"You know, an aquarium is a submarine for fish."
Filmology Rating: 2.4 out of 4
I can never understand the hatred that was given to this new Ghostbusters movie. It is currently the most unliked video on the history of YouTube, it currently has 4.6 out of 10 rating on IMDB, and the film is being panned by those who call themselves fans of the series. Keep in mind this is all before anyone has actually seen the film.
Going into the movie I had some hope. The original film, while rather good, isn’t perfect. And the sequel is atrocious, so everyone claiming that this new film ruined their childhoods and it’s an abomination to cinema can get off the high horse that they came riding in on. Another point for the film was director Paul Feig. While I think Bridesmaids is one of the most overrated comedies that has been released in recent memory I did come around to Feig with Spy. Feig showed that he understood how to shoot action and understands how to spoof a genre. Ghostbusters is essentially a spoof of the horror genre and with films like The Conjuring 2, The Witch, and Lights Out terrifying audiences it might be time for a good laugh.
New York City is starting to see some strange hauntings occur and Abby Yates, played by Melissa McCarthy, and Jillian Holtzmann, played by Kate McKinnon, jump at the chance to test some of their paranormal activity equipment to prove to the world that they aren’t frauds. While Erin Gilbert, played by Kristen Wiig, has just been fired from her job due to information coming out about her paranormal investigation past; is looking to renew her friendship with Abby so she can prove she is not the ghost freak that everyone claims she is. The trio encounter many paranormal activities so they quickly discover they will need to add a fourth buster and find Patty Tolan, played by Leslie Jones, who recently had a terrifying ghost encounter. The quartet soon find that not everything is as it seems in New York and the barriers might be breaking between our world and the undead one.
I do slightly question the thought process that went into some of the script writing phases of this film. My major point of contention is: why is this a reboot? Why doesn’t this film take place in the same universe as the original two films? I think that would make this film stronger and add a sense of legacy to it. Think of Star Wars: The Force Awakens; while being another film in the franchise it almost feels like a soft reboot. Explaining almost the entire world from the ground up and letting the new viewers understand the magic of the world. Most viewers might not remember a world with the Ghostbusters since they died in 1989. Feig and Dippold just throw the audience into the film and while some might like how that feels, I can’t help but think how close it stays to the first film.
The film still succeeds without the legacy aspect of the film. The comedy is incredibly hit and miss, but when the jokes are flying at you a mile a minute you will always find something to laugh at. Most of the comedy seems to come from Kate McKinnon, who one moment I’m finding to be incredibly over the top and then the next very charming. While this film might not have the original Ghostbusters characters in it, there are plenty of homages to the original film that will leave any fan with a huge smile on their face. Another aspect of the film that I liked was the special effects. I never once questioned any of the ghosts that were floating around New York City, I believed them. The practical effects also work incredibly well from the slime to the new gadgets that this team has. You are entertained with chemistry, jokes, and amazing images to look at on the silver screen.
Ghostbusters is an entertaining, fun ride and, for those fans who are sticking their feet in the mud and pouting I do suggest you check this film out. It is a love letter to the original 1984 film and it does come close to capturing the magic of that film. In a few years when we see another ghostly encounter, I know who I’m going to call.
Rating: See It
-Jonny G
There was a lot of internet hate surrounding the relaunch of the Ghostbusters franchise. Most seemed to come from butt-hurt nerd boys who “grew up on“ the original 1984 film and cannot fathom a world where girls can like a movie about girls busting ghosts. The 2016 Ghostbusters film seemed an abomination to all they held holy; the trailer is the most disliked video on YouTube, there were fake trailer reaction videos made showing the horror experienced by the maker, there were people threatening to boycott the film. The hate toward this film is wholly unnecessary, as this installment of Ghostbusters does a service to the original while being its own entity.
Ghostbusters takes place in present-day New York City, where professor and paranormal enthusiast Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) teams up with fellow ghost girl and scientist Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) and her engineering assistant Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon) to investigate strange hauntings throughout the city. After investigating a haunting at the Aldridge Mansion, ghostly beings seem to be escaping in to the city, causing the women to investigate. Upon investigating a haunting in the subway, the team is joined by NYC native Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones) and their new eye-candy secretary, Kevin (Chris Hemsworth). The team discovers an evil plot to unleash all the undead souls in the city and work to stop this.
