Movie review: Ghostbusters directed by Paul Feig

Ghostbusters

Initial release: July 14, 2016 (Australia)

Director: Paul Feig

Executive producer: Dan Aykroyd

Producers: Ivan Reitman, Amy Pascal

Screenplay: Paul Feig, Katie Dippold

Synopsis.

Paranormal researcher Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) and physicist Erin Gilbert are trying to prove that ghosts exist in modern society. When strange apparitions appear in Manhattan, Gilbert and Yates turn to engineer Jillian Holtzmann for help. Also joining the team is Patty Tolan, a lifelong New Yorker who knows the city inside and out. Armed with proton packs and plenty of attitude, the four women prepare for an epic battle as more than 1,000 mischievous ghouls descend on Times Square. 

Review: 4 stars out of 5 (Miss 9 says 5 out of 5 & Mst 11 says 4 out of 5)

I thoroughly enjoyed the 1984 version of Ghostbusters and I was initially hesitant about watching this because of the hype and the controversy but I needn’t have worried because this supernatural comedy was fantastic.

The opening scene was pretty spooky and completely freaked us all out, I instantly pulled my phone out to double check the rating but it was definitely PG. There were a few more freaky moments but nothing as creepy as the first.

Our main characters, a group of four women – Abby Yates, Erin Gilbert, Jillian Holtzmann and Patty Tolan were all fabulous and worked beautifully together; they were all so different but each bought something unique to the film.

For us, the stand out character was Jillian Holtzmann played by Kate McKinnon; she was all sorts of crazy and bought much humor to the film. We also get trademark Melissa McCarthy comedy that bought wonderful banter and many laughs.

The storyline is more or less the same as the original, except it’s now a group of women preparing for a battle against ghouls and a mad man that’s creating the havoc; there were some amazing special effects to keep us entertained from the start to end.

We also get a bit of eye candy with Aussie actor smexy Chris Hemsworth who plays Kevin but his character didn’t come with much depth, he played a ditzy assistant and despite being nice on the eyes I didn’t feel he contributed to much of the story overall.

We have cameos from original cast members, Ernie Hudson and Dan Aykroyd; we also get the original theme song; the old ghostbusters logo and Bill Murray who played an interesting role as a sceptic. It was a nice step back in time.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the new Ghostbusters. With a female main cast, many laugh out loud moments and amazing special effects we all found it to be highly entertaining with never a dull moment.