Who ya gonna call? Apparently someone else, because if this trailer provides any indication to go by, Sony Pictures and director Paul Feig have shown that they clearly don't understand what the essence of Ghostbuster is/was. This reboot to one of the most beloved films in history isn't just a big Twinkie. This flick could very well be headed towards a disaster of biblical proportions with its fandom. Old Testament, real wrath of God type stuff. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes... The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... MASS HYSTERIA!
Sorry... Always wanted to do that... But please allow me a moment to elaborate on where I fundamentally stand on not only this trailer, but on the franchise as a whole. Normally I don't make it a point to discuss things like trailers on this blog, as I'm not a very reactionary type of person, but I do feel a special exception must be made in this case. I've taken the time to gather my thoughts, and quantify my feelings. I'll have to dig into some personal history in order to provide some perspective, but I think it's necessary in order for you to understand where I'm coming from in regards to anything Ghostbusters related.
For anyone who knows me even somewhat personally this comes as no big revelation, but I freaking love and adore Ghostbusters. It's without a doubt one of the first things I was ever sure I was a fan of, and I have a long. personal history with this franchise. I've been told by my parents that my first words were "Green Ghost" as an infant... Yeah, it goes that deep.
Is the first film easily one of my all-time favorite movies? Is the atomic weight of cobalt 58.9? Of course it is! I quote Ghostbusters on an almost daily basis. Despite some of its obvious flaws, I even love Ghostbusters 2. As kids my older brother (Justin) and I made it a point to not only eat those green Ninja Turtle pies, but to also drink those Ecto-Cooler drinks well into the end of our elementary school lives, because we loved Ghostbusters Goddammit! I watched the cartoon with Justin to an almost religious degree when coming home from school, and yes, that even includes The Extreme Ghostbusters. Between my brother and myself, I'm sure we had most of the toys. When we had a radio that could record our voices, we did our own Ghostbusters radio plays on cassette tapes. Justin and I used to pretend we were Ghostbusters (by using backpacks and flashlights) in our front yard at night. The Scoleri Bros was our favorite ones to bust by the way.
Before I ever thought about picking up a pen for myself, I used to ask my father (who is also an artist by hobby) to draw me pictures of the Ninja Turtles, and the Ecto-1. When I finally made the decision to take up art, some of my very first artistic en devours involved me trying to draw that exact vehicle. I've been drawing since I was four years old, and to this day I still find myself sitting down and doing small exercises utilizing that car. I'd be completely remiss if I didn't admit that the inner child part of me would love nothing more than to be an artist for an official Ghostbusters related product. I've had so many ideas for Ghostbusters for so very long.
Hell, to this day (even though we're both in our thirties) I still have hours long nerd-slang-laden talks with Justin of how cool it would be to form a full fledged Ghostbusters league of our very own. Watching the fandom blossom and grow over the years (thanks to the wonders of the internet) has helped make the franchise continue well passed what anyone probably ever thought it could or should go. It's because of our collective love for the boys in beige that the fantastic 2009 video game even happened. For those who don't know, Ghostbusters: The Video Game is essentially the third movie we never got. It was easily one of the most fun games I played on the last console generation, and simply writing about it here makes me want to pop it in and play it again.
Frankly I could gush on and on about my deep love for this franchise, and the incredibly intimate role it has played in not only forming my sense of humor (seeing how I pull most of my dry wit from that movie) but simply informing my life in general. Many fans say this, but I really do mean it when I say that Ghostbusters is a cornerstone for me, pure and simple. When I first heard that the newest installment was set to come out on my birthday of all days (July 15) it felt almost like divine providence.
Except... It kinda wasn't... I watched the above trailer, and well...
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| All female, all awesome. |
Unfortunately casting issues don't look to be the problem we're dealing with. It essentially comes down to the fact that this movie looks like it is trying way too hard to be funny, and nothing is worse than something desperately trying to be funny. One of the many things that made the first picture work was that it was a sci-fi horror flick that happened to have a good deal of humor to it, thanks in part to solid direction.
I'll explain further. While humor definitely has a part to play with Ghostbusters, it's ultimately a secondary element. Regardless of its inherently silly premise, the original film was conceptualized and shot as if it were a somewhat serious sci-fi action/horror movie mashup. The comedy of Ghostbusters stems more so from the delivery of the (arguably loose) script, and the interaction/clash of the character's differing personalities. At its core, Ghostbusters has always had a darker, more serious tone which kept it grounded. It's because of that grounded tone that the comedic elements of the movie come off as being more natural and incidental (much like how funny situations among friends play out in reality) due to the characters simply being characters, rather than someone reciting scripted jokes. This remake screams of boring punch-lines we've been exposed to hundreds of times before, and none of it lands... At least with me... Never mind the fact that the humor looks to be the core of the experience. There doesn't appear to be any of that semi-dark tone to ground this new movie, and it looks like an extremely lesser product for it.
