Ghostbusters

This review may contain spoilers!

Leading up to this film I was joking about it being very similar to Pixels; it was supposed to be a joke at least...I would give Ghostbusters a 4.5/10.

If nothing else this film is funny, there's a lot of scenes that'll make you laugh and some really good quips that characters deliver. It's an action comedy that delivers at least half of what it promises. This film had a strong intro that promised a great blend of comedy and horror so I appreciated the impact that had. I really enjoyed the special effects used to make the ghosts and the energy blasts; maybe it wasn't the most authentic looking CGI but it did give the film a unique visual style. The score for this film was probably the best part, even the soundtrack had a lot of strengths barring one or two songs.

Zach Woods, who played Tour Guide, really kicked this film off to a great start; his rather comedic tour guide introduced both the light-hearted yet at times creepy nature of this film. Karan Soni, who played Bennie, had such a funny minor role in this film; Soni's interactions with McCarthy were some of the best scenes of the film. Steve Higgins, who played Dean, was a really fun minor role; he played an administrative role like Dance did but unlike Dance he managed to make his role extremely funny and noteworthy. Leslie Jones, who played Patty Tolan, had some incredible screen presence in this film; Jones presented a character who wasn't just entertaining or funny but who also had a fascinating wealth of knowledge about the history of New York. Bill Murray, who played Martin Heiss, really nailed it as a critical sceptic of the Ghostbusters team; his main appearance where he pressured the women into releasing a ghost was brilliant. Michael McDonald, who played Jonathan The Theater Manager, was a fun and flamboyant minor role; his protectiveness towards the state of his theater lead to some funny dialogue and moments. Dan Aykroyd, who played Cabbie, had a fantastic appearance in this film; Akyroyd's casual demeanour to the outbreak of a ghost apocalypse made for an entertaining cameo. Sigourney Weaver, who played Rebecca Gorin, was a great cameo to end the film on; her wild manner matched McKinnon's perfectly.

However the best performance came from Kate McKinnon, who played Jillian Holtzmann. I mean of all the Ghostbusters in this film McKinnon is without a doubt what was promised; a clever, funny, badass heroine who'll save the city without the help from anyone other than her friends. I enjoyed how unpredictable her character was, she was extremely bad at connecting with people so it was nice seeing her form friendships with the other Ghostbusters in this film. Her wild nature also lead to her being one of the funnier roles and I'd definitely call her a scene stealer. Add to the mix a kick ass scene where she takes out a swarm of ghosts while dual-wielding some sidearms she made and I'd say this is a Ghostbuster to remember.

This story opens with a rather boring examination of Wiig and MCarthy's characters and their relationship to one another, it's not very well put together and neither one seems to be an interesting character. So with a weak introduction to the two Ghostbusters who'll be our protagonists we're now swiftly jetted through pacing that establishes ghost hunting, government involvement, the addition of Kevin and the creation of ghost hunting tech way too quickly. The story moves to fast in an attempt to introduce as much content as it possibly can and it gets a bit overwhelming. On top of all that the antagonist for this film is really poorly written, his motivations for wanting a ghost apocalypse are weak and it all boils down to a final fight that's just agonisingly corny (I mean seriously?! The villain is beaten by a crotch shot?!). The cinematography doesn't really complement the nice visuals; the shots don't feel fluid or well framed, in fact you can feel the camera's presence in a few scenes which is a sign of poor direction I feel.

Kristen Wiig, who played Erin Gilbert, was such a boring character in this film; she didn't stand out as a protagonist nor was she comedic so her purpose as a lead was lost on me. Ed Begley Jr., who played Ed Mulgrave, was a rather boring lead into the ghost aspect of the film; his character wasn't funny like Woods' was at all. Charles Dance, who played Harold Filmore, was a really boring character; he didn't even have any impact upon the story or Wiig's character so he seemed a bit redundant. Melissa McCarthy, who played Abby Yates, surprised me by not being very funny in this film; McCarthy normally is a powerful comedic presence but in this film she felt like she was cast in the wrong role. Neil Casey, who played Rowan North, was such a uninteresting antagonist; his entire motivation for wanting an apocalypse was because everyone thought he was weird which is honestly at this point just bad writing. Chris Hemsworth, who played Kevin, was clearly trying a bit too hard as the idiot Kevin in this film; his only reason for being in this film besides Wiig drooling everywhere was so he could rather predictably be possessed by the film's villain. Michael Kenneth Williams and Matt Walsh, who played Agent Hawkins and Agent Rorke, were very hastily cobbled together government agents to add that aspect to the film; these guys didn't really need to be there when we already had the mayor character. Andy Garcia and Cecily Strong, who played Mayor Bradley and Jennifer Lynch, were introduced far too late into the film to have a lot of impact; it felt jarring that all of a sudden the high powers had a role in the film and that they knew about the ghosts. Ernie Hudson, who played Uncle Bill, was one of the more forgettable cameos within the film; Hudson isn't given the opportunity to be funny and instead is shoehorned in very briefly before the credits roll.