Director Paul Feig delivers something in line with his recent works, Bridesmaids, The Heat, and Spy. He features strong, funny women in roles the masses don’t usually put them. The performances given by the cast are good. There aren’t any moments that particularly stand out as amazing, but there also aren’t any that stand out as bad. My favorite is Kate McKinnon, as she plays an absolutely ridiculous person, creating insane weapons while being quirky and fun. Melissa McCarthy and Kristin Wiig deliver what I consider to be standard performances for each. McCarthy and Wiig’s physical comedy is typically praised though I tend to prefer their more serious moments. Leslie Jones wasn’t given a lot to work with, but delivers a good performance. I didn’t originally care for Chris Hemsworth’s character, though I have gained some respect for him as a comedian after learning he improvised many of Kevin’s comedic moments.
In terms of the original film, there are a lot of small homages and cameos from most of the original cast. The cameos could have been done a bit neater but they served their purpose of integrating the original film into the relaunch without recreating it. Obviously the ghosts look better now than in 1984, and there are some really cool ghost designs in this film. Also, the weapons have received an upgrade and the hearse looks very similar to the original. Overall, this film has good moments, is its own take on an original, and does not deserve the hate thrust upon it before anyone had seen it.
Rating: Rent It
-Megan
Paranormal researchers Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy), physicist Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) and engineer Jillian Holtzmann are out to prove that ghosts are real. After several strange occurrences, something is definitely up in Manhattan. Also joining the team is Patty Tolan, a lifelong New Yorker who knows the city inside and out. Together, these 4 form the Ghostbusters, a group who will fight the supernatural ghosts and keep New York safe.
I have a confession to make before I start this review…. I was not looking forward to this movie at all. Now this is not because I am a huge and loyal fan to the originals movies that despises the idea of a reboot of the series. While I do enjoy the originals (specifically the first one) I’m not a die-hard fan by any means. I was part of the people that disliked the first trailer (which is the most disliked movie trailer of all time and also 9th most disliked video on YouTube. I also have to say that those king of numbers are not deserved.) but for different reasons. From what they first showed us, I thought the graphics looked really cheesy, the jokes weren’t funny, and I wasn’t sure if the chemistry worked with the main characters. So I thought going into this that I would hate it…. While I didn’t leave the movie theater hating it, I just didn’t really like it either. I landed somewhere in the middle.
This movie being the reboot of the Ghostbuster franchise, I will both try and analyze it as an individual film and also compare it to the original. It’s difficult to fully separate the two. In my mind, if you are going to make a reboot of a previous franchise, I look for originality and if it improves upon the original in some way. Sadly, apart from the upgraded special effects and CGI that modern day cinema has to offer, I don’t think that it improved upon the original Ghostbusters movie in any way. Was it different? There are the obvious female leads that make it different but in almost every other way, no it wasn’t.
Now to start off, there were some good things about this movie. As I had mentioned, the special effects and the CGI was good and then the greatest being the chemistry between the four main female leads. These are all really funny women that have a lot to offer skill wise and comedic wise. Each of them had their certain role and characteristic to play and each did it well. All of them were different but fit in their own way and it added up to some funny moments. You can also tell that these women are having fun with one another and which is refreshing to see. Sometimes on screen chemistries feel so forced but this seemed very natural. In addition was Chris Hemsworth who was surprisingly funny! This was something that I did not expect but was happily surprised with.
Now onto the writing and directing of Paul Feig; he has brought us some hilarious movies such as Bridesmaids, The Heat, and Spy. Feig was a great choice to write and direct this reboot because of having a female lead driving the movie. He has written many great strong female leads before that have also been hilarious so he was an excellent choice. However, this is not his best work sadly. While there were quite a few funny jokes throughout, there were also a lot that didn’t connect. When it comes to humor, I look at it as 3 different categories. The “big” written joke that’s meant to have you burst out laughing, the one-liners that are meant for a subtle chuckle, and then the natural humor and body language that an actor/actress delivers. I felt like a lot of the big jokes didn’t work at times and quite a few times where it did, it was saved by the natural humor of the actresses. It turned out to be that the one-liners and subtle humor was actually the best. This is an issue when the best jokes really weren’t the ones that you were aiming towards.
I just don’t know guys…. This Ghostbusters just didn’t come close to that of the original Ghostbusters. I do have say that if this was the first Ghostbusters movie and the others never were made, then this would not be a bad movie! While it would still have some minor writing issues here and there, it would not have been that bad. However, since this is a reboot, it is very difficult or near impossible to separate the two. It just doesn’t live up to the Original. While it was awful, it just wasn’t great as well. You’ll laugh at times and at times be bored. I’d say see it to see what you think but if you miss it, you won’t lose any sleep.
Rating: Skip It
-Nick