I have to admit that when news first spread of an all female "Ghostbusters" reboot, I wasn't too excited, which is strange considering I practically grew up to the original movies. Perhaps I was caught up with the initial backlash that the film received.
Then I thought- "Why all the hate?" -and I decided to give it a chance and I'm glad I did.
A reboot of a well loved franchise is always a tricky one, the film will either be criticized for not being an original or having their own identity if they stick to the formula of the original and/or they will be called out for veering too far from canon. It really is a tricky situation where anything that you do will upset someone.
2016 Ghostbusters was a special case though, since the announcement of an all female reboot the project has been met with misogynists crying foul at the thought of girls carrying proton packs and catching ghosts would ruin their childhood.
The first trailers did not impress and even garnered the title of most disliked movie trailer in YouTube history.
So-how do you go about reviewing a film that has been mired with controversy from the beginning?
You either go in the movie house wanting to love the movie, just to prove the naysayers wrong or you join the bandwagon and be cruel in your review, just to be a "cool critic".
Well, sorry to disappoint but I decided to give the film a chance and enjoy it for what it was-a worthy reboot that brought new flavor to the franchise, the story had a good pace and was easy to grasp throughout. Director Paul Feig who amid, abusive tweets from so called 'ghost bros' still did a good job on the film.
The actors brought their own quirk and brand of comedy to their characters. Special mention to Kate McKinnon's Jillian Holtzman who absolutely stole the show with her natural eccentricity, playing a tech-whiz and nuts and bolts genius, making her an instant favorite among fans.
Kristen Wiig is Erin Gilbert a professor in Columbia, up for tenure when ghosts from her past start haunting her, that ghost is in the form of a book that she wrote with her childhood friend Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) the title of the book "Ghosts From Our Past" and Erin wants nothing to do with it. Things don't go according to Erin's short term plans when ghosts start causing disturbing hauntings around New York and Erin joins up with Abby and the eccentric Jillian to initially just capture a ghost to prove their naysayers that ghosts do exist. What happens next is that the girls stumble in forming the team, getting their logo idea and name indirectly from outside forces, which results in some laughs and chuckles.
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| Breakout Star: Kate McKinnon's Jillian Holtzman. |
They are joined by Leslie Jones' Patty, who works in the New York Subway, a self proclaimed New York history expert, Patty can give the 411 on any building, historical information usually includes grim killings in the past.
The team is made complete with Chris Hemsworth's Kevin, a take on the dumb blonde character which has long been in movies and TV shows, such as Amanda Seyfried's character in "Mean Girls" and even Katy Perry's Honey on "How I Met Your Mother" but this time, it's a dumb beefcake!
I must admit that while Hemsworth was hilarious and should consider doing more comedy, the "Kevin" jokes got really old, really fast. That would have been the 'ehhhh' part of the film for me.
The unusually frequent ghost sightings make "Ghostbusting" a day job for the girls. What they don't know yet is that a villain who is very much alive is pulling strings and unsettling the un-dead for an even bigger sinister plot.
Fans of the 1984 movie will have a great time with the cameos from the original cast, as well as lines and Easter eggs! One cameo I wasn't so happy about was Slimer's 2016 look. The updated CGI just made him look too scary, I always thought he was cute when I was a kid. I was also not too fond of his new lady friend.
2016 technology gave new depth and color to the graphics, making Ghostbusting oh so much cool!
Stay after the movie! There are tons of post-credits fun!
2016 Ghostbusters is a fun movie, that stands out on it's own, not behind the shadow of it's predecessor but rather alongside it. 8 out of 10.
“Ghostbusters is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.
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