Ghostbusters

(2016) ** 1/2

A few nuclear physicists have been investigating the paranormal all their lives.  Something changes, and multiple specters start to appear around NYC.  So, they steal some equipment from the institutions that drove them out, and devote themselves full time to trying to capture and study ghosts.

Remade of course from the 1984 classic, the new Ghostbusters is different enough from the original, and even improves on it in a number of ways, but overall, works less well as a film.  The film isn't lacking for comedy.  Melissa McCarthy does her schtick well.  Kate McKinnon is definitely the highlight as the quirky egghead, and Leslie Jones is brilliant doing her Leslie Jones thing.  Chris Hemsworth too shows that he may have a future in comedy once he hangs up the Thor cape.  In many ways, this cast may actually be superior to the Murray/Aykroyd thing of the original.

Unfortunately, Ghostbusters struggles to create continuity.  Similar to Paul Feig's previous films and SNL skits, there are isolated scenes that are hilarious, but overall, there is little that seems to propel the story forward.

Then, scenes and toys are interjected as if the film was required to use up as much of its budget as possible.  What results is little sense when regarding the arsenal of ghost-fighting devices.  Do they stun the ghosts?  kill them?  Capture them?  There's really no sense to it.  And the final solution is really invented at the spur of the moment with one line of dialogue declaring that it would work.  And the ghosts are a beautiful pallatte of neon blues and greens that look so corny they would fit far better in, ironically, an '80s comedy.  Visually, the film looks much similar to Eddie Murphy's The Haunted Mansion (did anybody see that?  Because that's not a good thing).