations:
The original 1995 anime poses it as an open question, and escalated it over the course of the plot. It’s the main conflict of the film, but it is not presented in very hard hitting plot points; but each of the plot points serve to escalate the question through example. The open question shapes the motivation of Motoko and eventually leads to her decision to transform herself through the final act.
The 2017 plot is a much more on-the-nose take. The question is posed in reference to the people who created her: “how much do these people value me?” and the answer is the main twist - she believed they did, but they don’t: they had 98 failures before her, and euthanized them. This triggers her creators to want to silence her, and triggers her to kill them for self-preservation and vengeance/justice.
It’s basically what happens to film plots when they have to answer to professional producer sign offs. The whole blockbuster industry has very specific ideas of what a film has to be; and it’s not them telling everyone what they should like, it’s backed with screen tests and lots of research. It means more easy to digest film, but also a lot less variety (think Brave New World).
It’s not necessarily the greatest plot for a blockbuster style film (given that they have to fit in the box of the original while fitting into the blockbuster formula), but I think it’s the greatest possible blockbuster style adaptation of the original film. I would have preferred something more along the lines of the original - but I don’t think most would have. Not many enjoyed the original before it became fashionable to do so.
It’s probably the best animated to live action film adaptation I have ever seen. At least what I can think of.
