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| The stars of Paul Feig's Ghostbusters in front of two flaring headlights |
Ghostbusters is the reboot of the popular Ghostbusters movies, - two films, Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989). It is written by Katie Dippold (The Heat (2013)) and Michigander master co-writer-director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids (2011)).
After a physics professor at Princeton loses her job due to a ghost-believing past book, she and her co-author friend and two other ladies form the Ghostbusters to fight New York City's burgeoning ghost problem.
Ghostbusters marks a big change for Feig, who has directed comedies with strong protagonists (Bridesmaids and Spy (2015)). Here he is rebooting an almost fabled property that sort of has four protagonists. It is clear that he and Dippold, (who has written a lot of TV and the so-so buddy comedy Heat), have been careful not to upset the framework laid out in the original films. The new Ghostbusters is very respectful in its approach in terms of tone and story, and that makes it a good, fun time - just as the original films - but nothing more than that. I wonder if the film mightn't have been even better, if the makers had dared kick the bucket (the old films) with a bit more reckless wildness. Another, possibly greater fit to the reboot might have been director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black 3 (2012)).
The leads are now four very funny women: Melissa McCarthy (The Boss (2016)), Kristen Wiig (Nasty Baby (2015)), Kate McKinnon (Finding Dory (2016)) and Leslie Jones (Saturday Night Live (2014-16)). They all have funny moments and some that don't work, but the film isn't anyone's best. Chris Hemsworth (Thor (2011)) is used gratuitously as the team's hunky but brainless receptionist.
The film opens with a funny utilization of Zach Woods (Silicon Valley (2014-16)). The main characters aren't, regrettably, really set up, - they just appear. Charles Dance (City and Crimes (2003)) is no fun at all as the principal of Princeton. We later get better fits in Michael Kenneth Williams (Boardwalk Empire (2010-14)) and Matt Walsh (Veep (2012-16)), Andy Garcia (City Island (2009)) as the city's douchy mayor and cameos from the original films' Dan Aykroyd (The Blues Brothers (1980)), Sigourney Weaver (You Again (2010)) and, in an actual part, Bill Murray (Space Jam (1996)). Since a third film with the original cast didn't come to happen for about 20 years mostly because of Murray's unwillingness to commit, it is somewhat curious to see him finally come back for this strange skeptic part.
For those fearing something not in line with the original films, there's nothing to fear about the new Ghostbusters. It is told in an old-fashioned, heavy way without much freshness to it. For my taste, they could have taken all the proton/gamma/ghost lingo nonsense out and given us some more character-based depth and fun instead. Ghostbusters is dedicated to its silliness, which is nice and befitting, (just don't ask yourself how they even operate as a kind of company in New York with no income at all through the whole film.)
The silliness and likability of the stars gets coupled with some genuinely exciting effects. The 3D use is an integral part of the film, and there's several really exciting ghost monsters, all of which are incredibly animated and have a neat throw-back, 1980s vibe to them. This is fun for everyone but will maybe especially delight kids who see the film.
All in all, Ghostbusters might have been greater, but it's still among the best major live action films of this summer, which admittedly won't go down in history as a great one for huge films.
Related posts:
Paul Feig: 2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Spy (2015) - Feig and McCarthy score spy spoof gold!
The Heat (2013) or, Prissy and Offensive in Boston
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2011 in films - according to Film Excess
Bridesmaids (2011) - Subversive comedy with laughs a-plenty
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| The nasty ghost Slimer from the original films is back in Paul Feig's Ghostbusters |
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 144 mil. $
Box office: 180 mil. $ and counting
= Too early to say
[Ghostbusters premiered July 9 (Hollywood's TCL Chinese Theatre) and runs 116 minutes. A third film with the original Ghostbusters stars was in development for about 20 years, mostly barred from happening due to Murray's reticence. Feig and the all-female cast came in as the fixed idea in 2014. Filming took place in Boston and New York from June - September 2015, with reshoots in LA in May 2016. 6 companies handled the film's estimated 1,700 visual effects shots with the biggest chunk handled by Sony Pictures Imageworks. The film's release was marred by intense hate-speech, trolling and racism targeting the cast online. It opened #2, behind The Secret Lives of Pets, to a 46 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it has grossed 117.2 mil. $ to date. The film suffered a serious blow when Chinese officials suddenly denied it a release in the country based on different bogus reasons, (belief in ghosts harming China, the film not attracting the interest of Chinese etc.) Ghostbusters is certified fresh at 73 % with a 6.5 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Ghostbusters?
If you want to see a sequel to it happen, you need to go and buy tickets!
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