When the Ghostbusters reboot was announced, the all-female leading cast revealed, and the first trailer released, let's just say that the reviews were less than positive. The first trailer was probably one of the most polarizing of this year. Personally, the jokes were mildly funny and didn't impress, not even being bothered by the cast. However, the cast seemed to be the main reason why the film wasn't hitting it off with critics. Personally, I think it was more of the nostalgia from the fans that caused problems more than the cast.
There is only one way that you can tell if a film is good or bad: See it for yourself.
Ghostbusters introduces Dr. Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig), a teacher at Columbia University and the co-author of a book which poses the existence of paranormal phenomenon such as ghosts. Because of the book's unpopularity, she distances herself from the work. Learning the book has resurfaced, Gilbert visits the other co-author and former friend, Dr. Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy). Yates has continued the study of the paranormal at a technical college with eccentric engineer Dr. Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon). With Gilbert grudgingly tagging along, the trio is recruited to assist on a paranormal investigation. When this proves Gilbert and Yates' theory on the paranormal, they decide to open a department to study the paranormal. Drawing the attention of MTA Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones), who had her own experience with ghosts of New York City, and she joins the team to save the city from a paranormal event.
I'll admit that I wasn't completely high on this movie but, after viewing it, this reboot is a lot better than I thought it would be. The four main cast members had great chemistry and the focus on the characters and how they worked as a team, making them more three-dimensional (always director Paul Feig's strength) helped strengthen the film. As far as the characters overall, Kate McKinnon's Holtzmann was hilariously creative and owning her character, showing that her work on Saturday Night Live gave her the needed foundation in her first big film. Chris Hemsworth, more known as Marvel's resident God of Thunder, Thor, certainly showed off his comedic chops by playing the handsome but dim-witted secretary Kevin Beckman. Out of the main cast, those two roles stood out to me. Melissa McCarthy was her usual comedian self along with Kristen Wiig. Leslie Jones was marginally funny to me, only providing a few gut-busting laughs.
The CGI really works in 3-D but it does drag the film down a little, especially when they were testing out their weapons. There were cameos by the members of the original cast with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Sigourney Weaver but this film does a good job of standing on its own, setting itself up for a future sequel. Even through it is difficult to not compare it to the original, which it pales in comparison, the film and its marvelous cast does a great job in honoring the past.
Now, we can only hope that the sequel doesn't follow the same course as Ghostbusters 2.
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