Studio: Sony
Director: Paul Feig
Release Date: July 15, 2016
Who ya gonna call? The Ghostbusters of course!
I saw an early screening of this movie and I have to say that this movie was made well and I enjoyed it. The characters and plot were done well. The plot: paranormal researcher Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) and physicist Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) are trying to prove that ghosts exist in modern society. When strange apparitions appear in Manhattan, Gilbert and Yates turn to engineer Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon) for help. Also joining the team is Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones), a lifelong New Yorker who knows the city inside and out.
The only problem I had with the cast is one character, and it was with Mr. Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth who plays Kevin. He is a fucking idiot, and not in a stumbling, dropping things nerd but just a fucking idiot. The ladies I have to say were funny. We had the paranormal enthusiasts Gilbert and Yates, nuclear engineer Holtzmann, and subway worker Tolan band together to stop the otherworldly threat. But I just wish they were not funny all the time. I felt they tried to push comedy almost all the times even in parts where is could have been taken seriously.
But let’s remember kids…this is a reboot! This movie was not supposed to be part 3 or anything like that. Even in the end of the movie it tells you this movie was based on 1984’s Ghostbusters, not a continuation. That may be okay for the people who want a new story, but original fans will feel betrayed. Director Paul Feig and writer Katie Dippold worked real hard to make their own Ghostbusters story and ended up killing a lot of what made the 1984 movie great. Newbies to the movies will not care.
Let’s move on with their weapons and how I enjoyed seeing them trying it out and adjusting them on the way. They show you a prototype proton pack where they mention this weapon was never tested and are not really sure what to expect. This is different when compared to 1984’s movie, where they had it and it just worked the first try. Let’s not forget the other weapons which were really cool and smart. They explain why and what the new weapons are for and when to use it.
It felt great seeing them start from the bottom and work their way up to become the Ghostbusters. In the movie they were doing everything from a second-floor Chinese restaurant and not from a firehouse, although they do show you the firehouse from the original movie. The callbacks to the original movies did not end there. It was a delight to see the original cast show up in the movie, although not as retired Ghostbusters. The only 2 that were not in it were Rick Moranis and, of course, the late Harold Ramis. These cameos had nothing to do with the original but were great.
The main villain is Rowan North, played by Neil Casey. He is a disturbed but extremely smart guy who is tired of being pushed around and is planning the apocalypse to destroy the world and everything in it. And that’s about all they give you about his back story. I think he was kind of shallow and could have used a lot more back story. The whole “ bullied kid trying to get revenge” thing is cliché to death.
The monsters in the movie though were great. I was not fond that they were walking glow sticks but it was ok and some were pretty creepy also. Yes, we do see the Sta-Puft marshmallow man, only in this movie he’s not the main monster. I’m not going to say anything else about him; watch this movie to see how he is used.
Again, the movie was not great, but it was fun to watch and has its laughs. Plus, your kids will enjoy this movie. There is an end credit scene in this movie, and it drops a huge name, meaning they intend to make a second movie for sure. Also, if you go see this movie, please go with an open mind and try not to compare it to the original. I promise you that you’ll have a nice time.
Good: main female cast is fun to watch; good job of building up the new Ghostbusters and their tools/weapons; ghosts are sufficiently decent-looking, sometimes genuinely creepy
Bad: Chris Hemsworth’s Kevin is a horrible character; some comedy bits are forced in and feel out of place; main villain is kinda shallow; almost no attention paid to the original movie
Rating: 6 out of 10
