Ghostbusters

Starring: Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, Kate McKinnon, Chris Hemsworth
Directed By: Paul Feig
Reviewed by Brendan Dousi

[rating: 3/5]
So, unsurprisingly, the Internet seems to be vastly over-reacting. Sure, the trailers for this year’s all-female Ghostbusters remake haven’t been spectacular, but those are barely justifiable for the amount of vitriol this movie is attracting from certain online communities. I don’t know if it’s simply because a beloved franchise is being rebooted or if there’s a more sinister layer of misogyny behind it, but now that I’ve seen Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters I can safely say that, no, it’s not that bad. Is it necessary? Not really. Does it add much to the franchise? Probably not. Is it a god-awful pile of crap that threatens to melt your brain and steal your first-born? Not in the slightest. It has its fair share of flaws, of course, but overall it was just your run-of-the-mill, fun Hollywood romp. Nothing more, nothing less.

One of the greatest benefits of remaking Ghostbusters has to be our advancements in CGI. I can’t stress it enough, this movie looks great. Especially in 3D. I know a lot of people like to dismiss 3D as a gimmick, but when it’s incorporated into a film with pre-thought and care it really can enhance the cinematic experience. You don’t really notice it at first, but the film purposefully is letterboxed by black bars above and below the screen. It isn’t until that first ghost pops out and projectile-vomits towards the audience that you realise they’re there. The point of these is to accentuate the 3D aspects of the film, the effects really pop out towards the audience. This is particularly impressive whenever the Proton-Packs are in play with their beautiful beams spurting out of the screen towards you. It reminded me of when I first saw a 3D film as a kid, wanting to reach out and grab at what was coming out of the screen.

While most of these visuals were impressive, it’s the creativity of the overall film that is a bit of a letdown.   Besides a handful of featured ghosts, which are very visually effective, the rest of the ghosts we see are a little too generic. There was a point in the film, that part that’s in every Ghostbusters film, where New York is being overrun with ghosts. Unfortunately, it feels like a missed opportunity to get truly visually creative as the majority of ghosts just float around as your generic hooded spectres. Something that stuck with me from the original Ghostbusters films is how many outrageous and interesting ghost designs were peppered throughout them. As a comparison, 2016’s Ghostbusters does feel lacking in this respect.

Speaking of visuals and missed opportunities, the main problem I found with Ghostbusters was its over-reliance on ad-libbing. The film starts very strongly, with a great scene that involves a lot of visual comedy, something you’d think a film about whacky ghosts would take more advantage of. Instead, it falls mostly into the current comedic trend of getting a bunch of talented and funny actors to banter and ad-lib with each other as the main source of its comedy. As a result, I can’t help but feel how sparse the script must have been. The basic plot is there, you have some character arcs and a sprinkling of visual gags but nothing too unique or impressive. It feels mostly like a missed opportunity to play around with some visual comedy. Luckily, the cast is at its best. Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy ground the film with their amazing comedic presence. Leslie Jones isn’t nearly as obnoxious as the trailers made her out to be and is overall a great addition to the film, even if it does stretch a little to justify her character being involved. Chris Hemsworth proves he has impeccable comedic timing and, unlike is character, isn’t just a pretty face set into a mound of sexy muscle. Out of everything, though, one of the best things this film has to offer is Kate McKinnon as the off-kilter engineer Holtzmann. Not only is she a fantastic and welcome comedic presence in the film, but she also has the best action scene any Ghostbusters film has to offer.

Ghostbusters is neither a complete mess nor great enough to prove the haters wrong. It’s a competent, fun film with an inspired cast that unfortunately doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity to make something spectacular. It stays solidly in the mid-ground, a generic Hollywood blockbuster that’s sure to entertain but ultimately fails to impress.