Review of Ghostbusters (2016) by Cronjob — 14 Jul 2016

Let me preface my comment by stating that I'm not precious about the original Ghostbusters. While I really enjoyed the original, I've probably only seen it twice in my nearly forty years on this planet. I'm not sure that I'd particularly care for a new Ghostbusters under any circumstances, because . . . it's just not a thing I'm that passionate about.

I'd also like to mention that before the new Ghostbusters, I've never heard of the directory "Paul Feig" nor (as per IMDB lookup) have I ever seen one of his movies. I've also never heard of any of the main characters in the cast. I've obviously heard of Andy Garcia and the cameos, but I've never heard of the four Ghostbusters or the dude that plays their secretary.

Anyway, I didn't expect much going in. After all, it's a remake/reboot/sequel/whatever of a franchise from thirty years ago. It's blatant money-grab banking on "hurr durr, that was a thing when I was a kid".

Aaaand.... it met all those expectations. The special effects looked like they were from an earlier season of the "new" Doctor Who. The comedy was . . . flat. The characters were all obnoxious stereotypes. The outfits looked like they took them out of a clown school. The ghosts they fought were . . . uninspired. Honestly, I just regretted everything about attending the film. I desperately longed for something else to do or the ability to run the film at 1.5x speed so I could get through it faster.

Please... don't give this film your money. We need to stop encouraging this kind of crap as the "go-to" over something creative and original.