Ghostbusters

Well, well, well...

This film has certainly caused quite a stir hasn't it?

Sometimes the internet can literally be the dumbest place on earth and that was certainly the case when it's plethora of trolls cried and whined and bitched about this reboot being all female. 

I'll never quite understand that thought process, but then again, I'm not an idiot so...

My tepid expectations for this film came from actual proof, or lack there of, of substantial reason to be excited. The trailers have consistently been average for this one and, despite the tremendous talent involved in front of and behind the camera, I just wasn't quite feeling the "magic". 

Trailers can be deceiving though -- or just poorly made -- so I still wanted to give this one a shot, mainly because director Paul Feig and McCarthy's latest adventures together have often been pretty funny (think last year's Spy). With Kristen Wiig, Chris Hemsworth, and SNL funnies, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones on board too I figured the film had to have some merit. 

And truth be told, it does. It starts off incredibly strong and really only loses its way when it loses its focus and tries too hard to be funny. Unfortunately this happens more and more as the film goes on, but this reboot of a comedy classic starts a series that has a ton of potential and the female cast more than proves their haters wrong, as we all knew they would. 

"We're going to need some bigger guns..."

Kevin. Is. Hilarious.

What Ghostbusters gets right is most certainly the casting. Wiig and McCarthy are obviously a good pair and they're a ton of fun to watch throughout the film. They play off each other well and we all know that their comedic timing is priceless. McKinnon is probably the most memorable character as she's zany, a little unhinged, and features some interesting fashion choices. I never thought she was all that funny but she's very endearing. Leslie Jones is a little late to the party as she gets introduced about 30 minutes in, but her impact is immediately felt as she's responsible for some of the movie's funniest segments. Her different nature than the other three, where she's actually scared of these ghosts as opposed to interested in them, is really fun. For me though, Chris Hemsworth nearly steals the show as Kevin...the team's incredibly dull receptionist. The character's quirks and lack of intelligence are priceless and Hemsworth is clearly having a fun time playing the role. 

Ghostbusters has the tendency to be fairly funny and I laughed out loud on several occasions. There are one liners in the script, physical comedy, and the aforementioned daftness of Kevin. There's no doubt about it, there is some real comedic talent here and you'll likely laugh at some point along the way. But the hit rate for the jokes is shockingly low and diminishes as the film progresses. Within the film there are some really odd attempts to find humor and given the talent on board I'm really surprised there wasn't anyone just bold enough to say "Guys, this isn't really all that funny. Let's head back to the drawing board." It just seemed like there were too many half-assed or poorly conceived attempts to draw humor. These include some cameos that were honestly so weird/awkward/dumb that I struggle to imagine how they made the final cut. They're almost painful to watch and don't add much to the film at all. 

I also took issue with the film's lack of ability to stay focused at times. It's plot is fine -- about what you would expect and not much more -- but it almost seems like scenes are out of order and the film has a hard time realizing what scenes are necessary and which ones are not. It dilly daddles now and again and it becomes painfully obvious that its doing so when the jokes aren't landing. 

Girl power!!!

All in all though, this is still an entertaining reboot with a cast of fun characters and great leads. Some really odd creative decisions here and there really pull it down considerably, but I'd personally love to see this crew get another go in a better thought-out sequel that cares less about fan-service and more about utilizing the amazing talent at hand.

CONS:

• I can't help but feel like the film isn't as funny as it could have/should have been given everyone involved. There are too many jokes that fall flat and too many odd scenarios where the film isn't working at all
• Awful, strange cameos
• Lacks focus
• Diminishing returns as the film progresses

PROS:

• A fantastic cast that should get all the haters to shut up
• Hemsworth's Kevin is hilarious
• Decent amount of laughs to be had and each actress brings something special to the group
• Good special effects and great/fun 3D
• Entertaining romp of a new reboot. Looking forward to seeing what the next film has in store

Rath's Review Score: 7/10