Ghostbusters

I ain’t afraid of no ghosts, but I sure as Hell was afraid of how this reboot would turn out once all was said and done. Luckily, it’s not half bad!

Following in the spiritual footsteps of the original Ghostbusters film, this attempt at rebooting/remaking the franchise has chosen to focus on a brand new, all-female led team consisting of scientists Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig), Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy), Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon) and MTA worker Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones), as they come together to save New York City from an ever growing paranormal threat. With ghostly activity taking an upswing all around town and an imminent paranormal apocalypse looming around the corner, our leading ladies take it upon themselves to investigate and develop the technology (and business practice) needed to combat said apocalypse before it’s too late.

So let’s start off by addressing the number one issue that many people had with the film well before cameras even started rolling: the all-female cast. It was a sticking point that dogged production and the overall reception of the film pretty much until the day it was released, and for no real good reason. I’ll be the first to admit that the trailers looked pretty “meh” and the constant teases of a threequel or reboot without the original cast was scary at first, but come on people, how many times are we going to judge a book by its cover and trash it before we see it in its entirety? I know messing with the fanboy population is usually a death sentence, but when it comes down to it, in my opinion, who the Hell cares if it’s all women when the more important question is if the actress’ (and script) in question can do the new characters they portray justice, and whether or not they’re the right fit for this franchise moving forward.

To be honest, the only real misgivings acting-wise that I had going into this film was Melissa McCarthy. I know I’m in the minority when I say I’m not a fan of hers, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that her usual over the top and grating comedic acting was barely present in the film, lending her to have more of a straight man type of feel while playing off of Wiig and McKinnon brilliantly. It was refreshing to see her simply play the role that was given to her rather than try and pull her usual annoying shtick of chewing scenery like a stick of Juicy Fruit, so kudos there. At the same time, someone must have decided that that type of role had to be filled regardless, so the torch was unfortunately passed to Leslie Jones and her character, Patty. I wasn’t feeling anything she brought to the table, which honestly, wasn’t much considering the entire purpose of her character was to be the “eyes and ears” of NYC and help the team in that regard, but after literally the first encounter with the spirit in the subway tunnel, I found her to be rather useless and annoying. On occasion I chuckled at some of the loud and obnoxious things she’d say, or rather scream, but when it came to actually acting and being of use on the team, she was clearly the weakest link in both areas. I’m hoping her character gets a bit more polish in a sequel, but as it stands, I’m not a fan.

On the flipside, can we please talk about how freakin’ hilarious Chris Hemsworth’s Kevin character was??? I can honestly say that I wasn’t expecting a damn thing from him considering the trailers ruined the twist that’s associated with his character, but holy shit was he consistently funny and likeable and just stupid enough that I couldn’t help but get excited whenever he was on screen. His character in particular shows how to do well by the “new” aspects of this film rather than try to recast the same type of character that had come before.

With sequels to franchises that are twenty plus years old becoming the norm, you’d expect a certain amount of nostalgia to come along with it, and it only makes sense. The best way to hook everyone back into a long dormant (and previously successful) franchise is to try and replicate the magic that came before, tweaking and adjusting just enough to make it new and viable again for the modern audience. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Independence Day: Resurgence; all have tried and had varying degrees of success in this regard, and the new Ghostbusters is no exception. There are ideas here that feel fresh and new and fun, like the dope new gadgets and weapons everyone gets to rock and awesome use of special effects, and then there’re the spots where the filmmakers took the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach, which pretty much covers every story beat and the majority of the early dynamics of the team. It’s here that the overreliance on nostalgia and familiar aspects of the film kind of ruin the package as a whole. As much as I welcomed the fun nods to the past (cameos!!!), I don’t like constantly being reminded of what came before, especially when it’s used as a cover-up for the weaker parts of the script, which there are plenty.

In all honesty, I ended up finding myself more upset with the fact that the script was trying to replicate the original’s magic instead of building up the new aspects of the film, and while I found myself enjoying the second half a lot more than the first half (mostly due to things getting real Ghostbuster-y real fast), it’s the shaky script and extremely quick pacing that kept the film from truly soaring. I wouldn’t have minded an extra ten minutes to flesh out a few elements of the story, extend some of the actual ghost busting sections, and focus on slowly building up the threat the team faces a bit more, but I get the filmmakers trying not to overstay their welcome. Still, if a superhero movie can clock in at almost two and a half hours and not feel like a slog (if done right), I feel like we could have got some good mileage out of a few extra minutes, or at least cut some other scenes to improve upon the scenes that felt like they deserved more.

Luckily, by the time the third act hits and the ghosts start flying (literally), I couldn’t help but love every second of it. The main villain might have sucked a bit (that’s the human behind Rowan’s ghost? Really???), and some of the forced comedy that relied too heavily on flat out jokes or clear improv might not have worked so well, but the main story behind it all was pretty legit. With today’s technology and CG wizardry, I love the look of everything from the ghosts to the proton packs to the great fight scenes, but cool factor can only go so far when almost everything else is just middling. Either way, this franchise and the idea of the Ghostbusters themselves are just so damn fun and interesting that it’d be really hard to truly make a shit show out of a movie like this.

Hollywood called and the Ghostbusters answered, and even if the phone rang a few times before someone picked up, the majority of fans and die-hards alike can finally chill out: this reboot/remake hasn’t ruined your beloved franchise any more than the second film did, which, if you’re like me, is not all that much. Sure the original’s magic will most likely never be replicated or possibly even beaten, but there’s enough cool new ideas and tweaks in this version of the team that I’d like to see more of. Couple that with some awesome special effects that push the idea of what the Ghostbusters face into a new, visually arresting direction, and the fact that there’s no longer an origin story to worry about, and I think we’re heading in the right direction with this franchise from here on out.