Compounding issues further, is that this new team feels less like they're characters, and more like cliche' archetypes. Now I know I can't truly judge the movie going off of just a two minute trailer. I know first-hand of how trailers can be deceiving and this flick could very well surprise me, but frankly I just don't see that happening. The exposition about each of the characters is incredibly lazy writing, and I'm fairly certain the studio really did think that this was some of the best material the movie could offer going forward. It's (much to my chagrin) some of the most lowest common denominator schlock I've seen in a while. The whole ghost barfing on someone, along with one girl screaming "The power of Patty compels you!" while hitting her friend bit smacks of something you'd see in one of those god-awful Scary Movie type flicks. Even the whole "Ow! That's going to leave a mark!" line is painfully old-hat. Frankly, none of the characters shown in this trailer are all that humorous or original.
And speaking of originality, it's sad to see that this movie looks like it's just going to be a retread of the first installment, only with way worse humor. I've seen some reboots/remakes/reimaginings that fall short of capturing the spirit (no pun intended here) of their predecessors, but this one just outright fails. I mean, fall flat on your face fails. This new Ghostbusters reeks of being designed by comity, and looks to be adhering to some sort of Hollywood algorithm in regards to how movies are made today. From the now cliche' minimalist slow piano version of the iconic theme (which was used for Jurassic Park and several other I.P. relaunches now) that's mostly meant to cash in on some form of nostalgia, to the ridiculously quick cuts that ultimately tell us nothing about the actual film, to the overabundance of CGI, everything with this picture just feels hollow.
The ghosts lack the imagination of the previous installments, which only serves to make this reboot look even more derivative and bland. All the ghosts are blue and green, and humanoid, with Slimer being the only mild exception so far. If you watch the first two movies, you'll see a plethora of very creative designs, a lot of which were also pretty damn scary to look at. The only somewhat inspired ghost in the trailer is the stilt man ghost, and even he is a bit boring at first glance. The effects on the ghosts look like they're straight out of the Haunted Mansion movie (which was awful) and it's obvious that a good deal of the action in the trailer is taking place on a green-screen set. How is it that such a big I.P. is seemingly getting such a lackluster treatment? Again, I will concede that there very well could be more interesting ghosts in the actual movie, but if we're going to talk about what this trailer fails to do, then that is get me excited.
There's only a small handful of designs I actually think are kinda cool. I do find myself liking the overall presentation of the proton-packs, and the new Ecto-1 doesn't look too terrible. The new jumpsuits are fine enough, and I do dig some of the new instruments like the proton-knuckles and the duel pistols. I have next to no doubt that we will at the very least get to see some cool busting bits at the climax.
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| This doesn't have to be terrible, but it's really looking that way so far guys... |
As of the writing of this post, there is another trailer that has been made available, which you can watch here, and even this one is failing to grab positive views. It's even worse when you consider that this trailer was more than likely put together as a response to all the negative reactions from the first time around. Again, if I'm going to be frank, this trailer doesn't really improve matters at all. In fact, this trailer may be somewhat slightly more deficient, as the humor in this one I find to be even less in line with the spirit of the original. Be it Chris Hemsworth being portrayed as a handsome, but apparently stupid man, who only gets hired because of his looks (at least that's what's being implied from the trailer) to the way overdone crowd-surfing joke, I'm finding myself less amused and more worried.
What pains me the most, is that it doesn't even have to be this way. Screen writers like Max Landis have written amazing treatments for a new Ghostbusters flick. Perhaps one of the biggest sins this movie is committing, is trying to reboot what is an inarguable classic. I think what everyone wants (myself included) is a continuation of Ghostbusters, not a reboot. The world of Ghostbusters is fun, interesting, and exciting, and I don't think there is a single fan of the series who wouldn't want to see what the world of Ghostbusters would be like thirty years later. Before anyone tries to claim that it needs to be a reboot because the franchise is thirty years old, I'd like to point out that Mad Max: Fury Road, Star Wars; Episode VII, and Creed were all sequels from franchises that are over thirty years old. All of these movies were hits, and all of them acknowledge their continuity. I don't want to hear that it can't be done, or that there isn't an audience.
Ghostbusters is an iconic I.P. that means something to nearly countless fans all over the world. This was a film many of us not only grew up with, but truly inspired us. One friend I have, who works as an engineer, only took to that field because the character of Egon Spengler was his childhood hero. Seeing Ghostbusters be treated so poorly here is like seeing a horribly unfunny clown dance on top of your recently deceased dog's grave. Sure you still have those great memories, but this disrespects and tarnishes the legacy. If that analogy isn't cutting it for you, then I'll say it's sort of like watching this clip here, just pretend that Bill Murray is the Ghostbusters franchise.
While I am maintaining some modicum of hope that the actual film could be decent in the end, I'm certainly not gonna hold my breath. Seriously, this looks like nothing more than a soulless cash grab. While I do understand that movies are fundamentally a business, they're also an art form. Witnessing a work of art that many consider to be something so great, and so renowned, get milked by the corporate machine kills any real enthusiasm the masses could have. Right now it looks like the creators completely missed the mark on this, and I think the rest of the movie-going public is essentially fed-up. The negative reaction to these trailers has been overwhelming in more ways than one, and it may be a sign of the tide finally turning. After years of lackluster reboots and retreads, of Michael Bay's Transformers caliber films, this flick may be the straw that's finally broken the audience's collective backs. Only time will tell now if this new Ghostbusters can truly succeed, and I'm more than certain that the rest of world will be paying attention come July 15.
I know I will...
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