Film Reviews

Ghostbusters (2016)

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ghostbusters-poster-kate-mckinnon

Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth

Director: Paul Feig

Has another film been more controversial this year? Off the top of my head, this is the big one. And for the weirdest reason.

It’s Ghostbusters, but the four main characters are female comedians instead of male.

That’s it.

There are so many remakes that this one getting more than a bat of an eyelid is interesting, let alone the huge debate and the abusive “twitter storm” that followed. It feels hard to see this film in it’s own right, as a piece of cinema. I mean, put all that guff aside, and what do you have?

You have a pretty good film with four comedy stars, some of whom are Saturday Night Live alumni just like the original four. The film is about two estranged scientists, (McCarthy and Wiig), who find an uneasy peace with each other when they notice a break out of paranormal ghostly sightings in Manhattan. Joined by a crazy inventor (McKinnon), and a subway worker (Jones), they create a Ghostbusting team, with the dubious help of their vacuous but gorgeous receptionist (Hemsworth).

It has some really funny moments, some good vintage feel special effects which are a great homage, some oddly gratuitous product placement and some good core chemistry. There are some really awkward cameos and nods to the original film, which feel kind of shoe horned in. The plot is a bit thin and lacks the dynamism and interest of the original themes and story of the original two, which I think is a bit of a shame, but it’s not bad. It falls on the chemistry and performance of the leads to hold the film, and they do well. It’s certainly not the terrible film that it’s been made out to be, and I found myself laughing and enjoying the whole thing more than I thought I would.

See It If: you’re a fan of any of the leads or if you’d like to see a film about some cool female paranormal scientists, you’ll like it. Just leave your prejudices at the door.

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17 thoughts on “Ghostbusters (2016)”

  1. I went and seen this film when it came out at the cinema and i didn’t enjoy it at all. There are a few funny moments in the film but i felt no connection between the main characters. for me a lot of the jokes didn’t land. For me the script seemed like it was written on a post it. i like the actresses that are in the film in different projects but in this i felt they were wrong for the roles. The two characters, played by McCarthy and Wiig, were far too similar in tone to each other, you could have merged the two characters into one and it would have made no difference at all to the plot. but that is just my personal opinion.

    All that being said the thing that infuriated me the most about this film is that they got the function of the Proton Packs wrong. Proton packs do not destroy ghost. they weaken them in a confinement beam so that they can then be reangled into the trap so that they can be locked up in the containment unit.

    i have no issue with the cast or the idea of more Ghostbusters, the original being my all time favourite film. my issue is with the script and the director. to me it was as if he didn’t understand the right tone of the film.
    They did make one improvement on the original and that was the reason as to why they were trying to catch the ghosts to study them. there was no mention of that in the original.

    I hope that this has made sense what I’ve said, and that you don’t think i am one of the people who hated it just because they are women i hope i have put my reasonings for it across clearly enough
    thanks

    Liked by 1 person

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  2. Interesting write up…if you like drama, you should see The Dressmaker with Kate Winslet in the main role… an unequal performance…captivating story of vengeance and success, achievements and women; another drama Before me…worth watching if you are sentimental

    Liked by 1 person

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