BrendanW 
Well, this one is going to divide some people no matter what I say.
It has come to this: no one asked for it and no one (well, some people) was expecting anything. Of course, you’ve heard it all from people. “I’m excited for it,” “I’m not into this because I hate remakes,” “Hollywood is not original anymore,” “I don’t want girls playing the Ghostbusters,” etc. etc. Before watching the film, I fell squarely in the camp of being weary that it was a remake and rather that they had an all-female cast just to garner attention rather than having any sort of quality behind it. However, I still kept a good outlook because director Paul Feig is adept at comedies and has worked with stars Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig before several times. Add Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones to that list and I was at least intrigued. Well, I am happy to report that “busting made me feel good” once again! …that didn’t come out right.
What’s the story? Well, it’s basically a re-telling of the Ghostbusters story but this time it’s an all-female cast. However, there’s more originality than that and it never feels like a rehash. Dr. Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) is hoping to achieve tenure but has that all come crashing down when a video surfaces of her and scientists Dr. Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) and Dr. Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon) celebrating their encounter with a ghost. As a result the three decide to join forces and find ghosts all on their own without funding from any educational institutions. Soon they also recruit a very dumb but handsome receptionist (Chris Hemsworth) as well as an MTA worker (Leslie Jones) who has a supernatural encounter of her own. Yes, there’s a villain (Neil Casey) as well who plans to release a number of ghosts into the city but that’s secondary to the action, comedy and sharp writing.
First things first: the haters can suck it. This movie may not be an all-time classic like the 1984 version of the film that most of us know and love but it is still a very enjoyable film that was even better than I was expecting right from the minute it began. The plot is not exquisite but let’s be real: was the plot really that important in the original film either? It’s a simple storyline that moves things forward at a good pace while giving characters enough time to develop during its 2-hour runtime. Of course, the writing in the film must be strong and it is here. It appears that the lead actresses were given ample room to improvise and have fun with the material but you can see that the writing is quite good as well here with everyone being given their own unique personality and character traits that aren’t abandoned for the sake of plot. If you like any of the people in the film you will certainly think it’s funny so you needn’t worry about that.
The actors are top-notch. Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy are moreso the “straight” characters of the film in that they play everything pretty much grounded in reality more than anyone else. Wiig has some very funny moments whenever she is ogling Hemsworth’s character and Melissa gets some great quiet moments that she knows how to play so very well. Kate McKinnon is my favourite of the four and she is sort of like the spiritual successor to Harold Ramis’ portrayal of Egon from the original film. Kate is much more energetic and frenetic though and I liked how much of a lunatic she was at various points throughout with her various gadgets. Kate gets some of the film’s biggest laughs and sometimes just her reactions to various situations would make me laugh out loud. Leslie Jones is also a hoot and her reactions to the ghosts feel almost like what the audience is thinking in nearly every scene. Besides the four females, Chris Hemsworth nearly steals every scene he’s in as the hunky but dim-as-a-bulb assistant. He is insanely stupid but hilarious and Wiig’s obsession with him makes for some very funny moments. I’ve never seen Hemsworth have as much fun in a role as he clearly did here.
The special effects are something that people were discussing a lot when that first trailer was released. Sure, they are insane and over-the-top but I never found them distracting. What we got to see was just newer technology at work. I’m sure if they had the better effects back in 1984 then we would’ve gotten them at that point. The guns still shoot the same way, the ghosts basically look the same (and we get a great ghosty cameo) and stuff from the original film is honoured in an appropriate way. The finale is the best example of the effects as we get a balls-out action-packed fiasco where everyone gets the chance to shine including an awesome creation of the final villain (if you don’t know yet what it is I won’t spoil it for you here).
There are also several nods to the original film that I thought were handled very well including some cameos (there’s no way I’m going into more details on that particular subject) and some visual references to the source material as well.
Just go in expecting to have a great time and you will come out with a big grin on your face just like I did. I don’t think they should keep remaking old movies but you know what? I’d be perfectly fine with a sequel to this!
****
Rating System:
* (Brutal; the worst rating)
** (Some elements keep it from being awful but still not very good)
*** (Completely watchable; a rental as old-timers might say)
**** (Great film with a few things here and there keeping it from being perfect)
***** (Flawless; a true achievement)
