Light fun with some amusing lines, Ghostbuster’s 2016 tried.
Ghostbusters 2016 has attracted some serious unwanted attention. From having one of the most disliked movie trailers ever on YouTube to reinforcing negative Black American stereotypes to poor commercial performance it’s been a hit for Sony.
** Light Spoiler Alert! **
As I contemplated writing a blog discussing how it’s playing out, my wife came in and rightfully demanded that we should at least watch the film. In being a great husband, I agreed to that. I put aside my bias, views and conservative thinking.
Ghostbusters 2016 wasn’t bad! I enjoyed alot of it. My wife chirped, giggled and even defended my critique of it.
I am going to give it my pro’s and con’s and give my own star rating on what I felt about it. Enjoy:
The Pro’s:
– Respect for the original: Many complained that it didn’t respect the original with the ‘girl Ghostbusters’ in there. Totally disagree! It gave great respect, cameos and honoured the original 1984 film.
– You feel the streets of NY: It was quite real, gritty and you feel the character’s frustration on dealing with bureaucrats, bad food and surviving in the modern world.
– Some great slapstick: It was great light entertainment. Enjoyed it with some great scenes.
– Chris Hemsworth: He was funny and a total pleasure to watch in action. The moment he was on camera he gave the whole film humour and depth (and made fun of men big time).
The Con’s:
– It didn’t feel like a movie: It felt more like watching a television show with a series of sketches all linked together. There was no real plot with any depth for review.
– Man bashing: I love making jokes at the expense of anyone (including men), but sometimes it went too far. This made the women themselves look weaker.
– Reinforcement of racial stereotypes: I had a real problem with how they treated the role of Patty (Leslie Jones). Instead of breaking some new ground, they made her the rail worker, ‘sassy’ woman of the streets. Pity on this one.
– Poor fighting scenes: The actual fighting of the ghosts wasn’t scary or even on edge. It looked more like a CGI fest and the weapons were quite questionable.
– Chris Hemsworth: He was so good, he weakened the other characters.
Overall Thoughts and Ratings:
It was an average film and something you can enjoy on DVD or iTunes later on. I certainly wouldn’t go to the cinemas to watch it and also felt it was no where near as ‘ground breaking’ as the original.
The original was a film that anyone can enjoy, with the 2016 version not having the strength or the wide appeal. With it’s heavy feminist humour, crudeness and ‘girl power focus’, it’s a film for those with an interest in social justice and feminism who love taking the mickey out of men (I love taking the mickey out of anyone, including myself for a laugh)
My advice and thinking? Watch it when you get some downtime. But don’t rush to a cinema. I also wish Sony and co never mixed politics with Ghostbusters, it weakened a great movie.
Tragically too, I also don’t think this shows women as strong characters or anything like that. It seems that they tried to do a ‘me too’ of men’s roles and not stand alone (whereas the new Wonder Woman coming out looks awesome!).
Thanks for the read, stay awesome and enjoy!
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