Review of Ghostbusters (2016) by Kostas D — 17 Oct 2016

Not bad, a lot better than expected, and really really better than the flop it was hyped to be. The plot wasn't annoying, albeit predictable. Not particularly funny, and filled with gender reversal jokes. I enjoyed all the cameos, especially Dan Aykroyd. They get a free pass for using the nostalgia card because it was done quite elegantly.

It's not Ghostbusters, it's a Ghostbusters tribute band that tries a bit too much but you'd definitely pay to see them perform.

Feminism was crudely forced into this movie, sometimes implying stereotypes and other times just blatantly using them to move the plot. Chris Hemsworth's role for most of the movie was that of a superficial secretary in an 80s movie, while a big element of the protagonists is how society treats them. Not being able to afford the fire station, shamed in the public eye, and being the 'weird ghost girls'. Personally I think there was room for more creative re-telling of the story than a plain feminist twist.

The movie left me wondering what the antagonist's motives were, why and how he wanted to bring chaos to the world, besides him just being an undermined mad scientist moonlighting as a janitor. The actor was also a little undermined, as the writers kept the best lines for his evil spirit and whoever it possessed.

Overall, it wasn't the best movie of the year, but it wasn't an insult to the original either, and didn't deserve all the bad cred. It definitely needed less gender jokes and a better defined baddie (or no baddie at all).