Quite possibly one of the most controversial movies of our generation. Trailers plagued with hate comments and hundreds of flame wars so great that it makes the California wildfires look like mere candles.
But how does it actually hold up in this man's eyes?
Well, personally, I thought the movie was...... actually pretty good! *dodges gunfire, and thrown torches & pitchforks* Hey! Hey! HEY! Knock it off!
Now I don't feel it's superior to the original, but I honestly don't feel it deserves the hate it's gotten. Is it a perfect film? Absolutely not. But neither was the original.
The story I feel captures the spirit (no pun intended) of the franchise quite well. The thing you'll need to watch for is that this movie's style of humor isn't the same as the original. The original's was more of a dry, intellectual kind, while the remakes is more-so visual, slapstick humor. But it does NOT do it in a way that insults your intelligence (at least in my opinion).
I WILL admit the movie does have its faults, but nothing that makes it not worth watching. Some characters I personally would have changed as they're portrayed at Nth degree levels of what their trait is. Mostly that of Kevin (Chris Hemsworth's character) I had no problem with him being dumb, but at times... he makes Ed from Ed, Edd & Eddy and Patrick Star look like Nobel prize winners. I wouldn't have COMPLETELY changed him, rather I would have just toned him down. But I'm getting off track.
Many people claim this movie is "Anti-Men" and portrays every male character as an idiot or an a-hole. I did notice a lot of the more prominent male characters have moments like that, but not to the point where I consider it "Anti-Men". Yeah, so Kevin's a moron, overdone as it is, it's just a rule 63 twist on the dumb blonde stereotype. The mayor's a jerk: an a-hole politician/bureaucrat in Ghostbusters? Oh, THAT'S something we've never seen before... *cough Walter Peck and Jack Hardemeyer cough* Main villain's a guy: ......so? The main villain in the original's a woman (well, has a female form, anyway).
Thoughts on the story: Without spoiling too much, I can safely say that the story is quite solid for what this film's trying to accomplish. It's not a carbon copy of the original, in fact NOTHING about this film is, and that's one of it's biggest strengths. It's not TRYING to be the original film, but rather it's own interpretation. The main villain (before he becomes a ghost) admittedly is pretty weak, but once he gains those powers his character really starts developing.
The characters I feel are all enjoyable and bring a fresh twist to the team, especially Kate McKinnon's (Jill Holtzman, who's my favorite in the movie), her having Egon's level of technical knowledge while also being notably crazy makes for some really funny moments. She's pretty much Egon combined with Peter Venkman (attitude-wise) and Spoony's Dr. Insano when it comes to her work.
Kirsten Wiig's character of Erin Gilbert does a nice role of playing the socially awkward scientist, showing an almost childlike level of wonder and excitement for their field of work once she gets further involved. Her backstory is also quite well done, too, having actually seen ghosts numerous times, but constantly being ridiculed for it, makes it almost tragic in a way.
Melissa McCarthy's character of Abby Yates is one of the funnier members of the team, probably the one who's closest to being considered their leader, as well. Like Erin she too displays such wonder and excitement for the paranormal, but she pretty much shows it all the time, and the way she obtains their equipment for when they actually become Ghostbusters is a nice twist when compared to the original. She also uses, in my opinion, the coolest new weapon from the movie, the Proton Glove. A device that pretty much lets you FALCON PUNCH ghosts. Who WOULDN'T want something like that?
Leslie Jones' character of Patty Tolan is admittedly the one I was nervous about before seeing this film, as like many others I thought she was merely going to be the "sassy black lady" and nothing else through the movie. In truth, she's actually able to bring her own level of expertise to the team and be able to help out immensely as well. When she says "I know the streets" she doesn't mean "Oh, I know how to speak gangster" or "I know a shortcut to this location" she's actually pretty much the team's historian. When they need to find out what the villain's big plan is, she's actually able to tell us the backstory of WHY each building was likely picked for said hauntings, which I felt was a very nice addition.
But I'm starting to ramble.
Bottom line, I feel this movie is indeed worth your time. Forget all the stuff that's being said by the haters and just go in with an open mind and see for yourself. If it's not your cup of tea, so be it. I won't think any less of anybody for not liking. Personally I had fun watching it, and would gladly do it again. And you can indeed be sure that I'm buying it when it comes out on DVD.
Overall score: 4/5
This team (in my opinion) is INDEED worthy of the name Ghostbusters.
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