Ghostbusters Review

In 1984, the original Ghostbusters was released. I wasn't even a year old yet so it never really had an immediate impact on my childhood. In 1989, Ghostbusters II came out and I remember seeing it in theaters and enjoyed it. I remember the creepy pink ooze, the scary painting and the cute little baby. But it still never really struck me as a movie I needed to watch over and over again. Now in 2016, we get yet another Ghostbusters movie, but this one isn't the sequel everyone had been hoping for, well almost everyone, I didn't really need one. Nope, instead this was a reboot. This reboot would have a whole new cast and the events of the first two films never happened. Would this reboot live up to those first two films or would it fail to reach the cultural impact of those films.

The 2016 Ghostbusters is directed by Paul Feig and stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones as the four members of the Ghostbusters. The Ghostbusters start investigating these strange ghost sightings that are happening around New York City. They must find out where these ghosts are coming from as well as convince those around them that ghosts are real.

For me this new Ghostbusters movie was pretty hit or miss.  For the first half or so of the movie, I was really enjoying it. I was sitting there thinking this is a pretty fun movie, I could see myself buying it. It was funny and the characters were interesting. I was curious about the adventures the Ghostbusters were going on as well as interested in the technology they were creating to capture the ghosts. But then at a certain point I thought, I'm kinda bored now. The pacing just started to feel all over the place. One minute the jokes were flying left and right and then the next thing you know, it gets bogged down by side characters that told jokes that just fall flat or story elements that weren't really needed. The comedy would start to pick back up again, but then they throw in some cameos for fan service that would just take you out of the movie. Especially when you have people in the audience trying to explain to others who the cameo is. Also at times, it felt like the main actresses where acting in a parody or an extended Saturday Night Live sketch. It felt like they were going over the top with their performances and that took me out of the film.

There were two performances in Ghostbusters I really enjoyed. These were by Kate McKinnon and Chris Hemsworth. Both their characters pretty much only had one shtick, but that was okay with me. McKinnon's character, Dr. Jillian Holtzmann, was the groups crazy inventor. She always had this crazy look on her face and would move her body in strange ways. She brought this fun energy to the team. Chris Hemsworth played Kevin Beckman, the teams clueless receptionist. With Chris Hemsworth, it was just fun to see him play a comedic character. In the past we have seen him in the Marvel superhero movies or in dramas like Rush and In The Heart of the Sea. His roles have all been more serious, it was fun to see him loosen up a bit. It felt like he was have a blast playing Kevin Beckman and made me curious about how much of his lines were ad-libbed.

I also enjoyed most of the third act of the movie. The visuals were great. The ghosts had this bright vibrant color that was very appealing. I also liked that you finally got to see the Ghostbusters use the technology that they had been working on throughout the movie. Each character had their own set of weapons and it was a lot of fun watching them work together to fight the ghosts.

The new Ghostbusters movie is all over the place. At times I was having a fun time watching it, but then something would happen that would take me out of it. When the jokes landed, they were great, but often, especially with the side characters, the jokes fell flat. The cameos were unnecessary and distracting. At times the movie felt like a parody of the ones made in the 80's and other times it felt like they were making something original and clever. I think Ghostbusters can be a fun time but probably doesn't need to be experienced in theaters. Save your money and rent it when it comes out on Redbox.