Ghostbusters
Director: Paul Feig
Cast: Kristin Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth
Yesterday, I went out to the movies with my class and saw the new Ghostbusters. It
stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon as paranormal scientists
investigating hauntings caused by a former bellhop named Rowan. Meanwhile a
subway attendant (Leslie Jones), joins the team after experiencing ghostly sightings.
Chris Hemsworth (Thor) plays their handsome but incredibly stupid secretary
who is mostly used for a cheap laugh here or there. SNL star Kate McKinnon
steals the show as gear head Holtzmann, the inventor of cool gadgets to fight off
the ghosts.
Directed by Paul Feig, this is a remake of the Ivan Reitman scifi/comedy of
the same name. Despite the major backlash due to the gender reversals, ruined child
hood nostalgia, lack of originality, I went into this thinking this would be awful
but actually it wasn't. Although the plot, while silly and predictable, is better than
the recent schlock that has come out but this past summer. It's slightly better than
Ghostbusters 2 but that's not saying much. The climax of the movie where they
were shooting ghosts was my favorite part.
Clearly, Sony is desperate for a hit after losing the rights to Spiderman to Marvel.
This is not the way to do it. They have no idea how to run a successful studio. True
Ghostbusters fans know that when Harold Ramis died so did the franchise. I felt
like the characters in this movie were trying too hard to be funny which didn't work.
Coming from a big Ghostbusters fan like myself, I thought the best scene came when
Holtzmann busted out the proton guns. The Scooby Doo special effects were ridiculous.
Had this been a proper sequel rather than a lazy remake capitalizing on nostalgia factor,
I would've like it better. It really wasn't a bad movie just an average one at best. Wait
for this to come out on video instead.
Grade: C (6/10)
