By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
I must admit, this second trailer is far better for enticing me to check out Paul Feig‘s reboot. My reason to see this film is to find out if Kevin (Chris Hemsworth) succeeds at becoming a Ghostbuster. I haven’t watched this actor’s other works where he’s working on honing his comedic chops, but to see him dressed up as a nerd is appealing. To see him, as this trailer reveals, turn sinister and ride off somewhere to take on a potentially villainous role … Well, I’m sold! This actor has played more charming roles, and to see him as menacing as Vigo the Carpathian has me curious.
Even if he succeeds at being exorcised or he has a bigger role in the film than previously led on, I wonder if he will equalize the status quo of an all-female paranormal team. Since the animated version had Janine Melnitz as a Ghostbuster to bail the guys out, I have no problems with any role-reversal going on. Fans owning the box set of this great animated series can check her out in “Mr. Sandman, Dream Me A Dream,” “Janine Melnitz, Ghostbuster,” and “Jailbusters.” In the Extreme series, she put on the uniform again, as I recall. I’d love to see a nod to the animated series approach to accepting new members, although I doubt the writers of this film even bothered to look at the past material.
The effects look as good as those I’ve seen at Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction, and the humour from the ladies — well, I actually started to chuckle at the team’s futile attempt to get the citizens of New York City to evacuate. I really do not know about the black jokes Leslie Jones was being self-defeating on. There was a time those types of routines were funny, but not anymore. I like my humour to fall on the classical range. Give me The Marx Brothers or Abbott and Costello and I’ll be in rolling on the floor laughing. While there are a few modern comedians I enjoy watching, like T.J. Miller or Billy Connolly, just whom I like are few and far between.
The only real problem I have with this trailer is that the final boss standoff is most likely revealed and I’m not impressed. Just who it’s copying, the ghost featured in the logo, I have to groan. If this director wants to put back the fear factor in the story, I’m not feeling it. I think all Feig and the team are doing is keeping to the formula established and preserve the EC Comics feel the original films conveyed in the ghostly creations. If he’s to reignite a franchise, I’d rather witness a different approach to presenting a great story the die-hard paranormal scholar in me to enjoy instead of something I’ve seen before or played in the video-game. I want to get nerdy with the pseudoscience and drawn in to authentic scares. Let’s take a page from Most Haunted or Ghost Adventures instead of relying on what’s tried and true.
