You have got to be kidding me. This is the movie that has caused so much hatred, rage, and controversy? This harmless, average, fun fluff piece? Pretty much everyone already knew if they liked the film or not before it was even released. I think a lot of people need a reality check not only on this reboot but on the original as well. Hailing the original as some sacramental divine piece of cinema that cannot be improved on is a complete joke. No, I don't hate the original. No, I don't love the reboot. They are both somewhere in between with the original barely edging this out in terms of filmmaking. If we were to rate comedies on their "laughs-per-minute" then the edge would go to this reboot.

But how, when the special effects in the reboot are clearly superior? Turns out that there is far more to film technicalities than bright lights, pretty colors, and realistic green slime. Where Ghostbusters (2016) falters is in the editing and how the humor is set up. The film is too focused on being a ball-busting roller-coaster ride; rarely stopping to catch its breath. There are quite a few legitimately funny bits in here that could have landed even better if the editing was more precise. Silence and patience can work wonders in action comedies. Hell, just look at what Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton were doing literally one hundred years ago.

The cast members are at their best when they aren't forced into doing line-o-rama improv. I found Leslie Jones and Melissa McCarthy to be the shining stars of this with Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon not far behind. McCarthy notably is a groan-inducer to most, but she does well in films that she or her husband did not write or direct (Spy, St. Vincent, and now this). Jones acts as the grounded everywoman who keeps the nutty ghost hunters in line, and for my money has the best comedic timing out of the four. McKinnon seems to have downed a few energy drinks before every shoot as she is incredibly extra in every scene, often more so than required. Wiig tries to bring an emotional backstory to the picture but it gets lost in all of the neon rainbow effects.

If you're one of the few somehow still on the fence about this: give it a try. It won't ruin your childhood, or kick your dog, or kill your family. At worst you'll walk away unamused and then proceed to pop in the original.

I really like the Ghostbusters franchise. And I don't mean that like some people, who mean they loved it when they were little and still love the movie now as they look back on it through the rosy tint of nostalgia. I cannot be like that; I didn't see Ghostbusters until I was a teenager, and I did not love the film until I was a young adult. However, once I click with a story, I never let it go and tend to pursue it beyond its most famous and mainstream component. In this case that involved watching "Ghostbusters 2," playing "Ghostbusters: The Video Game," watching all of "The Real Ghostbusters" and "Extreme Ghostbusters," and reading every single one of the IDW comics from "The Other Side" all the way to the most recent issue of "Ghostbusters International." Oh, and I also have a pair of Ecto Goggles which I clip onto my pistol belt and wear with a Ghostbuster zip-up shirt I made with a name badge, no-ghost patch on the right sleeve, pocket on the left sleeve, and velcro fasteners on the cuffs. Those are my credentials, that's the kind of person I am. So the big question is, "What did I think of this reboot?"

This remake of Ghostbusters made me laugh a lot, and I liked the characters. While one of the main characters is clearly drawn to Chris Hemsworth's character Kevin, she is not persistently/creepily perusing him in the same way that Venkman does to Dana in the 1984 film. In fact, she actually keeps enough possession of her sanity to not be mindlessly blown away by his muscles and good looks and instead suggests they not hire him because he would clearly be a horrible secretary. Setting her attraction aside, the movie did not have a romantic subplot, and I think that is fantastic. We got a bit of backstory for a few of the characters, which is more than we can say for the original Ghostbusters film. And despite the trailers' best efforts to convince everyone that Patty was a certain overused character type, I was able to enjoy the character as she actually is in the movie, where she is quite the history buff and actually seems pretty laid-back a lot of the time.

The ghosts felt much more dangerous than they did in the original two Ghostbusters films. For the first time I really felt like this was a potentially lethal line of work *before* we got to the the main enemy at the end of the movie. Some of the ghostbusting sequences were very cool, maybe too cool if you want this movie to be just like the one from 1984, but I think the sillier moments help to balance that out. (There are some situations only Ghostbuster type action heroes find themselves in because all the uber-cool heroes like James Bond somehow manage to avoid being smushed by gigantic parade balloons and the like.)

There were new weapons for the Ghostbusters to use against the ghosts in this film, but I was surprised to find I was okay with that. I suspect this is because I have become accustomed to similar versions of several of them in the fantastic IDW comics continuing the adventures of the original Ghostbusters. (In the comics, Egon invents similar grenades and modifies several of the proton packs to include pistol-style firing mechanisms.) If I have one complaint, it is that I do not think the technobabble was as good in this film as it was in the 80's movies.

This movie may contain the most entertaining credits I've ever seen, and there was an easter egg waiting for fans of the original movie at the very end. When the lights came on, my first thought was, "I hope they make a sequel," which may make me a terrible person in the eyes of some, but I don't get my opinions secondhand from the "cool" people, I try to think for myself.

Honestly this film is extremely overhated if you look past the statements made by the directors. Yeah this movie really really didn't need to exist and quite frankly they should of respected the original cast and had them reprise their roles and introduce this new team. That being said, this movie is fine. The comedy isn't the best but there's some surprisingly clever jokes in this, Chris hemsworth is also super funny however he does play a bit too much of an idiot and he can be slightly annoying at times because of that. Melissa McCarthy has her moments can be a bit much but I still enjoyed her she had a lot of personality, Kate McKinnon steals the show though she's the perfect blend of whacky and random character while not being constantly in your face and clogging up screen time, a lot of her jokes are quick one shots and background jokes and they're easily the best parts of the film. This movie is no where near as bad as people say, it's the same level as ghostbusters 2 where it's slightly unfunny and has no reason to exist, but it's still not a bad film. The hate for this movie is solely the time it released. I hope we one day see this cast return maybe not for a full movie but I'd still love to see them again they were really fun to watch despite this movies flaws. Side note for those who care, the cgi looks as fake as the original film of not more so, I think it has its charm at times though in the same way the original does, I also think this movie has the most unique variations of ghost designs in the entire series.