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Movie Review: “Ghostbusters” Ain’t Afraid Of No Reboot

[yasr_overall_rating]
 

Following a ghost invasion of Manhattan, paranormal enthusiasts Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates, nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann, and subway worker Patty Tolan band together to stop the otherworldly threat.

I was 12 years old when the original “Ghostbusters” came out in 1984. It made such an impact on my sister and I, that when we left the cinema, we both wanted to be Ghostbusters when we grew up. Walking out of the theater after this screening, all it left me with, was a headache. The new interpretation by director Paul Feig (“Bridesmaids,” “Spy”), while visually stunning, pretty much lacks everything that made its predecessor so successful: heart, unforced humor, and genuinely likable characters. That’s not to say that our new quartet of scientists, this time around, played by Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones, are not charismatic, on the contrary, they are very engaging and each have some very funny moments, it just all feels overly familiar and from the opening shot, déja vu quickly sets in.

If director Feig and co-writer Katie Dippold had kept the title but deviated from the first film’s storyline, instead, trying to create something completely different and unpredictable, I could have commended them for at least trying but the fault does not lie solely with them, this is Hollywood after all, and the powers-that-be at Columbia Pictures, realizing what made the first two movies so successful, obviously did not want to leave the straight and narrow so we are left with pretty much a shot-for-shot remake with little imagination and even less inventiveness.

For those not familiar with the plot, four scientists who believe in the paranormal and the occult, develop high-tech equipment, capable of capturing ghosts and containing them effectively, keeping the city of New York safe, that is of course, until a bullied loner, Rowan North (Neil Casey), unleashes the city’s damned souls, hoping to purge the earth from all of its filth and impurity. With no one else up to the challenge, the Ghostbusters strap on their Proton Packs and jump into the Ectomobile, ready to kick some major ghostly ass.

The four lead actors do the best they can with what they are given but sadly, that doesn’t amount to much. We get the anticipated and expected cameos from Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Sigourney Weaver from the first film but they honestly serve as more of a distraction that a straight-up homage. Even the dependable Charles Dance and Ed Begley Jr. pop up briefly, serving no other purpose than to add more names to the ever-growing number of celebrity cameos, but it is Chris Hemsworth who suffers the most. In the original movie, the four scientists hire a receptionist, Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts), who goes on to becomes an integral part of the group but here, Mr. Hemsworth’s Kevin, makes Peter Sellers’ Inspector Jacques Clouseau look like a genius and he is completely wasted as a male bimbo who cannot differentiate between up and down. He is literally one of the worst characters ever put on film and I can only imagine that he accepted the role primarily because it would afford him the opportunity to flex his comedic talents, something witnessed, all too briefly, in the “Thor” and “Avengers” movies. Unfortunately, he doesn’t even get to do that. He is clearly eye candy for the ladies but his brainlessness makes you wish the ghosts would take him to the underworld so he could never return.

While the film does dazzle with its special effects, it is not enough to save it and while there are a couple of genuinely effective scares, they are quickly forgotten about once Kevin takes center stage, which is quite often, given that he is supposed to be a supporting character, and not a lead. Kids might have fun with this but dejectedly, it is another case of style over substance. Go watch the original instead, you’ll have more fun, I guarantee it.

In theaters Friday, July 15th

 
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James McDonald

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, James is a Movie Critic with 40 years of experience in the film industry as an Award-Winning Filmmaker. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association.