Ghostbusters...huh?

Here we are, just over thirty years after the release of the seminal original comedy classic movie Ghostbusters and The-Powers-That-Be released the first official trailer of it's 2016 reboot.  In case you haven't seen it yet, here you go.

Now that that train wreck is over, WTF?  

The original Ghostbusters is unarguably a classic piece of American cinema.  It starred good people, it was directed by good people.  Hell, I bet even the craft service was staffed by good people.  Fast-forward thirty years and the wh*res over at Columbia Pictures agreed to follow it up with, based off of what they've given us in the trailer, an over-CGI'd reshoot of Bridesmaids.  I'm not typically one to judge a movie on first impressions and I prefer to see a movie in it's entirety before I formulate opinions but based on this trailer, cautious optimism would be very lucky right now.

To get this out of the way right away, I have absolutely no issue with an all-female cast for Ghostbusters.  Women are amazing actors and anyone with the talent and the ability to pull out the qualities needed to establish their characters and progress the narrative deserve my respect and appreciation for the work they do.

The Acting:

The acting is very slap-sticky and dumbed-down.  The characters are just that...characters.  They play on cinematic and cultural stereotypes and seem to do very little to pull themselves out of those roles. The main characters seem very shallow in their portrayal; it comes off like community theater.  The Tolan character looks like it fell out of a Wayans Brothers movie, using catch phrases and over-the-top reactions in an attempt to increase the humor factor.  The Holtzmann character is only represented as an eccentric, nerdy rebel in her time on screen and leaves little to make any real conclusions about.  The movie boasts planned cameos by most of the remaining members of the original movie and I hope, for their sake they knew what they agreed to before they signed on.

The "Look":

The supernatural aspects of the movie look like an amalgamation of the original movie and the big-screen version of Scoobie Doo.  Lots of bright colors and glowing auras.  It looks campy and comical compared to the ethereal effects used in the original.   The ghosts come off as nonthreatening, almost adorable so there isn't much suspense to draw you in.  Since it was shot digital (more than likely in high def), it doesn't have that gritty feeling you can only get from a celluloid capture. In my opinion, it's a huge part of the mise-en-scene of the original movie.

To say I have concerns about this movie would be a serious understatement.  The trailer gives every impression this will be another over-computerized, under-thought film pushed out by the Hollywood machine strictly for profit.  Another, dare I say, "Gods of Egypt".

Fortunately, a fan immediately re-cut the trailer almost as soon as it posted and made a more palpable vision to settle ruffled feathers.  If only this guy had been on set....