Deadline said the studio was not planning to submit the Ghostbusters reboot to China’s cultural authorities until the coming week.
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No. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Leslie Jones, of “SNL“, is stuck playing the soul sister part, but she has a few amusing freestyle moments, as does McKinnon. McCarthy, Wiig, Jones and McKinnon are amusing, but they seem to be held back by the writing.
When asked what she thought of the movie, Erin said, “I think they got exactly what they set out to do!” Then there are countless times where danger-be-danged, McKinnon’s character remains nonplussed and gives a wink that can inspire a laugh.
It’s understandable to not want a film that one holds near and dear to be touched. To those who couldn’t fathom following up the 1984 classic with a gender-flipped reboot, she says, “People argued about it for two years, and now it’s like, OK, here’s the movie”. The YouTube comments section scene is a standout example of that. The cameos in particular aren’t particularly amusing, and seem to be there as a stamp of approval by the original cast on the new version. We even get bits about flatulence (of course there has to be jokes about flatulence).
In a cast full of Saturday Night Live alums, the breakout is Kate McKinnon. When taking everything else about the film into account, like how genuinely amusing and badass it is and the wonderful camaraderie between the actresses, there is so much here that makes this film stand on its own. Sony insiders are predicting a domestic debut around $40 million, a mediocre start considering the movie’s net production budget of $144 million (rebates and tax incentives brought it down from $154 million).
I ain’t afraid of no ghosts… or internet trolls. I definitely wasn’t bothered by the fact that the men were being replaced by women, although many “Ghostbusters” aficionados were distressed over the replacement.
Likewise, the one punchline gag with the “GB” assistant (Chris Hemsworth minus the “Thor” hair but with a pair of eye-popping jeans) grew stale quickly. Wiig is slightly better but mostly uninspired.
But it was still amusing. He’s threatening nothing short of an apocalypse which is quite common in the movies these days and quite a ludicrous plot point here. It’s a breezy, reasonably entertaining, family-oriented summer movie, which is something Hollywood has not managed to provide often in recent years despite the obvious demand. I absolutely loved the way he uses the format. No mere copy of the original, the movie tells a new story that successfully updates the concept for our era while at the same time offering the same kind of ghostly butt-kicking awesomeness I remember feeling when I first watched the original.
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McCarthy and Wiig, reteamed for the first time since “Bridesmaids”, are solid and Jones is a formidable presence. And Wiig and Feig worked together perfectly in “Bridesmaids”. I know my opinion is going to be the unpopular choice by far, but keep in mind I’m 17, and this movie was definitely created to introduce the franchise to the new generations. It does, however, pay a lot – too much – attention to placating “Ghostbusters” fans with the familiar showdowns and iconography of the original two films.
