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Ghostbusters: A Non-Spoiler Review
9 years ago
As someone who considers the original Ghostbusters one of my three favorite movies of all time, I went into the theater this morning with a bit of apprehension. Yes, the semi-negative press that had been inundating this movie practically since it was cast, was a pall of the worst kind. Fortunately, my worries were salved as I can definitely state, at least to my personal enjoyment, that Ghostbusters is definitely its own movie and one that has its own fun separate and different from the original. Seeing it in 3D always helps.
First, the matter of the four main characters. I was worried that they were going to shoehorn them into the "Peter Venkman", "Ray Stantz", "Egon Spengler" and "Winston Zeddemore" roles hard. Nothing could be further from the truth. The new Ghostbusters have their own individual personalities, and that certainly makes this a whole different entity. You can't even work Leslie Jones into the Winston Zeddemore character, because she's far, far more fleshed out than Ernie Hudson was in his role. Everyone gets their own generous helping of screentime, too. Everyone shines in their own way.
Secondly, the technological aspect of the Ghostbusters movie. They really went above and beyond when it came to not only designing the main power packs, but there's... lots of other toys that get brought into the fray. Whoever had to come up with the new ghost-catching weapons had an absolute blast, because they get used heavy in the climax, and it's a real treat to see if all go down in... 3D. Always see it in 3D if you can.
Lastly, the matter of the main villain. Not quite as strong as the setup from the original Ghostbusters, but he's lightyears better than Vigo the Carpathian in the sequel. Plus, they bring out all the stops in the climax, and some of the individual ghosts that show up are rather spectacularly done. I read a review saying that they weren't sure where the $144 million all went to. Trust me, it went into the special effects. I can attest to that. The finale definitely goes over the top in that regard.
I definitely gives this the Siskel & Ebert thumbs up. It entertained me much, much more than I thought I would be going into it. Plus, you'll want to stick around during and after the credits, to see some extra little bits. Plus a little teaser for the sequel. Actually, a big teaser. ^_^
First, the matter of the four main characters. I was worried that they were going to shoehorn them into the "Peter Venkman", "Ray Stantz", "Egon Spengler" and "Winston Zeddemore" roles hard. Nothing could be further from the truth. The new Ghostbusters have their own individual personalities, and that certainly makes this a whole different entity. You can't even work Leslie Jones into the Winston Zeddemore character, because she's far, far more fleshed out than Ernie Hudson was in his role. Everyone gets their own generous helping of screentime, too. Everyone shines in their own way.
Secondly, the technological aspect of the Ghostbusters movie. They really went above and beyond when it came to not only designing the main power packs, but there's... lots of other toys that get brought into the fray. Whoever had to come up with the new ghost-catching weapons had an absolute blast, because they get used heavy in the climax, and it's a real treat to see if all go down in... 3D. Always see it in 3D if you can.
Lastly, the matter of the main villain. Not quite as strong as the setup from the original Ghostbusters, but he's lightyears better than Vigo the Carpathian in the sequel. Plus, they bring out all the stops in the climax, and some of the individual ghosts that show up are rather spectacularly done. I read a review saying that they weren't sure where the $144 million all went to. Trust me, it went into the special effects. I can attest to that. The finale definitely goes over the top in that regard.
I definitely gives this the Siskel & Ebert thumbs up. It entertained me much, much more than I thought I would be going into it. Plus, you'll want to stick around during and after the credits, to see some extra little bits. Plus a little teaser for the sequel. Actually, a big teaser. ^_^
Sirdan87
~sirdan87
I do plan to see the movie myself. Thanks for this little reassurance.
Dwilliestyle
~dwilliestyle
I would think that, even despite all the negativity that came out ever since this movie was announced, a lot of people (even the naysayers) would still go see it just for curiosity. Seems like it paid off for you.
you can pretty much blame recent crappy reboots/adaptations/sequels/remakes (looking at you M. Night Shamalamadingdong's Avatar: The Last Airbender), people's nostalgia for Ghostbusters, and the awful awful trailer which has to be the worst trailer you could make for a movie for all the backlash that this movie got. It's a mediocre movie at best and another Hollywood cash-in at worst.
