Ghostbusters (2016) Reboot: Does Anyone Actually Remember This?

[Winter]

The first review on DeviantArt I ever did was one for the 2016 Reboot and my thoughts on said reboot where summed up in the title of the review, Remarkably Unremarkable. I saw the film and nothing about it really stood out to me, it had some good jokes, some weak jokes, no real memorable characters, the effects weren't that impressive or bad and for the life of me outside of the "Room Full of Creepy" I cannot remember a single line of dialogue from this film.

And that seems to be the general consensus because no one has really talked about this movie after it's release except when it comes to conversations about Ghostbusters: Afterlife and even then it's more of a footnote. Say what you will about Ghostbusters 2, but people REMEMBER that film. It's still quoted, talked about and debated even though it's generally seen as a weaker entry in the series with many still pointing out how it's inferior to the first film while others, myself included, like the film and see it as an improvement over the first one in many ways.

But the reboot? Even those who like the film don't talk about it, don't quote it, don't use clips from it in a review and don't seem to really remember it. I honestly only thought of it because I was going through my reviews and forgot that the Reboot was the first thing I ever reviewed and I had trouble remembering what happened in the film.

Just for comparison, as much as I don't like it I do still remember Beast Machines. I remember all the feelings I had when watching it, the moments it shocked me, the moments it made me angry for the treatment of characters I came to love. I remember the moments I did enjoy that kept me engaged in the show. I remember Megatron making himself into a Big Giant Head and Rattrap's Unicron quote about it. I remember the excitement I felt for this show when it was coming out, the trailer/music video made for it and dancing to it with my sister and being excited for a comic sequel that was designed to undo the damage done by the show and give Beast Wars a better send off then what it got.

But Ghostbuster: Answer the Call? It's just there. It exists. It is the reboot no one really wanted and one that everyone seems to have forgotten about and is only talked about because it's part of Ghostbusters. It's not that bad, but it's not that great either.

But what do you all think, does anyone here really remember the Reboot of Ghostbusters, and please keep things civil there's really nothing in the film to get THAT worked up over.

[CharlesPhipps]

The reason for that is simple: It isn't any good.

The movie was attacked viciously and brutally by people for misogynist reasons and the fact it wasn't a direct sequel but a remake with a female cast. It received a shit ton of awful attacks and showed the full breadth of just what a toxic sewer fan culture was. It made many of us Ghostbuster fans ashamed and some of us showed up to give it a chance.

And the movie is crap.

I mean, the actresses are fine, but the script is one of the worst ones I've ever seen in my life. The original Ghostbusters worked as both a legitimate supernatural adventure and a comedy in the same way Back to the Future does both as a sci-fi picture. This movie went all comedy. Except it wasn't funny.

At all.

[Nealithi]

I remember that I was not allowed to dislike it because women were the main cast.
It was Meh. The parts I liked were the possession bits. Where Rowan possessed Abby and apologized because he did not realize it would be such a mess. Or when he took over Kevin and said he should have hit the gym more because he was shocked at how strong Kevin's body was.

[McAvoy]

Because it wasn't that good. I know some people enjoyed it. But from what I have seen the style of comedy and the directing was considered to be bad.

The director went full slapstick, full on jokes, pretty much everything.

Take for example, the final battle, they walk in there all badass as far shots are concerned only for one of them to trip because there was gum on the floor.

Honestly woukd have worked ass parody of Ghostbusters called Spirit Chasers or something.

There is a bit of sexism/feminist themes in it that I won't go into.

[CharlesPhipps]

The feminism didn't make the movie bad. The movie bad made the movie bad.

[clearspira]

The feminism didn't make the movie bad. The movie bad made the movie bad.

The feminism was pretty fecking cringe too though. It was one of those "turnabout is fair play" views on equality where they treated Thor like a blonde bimbo in a way the 1960s films used to do to women.

[clearspira]

For me, the film sucked because I hate Melissa Mccarthy's style of acting where you just roll the camera and gabble for a bit. Supposedly there was hours of this on the cutting room floor.

Shame really. She's not a bad actor. I really liked her in that film about the author who forged fan letters.

[Thebestoftherest]

I think they needed a better script and the director didn't know how to make this film work.

[CharlesPhipps]

The best parodies are things that also successfully work as an example of the film genre they're parodying:

* Young Frankenstein
* Galaxy Quest

And so on.

GHOSTBUSTERS works as a comedy because it can be mostly taken "seriously" in the context that one con man, one Lovecraft protagonist, and one goofy eccentric plus just a guy they recruited off the street are dealing with a situation way above their paygrade. Which is, essentially, a Call of Cthulhu story where an ancient evil god is going to show up and destroy the world unless they stop it. The fact they're a bunch of fame-hungry working class schlubs (degrees aside) is what makes the film a classic and hilarious.

GHOSTBUSTERS (2016) has one genuinely funny moment. It's the moment where they are planning to get a Firehouse and end up having to rent the upper floor of a Chinese restaraunt. This being New York, of course, they aren't going to be able to afford the former. That's because it arises organically from the storytelling as well as world. It is a nice contrast to the original but it's not making fun of it either.

The ghosts in 2016 are also made Scooby Doo levels of terrifying, except actually, Scooby Doo is quite good at this level of humor. The baddies are meant to be at least plausible that should our heroes be caught by them, they will be murdered, if not by ghosts then by the real estate agents or pirates that are pretending to be ghosts.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

I'm apparently the only person on this forum who liked it and found it genuinely funny. My biggest complaint is that the ghost designs could have been more creative.