This month on 'Spotlight on...', we are looking at one of the most controversial films of the year 'Ghostbusters'. I did a poll on Twitter and 67% were excited for Ghostbusters over The Purge 3 and The Shallows so I decided to spotlight the 2016 reboot. I am one of the few people who still has faith in this film and doesn't hate either of the trailers - the film comes out a few days before my birthday so I think this is going to be a treat for me. Ghostbusters was my 8th most anticipated film of the year- I can't wait for it! This profile will be split into three parts - Background, Controversy & Trailer. 

Background
Ghostbusters is a reboot of the 1984 classic of the same name. This time the genders for the characters have been flipped - Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon & Leslie Jones will be fighting the ghosts this time around. It has also been hinted that this will spark a new series - the second will be all-guys and the third will be a team up? Melissa McCarthy is a comedic actress that I really like - yes, she has her misses such as Identity Thief and Tammy but she also has many hits such as Spy, The Heat and Bridesmaids - even if the film is bad she is still usually good in it. I also really like Kristen Wiig - similarly to McCarthy she doesn't always star in the best movies but she is usually a stand out element - she has also started to showcase her acting ability in more serious films such as The Martian. I'm not as familiar with Kate McKinnon or Leslie Jones - they both look great from the trailers but Jones' character does seem a little too stereotypical. Ghostbusters is directed by Paul Feig who has brought us Spy, The Heat and Bridesmaids - I love all of those films so I have a lot of trust in Feig (lets hope he doesn't do a Brad Bird and disappoint). It is also important to note that Chris Hemsworth stars in this film - this will be one of those very rare times where he doesn't play an action hero with a some sort of weapon he holds in his hand (Thor, The Huntsman). Here is the synopsis of the film from IMDB:

"30 years after Ghostbusters took the world by storm, the beloved franchise makes its long-awaited return. Director Paul Feig brings his fresh take to the supernatural comedy, joined by some of the funniest actors working today".

Trailers

I have already reviewed the first trailer for Ghostbusters - you can see that below...

Now for the second trailer - it came out early last week and isn't receiving as much as hate at the first one but still isn't liked that much. You can watch the new trailer below:


0:06 - I actually think the ghosts look pretty good here - better than they do later on in the trailer.
0:12 - I really love how this introduction ends - I think its comes across as quite dark and sets quite a mysterious tone.
0:22 - I really think the gender flip with this film is absolutely fine - I don't understand why so many people are annoyed about it. Genders and race have been flipped for other films and people don't seem mind. I think the original Ghostbusters fandom needs to calm down a bit.
0:26 - These shots are quite good and look quite spooky. I think what ruins this trailer is the music in the background - it may be the Ghostbusters theme tune but I think it sounds quite upbeat and cheesy whereas what is on screen at the moment could be much more serious.
0:35 - I absolutely hate this joke - I don't find it funny and it is very immature and childlike. It is jokes like these that the second trailer should have dropped.
0:46 - 'Are they to be taken seriously?' - this is like the film is directly referencing all of the controversy and hate it has been getting.
0:50 - I also really don't like how the ghosts are at a concert - this is another example of the film not being sophisticated and coming across as quite childlike.
1:00 - The only character I have problems with in this film is Leslie Jones' character - she is playing such a stereotypical role. This joke just shows that and her character seems to be the most annoying - I'm sure she has the most lines in this trailer and I really think they should play her down in the marketing.
1:11 - The visuals generally look pretty good for this film - I think even if this film does end up being quite immature, it will at least be good to look at?
1:23 - This trailer has played up males much more - they have more lines and there seems to be more than just Chris Hemsworth who is a male in this movie. This joke is quite funny even though it seems very similar to the one McCarthy did in the first trailer.
1:43 - I just find that many of the jokes in this trailer don't work and are quite cringe-worthy. I hope that is because they are saving all of the best jokes for the actual film.
1:58 - This is the joke I find funniest in the film - how she is going to just go and take off. For some reason, the way she says it and the context made me laugh.
2:02 - This ghost looks a little rubbish - it is more of a dragon ghost and I don't like how the people aren't scared of ghosts - if they aren't scared of them why does the world need to be saved?

I think this trailer is a slight improvement on the first - I have liked both trailers and I am still excited for this film. However, I just feel like the laughs are lacking and the whole film could end up skewing very young. I don't have a problem at all with the gender flip but I do have a problem with one of the characters being a little too stereotypical. Online seem have treated this trailer a little better than the first one (Still not great though) so maybe there is still a little faith in Ghostbusters?

Controversy
The first trailer for this film is the most disliked one on Youtube - at the time of writing this, it has over 840,000 dislikes against 241,000 likes. For some reason, I don't think all this hate is going to have a huge impact on the film's financial success - it is skewing younger so families may be interested in seeing it and all of those people pressing dislike are likely going to show up on opening weekend to see what all the fuss was about - like they said, all press is good press. In the comments section of both trailers you can see people hating on the film because of the female characters, the lack of jokes, it being a cash grab, it being dumb etc etc - so in general, people are hating on this film already and calling it a bad film when they have only seen a trailer - haven't they heard not to judge a book by its cover? In years to come, the saying may become, don't judge a film by its trailer? I really don't see the problem - the casting is refreshing and fine and ultimately, if people don't like a trailer for a film, you don't have to see the actual film so what is the point in getting angry and worked up? Sony have stayed away from uploading the second trailer to their official Youtube channel - that is probably a smart move, let trailer channels get all those dislikes! BoxOffice.Com recently predicted Ghostbusters' US opening weekend - they project a $63 million opening. That would be pretty strong and wouldn't be disappointing. In summary, I believe that all of this controversy is only going to help Ghostbusters to be successful and you never know, the first reviews could come in and they could be overwhelmingly positive.