For more than a decade, there have been several unfulfilled promises in regards to a new Ghostbusters film. A sequel has never beat around the bush to get made more than this one. It’s been an endless series of rumors, updates, halted productions, actors dropping in and out of the project, even the one attempt that turned into the 2009 video game. It wasn’t until the unfortunate passing of comedy legend, Harold Ramis, that director Ivan Reitman decided an exact sequel is not meant to be. Knowing full well Ghostbusters just wouldn’t be the same without him, Sony Pictures made the decision to go down a new, somewhat questionable avenue with the franchise.
Much to the dismay of hardcore fans the world over, the studio decided to create an entirely new story with, in place of the usual four male heroes, a cast of leading ladies: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. With the first trailer dropping last week, we finally got an official glimpse of the finished product. The footage, however, has never created a more divided fan base between those looking forward to the release and those who have all but renounced their proton packs.
The amount of toxicity in response to the rebooted franchise is palpable. Mostly of the hatred is directed at the choice of casting females as the new Ghostbusters team. The casting of the four femme fatales is not only an abysmal reason to immediately reject the project, but the women chosen couldn’t have been more strategically selected. Following in Ghostbusters tradition, the filmmakers have adhered to the time-tested formula and drawn mostly from the Saturday Night Live pool. In the way of Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, Wiig, McKinnon, and Jones are alumni of the 40 year late night sketch comedy show. The decision in itself is a subtle, respectable nod to the roots the series has planted. While that isn’t the sole reason to back the movie, the fact of the matter is these three comediennes have proven they have the correct chemistry to function as the comedic engine to drive the plot. Even Melissa McCarthy and director Paul Feig have surprised audiences on several occasions, considering the runaway successes of films like Bridesmaids and Spy, projects that were initially expected to disappoint.
The one thing we can all agree on is the overall look of the movie. The stylization is a perfect marriage of the charmingly simple special effects from the original and the seamlessly rendered CG visuals we have now. With such a novel take on this movie, the filmmakers used the opportunity to shy away from mirroring the same exact queues, and approaching the material with their own, individual spin, like the Ecto-1 built from a hearse as opposed to an old ambulance, their headquarters in an abandoned Chinese restaurant instead of a firehouse, and even the plain looking receptionist replaced with the god-like Chris Hemsworth. Not to mention, the chance to expand the arsenal with new proton pistols and laser-guided ghost traps. Despite the beloved Ghostbusters touchstones not really requiring a reimagining, it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no room for different ideas or interpretations, especially when they function on such a pleasing cinematic level.
You simply can’t make the argument that “it’ll never be as good as the original.” Removing our nostalgia goggles for a second, we can all agree that Ghostbusters 2 wasn’t even as good as the first! There’s just no way for that lightning to strike twice. All the elements of the first movie were incubated in just the right way to be etched in our collective minds as one of the greatest cinematic achievements of our time. That being said, expecting this latest incarnation to come even remotely close to the magic captured 32 years ago will leave you bitterly disappointed, and expecting otherwise is simply irrational. That doesn’t mean the movie will be a complete sacrilege to the series.
If you pay any attention to the state of the current movie climate, subpar, decades late sequels are the norm, most of which are complete cash-grabs and unfunny, undeserving piles of schlock. Hypothetically, if Harold Ramis were still with us and Sony was able to work out the perfect deal for the entire cast to return, giving us the sequel for which we’ve been asking for years, chances are, it’d be nothing but self-referential, rehashed, unimaginative, poorly executed blasphemy. Taking that into consideration, it’s hard to assume that a movie with a new team in possibly a new universe would be so terrible that it actually tarnishes a legacy already so well preserved.
It’s possible the movie won’t be great, but it’s just as likely it might surprise us all and become way more enjoyable than anyone could have anticipated. Keeping our expectations reasonable may be the only hope the project has of becoming memorable in a positive way.
