Ghostbusters

The original Ghostbusters movie was a huge success way back in 1984. It exploded onto the big screen providing a style of comedy never quite seen before.

Brilliant effects, a funny script and accompanied with a catchy soundtrack were the perfect ingredients for a cult classic.

There was an inevitable sequel, Ghostbusters 2 released in 1989 that went a long way in keeping the fans happy, but moviegoers always wanted more – thirty years after the original was released a new film was in production. 

This version of Ghostbusters manages to stand on its own convincingly, with an excellent cast who genuinely look like they're thoroughly enjoying their roles.

Right from the opening, all the way to the final scene I found myself sucked into the new storyline which pays tribute to the original whilst generating a relatively fresh feel to an old story.

The director, writer, and producer is Paul Feig who had a great run of super funny films with female lead characters like Spy, The Heat, and Bridesmaids.

Feig cleverly casts the four main characters of the movie who work with real chemistry – Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon are the Ghostbusters and they deliver the script perfectly.

But the surprise cast member is Chris Hemsworth who takes on a comedy role after playing Thor on the big Screen for many years.

He is excellent playing a supremely dumb receptionist and keep your eyes open for some of the original actors and creators of the franchise who pop up in various places throughout the film, weaving the old and the new together and somehow endorsing the handover to the fresh approach.

As expected the story does not waver too far from the original but is different enough to grab you and you don't immediately feel you are watching a substandard straight re-make.

The two lead characters Erin Gilbert (Kirsten Wiig) and Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) are both Scientists who had, in years past both worked together in the study of the Supernatural and released a book called “Ghosts from Our Past: Both Literally and Figuratively: The Study of the Paranormal”.

Erin becomes a respected Professor and Abby Yates Teams up with a whacky engineer called Jillian Holtzmann and the three are forced together again once they investigate a reported Haunting at Aldridge House.

The film kicks-off from this point at a great pace, packed full of one-liners, spectacular ghosts and lots of slime.

The three main characters are joined by Patricia Tolan (Leslie Jones) and Kevin Beckman (Chris Hemsworth) who complete the team at just the time as The Fourth Cataclysm is about to take place. 

All in all, Ghostbusters is thoroughly entertaining if you accept it for what it is and are looking for something fun to watch.