I actually have not seen the original Ghostbusters (1984). Therefore, I did not have anything to compare to this 2016 version.
(Before I start, I’ll quickly mention that I happened to watch this at an old-school Drive-In theatre; my first time watching a movie here in 19 years since The Lost World: Jurassic Park).
The good: Some of Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy’s random jokes and references (Patrick Swayze, Jaws) were laugh-out-loud worthy.
The not so good: The whole climax. Battling ghost in New York was not entertaining.
In this movie, Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy’s characters were once friends who drifted apart. They wrote a ghost book together and share a fascination with these haunted spirits. They reunite one day when they learn that some ghosts are showing up in their neighbourhood. Or something. Eventually four women end up together hunting (and busting) ghosts.
Unfortunately, the actual story was not entertaining. What was funny, however, were the random jokes by Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy. I can’t help but semi-spoil one where at one point, Wiig references the mayor from Jaws. The delivery and the randomness of these types of lines are gold to me.
Chris Hemsworth also appears in this film as a clueless moron who get a job as the ladies’ secretary, based on his hot Thor looks. His part was mildly humourous, if not, just plain absurd (I just realize that this was the first time never seen Hemsworth in anything outside of the Marvel films).
The climax is forgettable with shooting and blasting at CGI ghost characters. I’d rather have the ladies talk more and make more obscure pop culture references. If you’re looking for something mindless with a few laughs (just a few), you can check this out but it definitely won’t be the summer hit you’ll be talking about a week later.
Ryan RFT
Ghostbusters (2016): 5.5/10
RFT's Pop Element Blog 