Ghostbusters Review

The Ghostbusters movies are some of my favorite films or all time perhaps only getting more enjoyable as I age. I always find time to go back to watch those films a couple times a year and they're still fun. When it came to the reboot I was originally negative towards it as I didn't feel just doing a female version of a movie was right, but I still went to watch it with an open mind.

I was actually quite excited for the first few minutes as it had that classic spooky opening and then blasted the original tune to bring some nostalgia forth. From there it didn't quite hit the mark I was looking for in that it really wasn't that funny. Despite attempting to throw out jokes constantly I wasn't laughing very hard and the crowd was also quiet, mind you there wasn't many people attending.

The film was also much scarier than the previous films which was actually fine with me. It's also a treat if you watch it in 3D as they really go all out for the format, but again I'm not a fan of using the format for gimmicks as they did with the film. It also felt a bit too familiar being tied to the past a bit more than it should have when attempting to be a new start for this series instead of a continuation.

The squad of Ghostbusters this time included Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig); Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy), Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon), Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones) and their stupid secretary Kevin (Chris Hemsworth).

Looking at this squad there are some funny people in this group yet they just didn't mesh together. I typically find Kristen Wiig hilarious though she just wasn't funny here and while I don't particularly care for McCarthy she also didn't get any laughs.

I found that Leslie was just there as a stereotypical loud lady that I didn't care for. I will however say with cheers that newcomer Kate McKinnon was damn hilarious in her own weird way standing out far above the rest of the group and I look forward to seeing her in more films. Chris Hemsworth was basically a sexual object in the film that was purely awkward and just plain silly going far too into it. Actually, the treatment of men in this was really awkward and bordered on being cringe. Additionally I found the treatment of the original cast to just be dreadful, and mostly disappointing.

The film actually looked great in terms of cinematography and the CGI was well done. The ghosts looked great, were terrifying and almost all unique throughout the film. The CGI did however fall a bit flat when it came to third act of the film and it seemed they got lazy with it. That being some weird CGI area where everything was clouded and it got really confined then. The acting was alright in the film as they were serious though being a comedy I thought more laughs were to be had.

The Conclusion

I didn't hate the new Ghostbusters film though for what it was aiming to be it just needed do enough to stand on its own. The cast just wasn't that funny aside from Kate McKinnon as she was weirdly hilarious. There are also cameos from all the past living Ghostbusters crew aside from the retired one and those weren't great.

I did find the ending credits bits with a certain cameo from someone entertaining though the others were a bit forced in I felt. The film might have been a bit better if it was attempting to be a more serious horror type film though for a comedy it just doesn't make it. If they ever get to the chance to make another one it might be better in that it's not an origin story though not at all a strong start.

Ghostbusters Review at Theater with Ultra AVX Atmos Viewing

Rating Overall: 5.0