Ghostbusters (2016)
5:56 AM
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters is directed by Paul Feig (Spy, Bridesmaids) and stars Melissa McCarthy (Spy, The Heat), Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, Despicable Me 2), Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live), Leslie Jones (Saturday Night Live) and Chris Hemsworth (Thor, The Huntsman: Winter's War). "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". This film has the most disliked trailer in the history of Youtube - does the film deserve that amount of dislikes or does it prove the fanboys wrong?
Ghostbusters is probably the most controversial film of 2016 and possibly of the 2000s - this is a film that has the most disliked trailer on Youtube. However, I am proud to have been someone that has consistently had faith in the film and I am happy to say, Ghostbusters does not disappointment - it is a thoroughly enjoyable and extremely fun summer flick. Ghostbusters has everything - it has comedy, horror, action and is just very likeable. I haven't actually seen the original so this review will include no comparisons but this film stands on its own well and I recommend you see it.
The first element I am going to speak about is the comedy and Ghostbusters was a pretty funny film - there were laughs consistently throughout - Ghostbusters shows a film can have good humour without going rude and raunchy. Some of the actors had better comedic timing than others but this is definitely a funny film. Ghostbusters is the definition of a perfect family movie - it has comedy, action and some scares - what more could you want? Some of the humour is a little dumb - for example the fart joke towards the beginning but this is mostly a very funny flick.
Ghostbusters has a really likeable cast. I thought all of the 4 leading ladies were excellent - Melissa McCarthy proves once again that she is one of the biggest actresses working today with another fantastic performance. This is another team up with McCarthy and Feig - they are definitely a team that works as this is another win for the duo. Kristen Wiig is also very good and has some very funny moments. However, I am surprised to say, Wiig and McCarthy weren't my favourite characters (I thought they would be going in) - Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon stole the show. From the trailers, Leslie Jones' character seems like she could be a little racist and the stereotypical type of character for her ethnicity - however, she definitely wasn't and had some of the funniest moments in the film. I liked how her character was pretty sarcastic and sassy - it made her seem the most real out of the Ghostbusters as she had a similar mindset to the viewers. More on Kate McKinnon later - she gets her whole section. The biggest male character in this film was played by Chris Hemsworth who did a great job - finally, he gets to show his diversity as an actor - he gets to play a dumb hunk but also a villainous role in this film and he does both very well. All of the supporting cast were also good. Ghostbusters also includes many cameos from the original so look out for them - however, I have to say, Bill Murray's isn't anything special.
One thing I definitely learnt from Ghostbusters is that Kate McKinnon is a star! I can see her getting lots more work after this as she is excellent in this film. McKinnon has the best comedic timing out of everyone in the film - she is also the person who has the most jokes that land and are effective. I really liked McKinnon's character as she was pretty quirky. McKinnon's character also had my favourite moment in the entire film - when her character realises she made new weapons for herself and the Ghostbusters music starts to play and she kicks ass - this was absolutely fantastic and put a smile on my face - by far my favourite moment of the entire movie. All of the women have excellent chemistry as the Ghostbusters but McKinnon definitely shines and is somebody to watch from this point onwards.
I thought the story for Ghostbusters was actually pretty big and complex - it wasn't a simple narrative and had many stages throughout. However, I was was very worried when the film began as the first 15/30 minutes are not that great at all. The film does get much much better as it goes on so that first 15 minutes is easy to forgive. The action was also strong - it did dawn at me that there wasn't really much physical action - just people shooting others but then they started to use the cool new weapons which added some physical action into the film which was great and moved the film to the next level. This may sound ridiculous as I haven't watched the original but the nostalgia can definitely be felt throughout the film - every time you hear that classic theme song, it puts a smile on your face - this film is just so likeable! Ghostbusters also has some genuinely scary moments that will make you jump which is another thing that the film gets right.
Something from the trailers that I was even worried about were the visual effects - they looked a little cartoony. However, they obviously did some more work on them as the visual effects were very strong. I thought all of the different ghosts were well done. I would also recommend you see the film in 3D as they do something cool with the editing - the film uses letter boxing very well - it looks like the film is just shot like that but when 3D is used - the film actually overlaps the letter-boxing so it makes things seem like they are coming out at you even more. The 3D is pretty effective in Ghostbusters.
So, surprise to all the fanboy haters! Ghostbusters is not a bad movie at all. There may be an all female team of Ghostbusters but there are surprisingly no noticeable themes of girl power which is great to see - women should be able to do things like this without pointing it out. Ghostbusters is also not a dumb but fun movie - it is simply a fun, good movie - some of the jokes are a little silly but they are the minority - this is a light-hearted, fun film with scares and good action.
Ghostbusters thankfully proves all of those people wrong that wanted it to be the worst film of all time. It definitely it isn't a perfect movie as the first 15-30 minutes is very poor. However, it picks up a lot from then onwards and ends up being a very solid flick. There is something for everyone in Ghostbusters - great female characters, good comedy, good scares and good action. Who am I gonna call? Definitely the Ghostbusters after this film!
Stay till the very very end as there is a post-credit scene that will excite fans of the original
4 STARS
B+
What did you think of GHOSTBUSTERS? What side are you on after seeing the film (like or dislike)? - COMMENT BELOW
See You Soon!
1 comments
I think you and I watched two very different movies, because I sat through this one and laughed twice, maybe three times throughout.
ReplyDeleteIt's not an unfunny movie because of the four female leads, it's an unfunny movie because the script was written by people who apparantly thought that they were writing a Goosebumps episode. And apparently the cinematographers agreed, because everything is brightly neoncoloured and flashing so the children in the audience are distracted by the pretty lights. The jokes are like the bastard lovechild of Norbit and Scooby Doo and would be equally as horrible whatever chromosomes the lead characters have.
I have to say, when I first hear the lineup of this movie I was ecstatic, because I think Melissa Mccarthy and Kristen Wiig are hilarious (I haven't watched SNL so I didn't know who the other two were prior to this), but then the movietrailer came out and I thought "Oh, god, please don't let this be the level of comedy we're getting.". Sadly, it was.