The idea of reboots and remakes in film is nothing new. We’ve seen everything from horror movies, comedies and superheroes get multiple interpretations left and right. As this weekend sees another reboot of a popular film franchise, it feels different. With superheroes, we’ve seen multiple interpretations throughout time, so that’s old hat. Nine different Batmans – no problem. With something like sci-fi, you can do crazy shenanigans with Star Trek and still connect it to the old series. Ghostbusters is sacred though. This is hallowed ground. I could sit here all day and tell you it doesn’t matter. I need to view it as its own thing. Blah, blah, blah.
While I found the cast intriguing, I immediately wrote the film off because of the director. I’m sorry, I detest Bridesmaids. It’s an obnoxious film. Then I saw Feig’s Spy last summer. As someone who judges comedy very harshly, this was one of the better ones I’ve seen in recent years. Feig blended comedy and action beautifully, and from that day forward, I was excited about the new Ghostbusters. Then the trailers happened.
Let’s take out the name Ghostbusters for just a minute. Let’s say we had never heard of this concept before in our lives. I truly believe we would still bash these trailers. Maybe not as much, but the comedy still looks awful, in particular Chris Hemsworth. “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.” Ugh. I’m sorry, I can’t get past that. I supported the film up until that point, but even talking about how bad the trailers are, it really started to hit me – they are redoing Ghostbusters. This doesn’t feel right.
I know the whippersnappers will scream at me, “This isn’t for you! It’s for a new generation! Your Ghostbusters are over, old man!” Okay, but explain this to me: If this is the new Ghostbusters, why are they bringing back Slimer? Why are they bringing back Marshmallow Man? Why are they doing a different spin on the “Mass Hysteria” scene? Why does the Ghostbusters symbol look exactly the same? This isn’t about a new Ghostbusters. This is about hackneyed throwbacks to older fans to maximize as much box office as possible. Yes, the movie could be great. We don’t know yet. All I have to go on right now are the trailers, and that’s what the trailers tell me this movie is.
[php] wp_link_pages(array(‘before’=>’
‘)); [/php]
=========================================================================================================
I was not a fan of the first two trailers, but I have to say the trailers that have played on TV for the past month or two have really changed my mind about this movie. Checking it out on Saturday, hoping it’s going to be awesome.