So recently the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot came out and I went to go see it. There's been a lot of talk about the movie before it released. I wasn't too excited about it at first. I really thought Ghostbusters was best left as a standalone movie. Ghostbusters 2 wasn't that good and at first I wasn't sure if this movie was supposed to be a sequel or a reboot. Speaking of reboots I am not a fan of them (Sequels as well) which is why I was a bit nervous about this movie. Especially with the influx of mediocre reboots and sequels of 80's and 90's movies recently such as Jurassic World, Independence Day: Resurrection, Terminator Genesis, and the Poltregeist remake. But I decided to see it in order to review it. Was it good or bad? Let's find out.
Main Characters: The main character of the movie is Erin Gilbert played by Kristen Wiig. As main characters go she's okay but is a bit boring at times. Then there's Erin's best friend Abby Yates played by Melissa McCarthy. I actually do like her a lot and I think she plays off Wiig well in a few scenes There's the third member of the team Jillian Holtzmann played by Kate McKinnon. She's okay. But at certain points I do feel that the writers were trying too hard to make her "Quirky" and "Weird". Especially in the second act of the movie. It just felt forced. She's my least favourite out of the main Ghostbusters. Then there's Leslie Jones as Patty Tolan. I like her because of the way she plays her character. Her screaming gets a bit repetitive but other than that it's okay. She doesn't get as much screen time the rest of the cast which is disappointing. I will admit that her character is a bit stereotypical but I don't really have much more to say about that one. So overall it has a pretty funny main cast with a few problems here and there.
Side Characters: Of course we need to have a supporting cast so let's take a look at it. First there's the Ghostbusters' receptionist Kevin, played by Chris Hemsworth. He's the most one note character in the movie. But he does get a few funny lines here and there. Then there's the mayor and his assistant. They're kind of just jerks with not much else as personality. I don't have much else to say about them. And finally there's the villain of the movie: Rowan North. I didn't really know what to think of him. His plan is kind of unclear and he's never given much motivation for what he's doing. We're told he was bullied as a kid and that's it. To be fair Gozer in the original wasn't given too much backstory or motivation but at least they were intimidating. Rowan isn't intimidating. He's too serious to be a joke villain but too jokey to be a serious villain. He's kind of just forgettable. Honestly, I thought his name was Ronald until I checked IMDB. Oh yeah, and Ozzy Osbourne is briefly in this for some reason... I don't know why. I didn't even think he was still relevant. I just felt like bringing it up. So overall not a very good supporting cast. But at least Kevin is funny.
Humour: The humour in this movie varies a lot. A lot of the slapstick ends up falling flat and it has some immature/gross out jokes that I personally didn't find funny. But there were a lot of funny lines. Especially from Melissa McCarthy and Leslie Jones' characters. Something that kind of bugged me is that they really focused more on humour than actually being scary. I mean, the original Ghostbusters was still a comedy but it still had plenty of scary moments that still frighten me. I think the scene where the hands reach out of the chair in the original is terrifying. But I guess this movie is in a different style but that is okay. But at the same time focusing too much on jokes was one of the reasons I didn't like Ghostbusters 2. But I do remember there being one really scary scene involving a mannequin in this movie. Overall, the pattern of humour in the movie goes: Good jokes followed up by bad jokes.
Special Effects: As movies go the effects in this movie are average. It's better than some of the terrible effects in the original Ghostbusters but at the same time it isn't anything special. Some of the CGI ghosts are kind of generic looking. Especially the big monster that comes in at the end. It reminds me of Eddie Murphy's Haunted Mansion or the live action Scooby Doo, It all just ended up looking kind of fake. I know the effects in the original Ghostbusters are dated in some parts but for the most part it had its own style. Here, the style kind of just looks really generic.
Plot: The first half of the movie is pretty similar. The Ghostbusters see a ghost and decide to open up their ghost hunting business. Then they soon discover a plot to release ghosts on New York City. It's a pretty similar plot to the original but there are some pretty big differences. I feel like it's kind of trying to be the same movie but kind of not. I don't want to spoil to much but I can say that, to me at least, the first half of the movie is better than the last. I felt like the last half of the movie was a bit predictable. Something else I want to address is that there were a few very forced call backs to the original such as a cab driver (Played by Dan Aykryod) saying "I ain't afraid of no ghost". It reminded me of the painfully forced call backs to Jurassic Park in Jurassic World. But overall the plot is pretty good with a few bumps in the road.Conclusion: Overall, Ghostbusters (2016) is.... Average. It's not good, but it isn't terrible either. Honestly, if it wasn't for all the hype around it wouldn't be half as popular. And something I forgot to mention is that there is a lot of product placement in the movie. It gets annoying but I guess that's not too big of a deal. So do I recommend Ghostbusters? I guess so. I honestly am not sure. Me personally I'd take the original Ghostbusters over this one. If this movie seems like something you'd be interested in go see it. I'm not stopping you. I'm just some guy on the internet.
