I wanted to like this, really I did - I know a lot of male critics are saying this, and maybe I'm more sexist than I realise, but I did hate the hate campaign against this, wish those trolls would go to gaol and I really liked Bridesmaids and Spy.... but I feel this missed the mark.
It took me a while to pinpoint what was wrong - it's got the basic story still, an amazing cast, decent special effects, respectful cameos. I did feel it was made by people who weren't that into ghosts. This is something I never appreciated about the first movie, but it was genuinely spooky, with a New York that consisted of old atmospheric buildings, and a real feel for the paranormal. (I understand Dan Aykroyd was big into that stuff.) This isn't spooky, and the ghost stuff lacks atmosphere. In Spy I really felt Paul Feig loved spy movies - their conventions, tropes etc. I didn't feel from this that he liked ghost stories. There was no passion underneath it.
I also missed the Sigourney Weaver/Rick Moranis parts. The film could've done with a genuine love story; Kirsten Wiig has a crush on Chris Hemsworth to be sure - and Hemsworth's turn is very funny. But he's a comic relief person - there's no genuine romance there. In the original there was a chance that Weaver and Bill Murray would make it in the future - so when she was at threat at the end, there was genuine stakes. We didn't care about the vague populace of New York but we did about Weaver. There's no Weaver here.
There's no Rick Moranis either, unfortunately - the film cries out for a comic support character to come in and steal the show (it's not as though the filmmakers wouldn't have known someone). Moranis brought a great deal to the original Ghostbusters - a hugely entertaining subplot - and this version doesn't replace it.
Finally, I felt the casting wasn't right. Wiig and Melissa McCarthy are genuine movie stars, but neither is seen to their best feature - maybe they needed to switch roles or something. Kate McKinnon is a major debit. She's a phenomenally talented performer, she has X factor - but she doesn't work here; she pulls focus from her scenes, doing little "bits" like having glasses hang from her hair. Her character acts cool all the time instead of being invested in what's going on. This does make for a nice moment at the end when she connects with the others but it's too late - I wish they'd made her more into ghosts or the friendship or something.
Lots of funny moments but the film doesn't work. I wish they'd have another go at it because I think the potential for something special is there.
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