More Ghostbusters is always a good thing. That was my mantra going in to see the Ghostbusters reboot. In fact as the world raged in bottles and chains battles over the internet. I was content. After the trailer debuted and the world lost its mind because there were new Ghostbusters (and they were women). I marked my calendar and began my long wait for what I knew would be a good Ghostbusters movie. At the end of the day if you were a Ghostbusters fan, you were with me all along.
Ghostbusters is a good movie. A damned good movie. In fact, it is my favorite big summer movie this year. It has everything that you would want it to have and even polishes some things to make them even better. Before you lose your mind, I want to say that nothing will beat the original Ghostbusters for me. It was Part nostalgia, part comedic genius, all paranormal 80’s beautiful rubbish and for me that is untouchable… but damn does this reboot come close.
This Ghostbusters features a new team of paranormal scientists. When a paranormal menace starts making itself known around Manhattan, it falls in their hands to bust some ghosts and get down to the bottom of who or what is responsible for the spike in activity.
Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones completely own this movie. None of them try to impersonate the original four guys. It allows the characters to carve their own path in the universe. They are each fantastic in their own way. McKinnon is a particular kind of awesome in this one. Her awkward confidence is a magnetic presence. On top of having a unique character, she also is responsible for creating all the new and improved Ghostbuster tech.
Wiig and McCarthy make up for the center of the film in both dynamic and emotionality. McCarthy is a different character than we have seen her before. She is still funny but in a different smarter approach, with less slapstick direction. Leslie Jones is a complete badass and got the most belly laughs out of me. Her delivery is that sort of comedy that sticks and makes you laugh after the film is over through quotable lines and great comedic timing.
While the 1984 Ghostbusters only had proton throwers and traps. This one features those things along with a lot more, awesome James Bond, Q branch inspired goodies. For example, now we have a ghost chipper, which is a device that sucks in ghosts and grinds them up into ectoplasm. There are a variety of new tools each cooler than the last.
“A movie that will have any real Ghostbuster
fan smiling from ear to ear
for its entire runtime.”
Where Ghostbusters falls a little bit short is in its forced cameos and constant fear to completely break away from the structure of the original film. The world and the characters are all good enough to take the floaties off in the pool but it holds on to them tightly instead. This does not ruin the movie in anyway. It just had potential to be even more amazing if it wasn’t having to constantly remind the audience that it was part of an already existing thing. I guess that is one of those slippery slopes where you can’t please everyone and playing it safe was the way they went.
This is a fun movie. A movie that will have any real Ghostbuster fan smiling from ear to ear for its entire runtime. It establishes a new Ghostbuster team without taking anything away from the original four guys. Director, Paul Fieg absolutely shows that he has respect for the original material but also shows that he has a lot more to expand on and to show us in the future of this franchise. Speaking of, make sure to stay after the credits and please remember to not “be fraid of no ghost.”
