GHOSTBUSTERS

★★★★

GIRLPOWER OF THE SUPERNATURAL KIND

THEATRICAL REVIEW
By Brent Davidson
12th July 2016

'Ghostbusters' is something so iconic; it was safe to say everyone held their breath with hesitant anticipation for the reboot. Then once it was announced that the cast would be gender-flipped, the internet went into meltdown. Almost all of the ghouls of the internet decided now was their time to voice their disgust at women tainting the “good” name of the Ghostbusters franchise. These same people no doubt spent hours of their adolescence idolising female action stars like Sigourney Weaver, yet somehow now despise them. Now that the dust has settled, could it be that all of the haters were getting worked up over nothing, and the new chapter of 'Ghostbusters' is a worthy addition to the franchise?

Set in current day Manhattan, a rag-tag bunch of scientists team up to save the city from a ghostly apocalypse. Sorry if my recap of the plot seems brief, but if you don’t get what a 'Ghostbusters' film will be about by now, it’s probably too late to save you. I mean, the plot is almost entirely given away in the title!

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First things is first. Haters need to back off because these ladies are both seriously funny and brilliant. Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones have to be some of the most hilarious women with the strongest presence in the business right now! How anyone could have doubted their ability is beyond me. The script is co-written by the director Paul Feig ('Bridesmaids', 'Spy'), and is so well-constructed not only with jokes but also being self-referential enough to hit back at the criticism of the reboot. I love it when this happens – really in almost anything! An honourable mention too must be made to Chris Hemsworth, who's showing he’s not just the meat machine of 'Thor' – he’s also a master comedic meat machine – who would have guessed? (But no one is complaining.)

Nostalgia plays a big part in ‘Ghostbusters’.

Nostalgia plays a big part in ‘Ghostbusters’, from the iconic score that has been successfully adapted by Theodore Shapiro, to the references that will have (and in my screening did have) people clapping and cheering. There's even some extremely satisfying cameos throughout – it's very hard to be disappointed by this film. The only thing it was a little bit lacking in - or at least that I wanted to see more of - was these strong women kick even more ghost-butt! Don’t get me wrong, they kick a lot of butt, but one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole experience seeing them use new whackier inventions and having a good time showing they are a force to be reckoned with!

The 3D element actually works really well and is really fun and sometimes scary (yes, I did flinch more times that I care to admit). There is nothing better than having a ghost pop out at you and spray you with a stream of ectoplasmic goop!

An answer to the call of nostalgia, ‘Ghostbusters’ will have you laughing, ducking and following along with all of the fun and action. This is the blockbuster everyone wanted to see, and definitely won’t disappoint! And to those haters who didn’t know if an all-female lead cast would stack up against the all-male cast of yesteryear... well, let's just say – I know who I’d call.

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