New Ghost Busters reboot trailer

[Lord Revan]

a big part that made the orginal Ghostbusters effective was that the comedy came from the absurdity of the premise, with a lot if not all the characters more or less played straight with more or less with practically no jokes/gags for their own sake, the verbal jabs Venkman gave to pretty much everyone felt like something that kind of person would say instead of funny lines for the sake of having funny lines.

This new film seems on the other hand the total opposite but a lot of gags for their own sake but not really anything else. Based on this trailer I'd put this film in the "meh" category it doesn't seem bad enough to abysmal but on the other hand there's not really anything to hold my intrest either, sure some of the gags were midly amussing but that's not really enough for a full length movie.

[Gandalf]

My final problem and the most important is this movie just didn't need to exist. Not in its current form, not as a all male, all female, mixed gender, or sequel using the franchise idea. Sure the franchise idea might work a little better then a straight up reboot and feel less......I dunno... a shameless ripoff maybe but even then its still unneeded.

Huh? How many films really "need to exist?"

[Channel72]

And while I can't say anything about your personal reasons, I do think a lot of that is probably due to the gender changes, plus the usual knee-jerk anti-reboot crowd.

Oh Christ...

You're so right. It' all about the gender swapping. I mean, what were they thinking??? Women can't do science. That's crazy talk. I just can't believe a woman in any role that doesn't involve being a stripper, secretary or housewife. Did I mention I hate women and think they're stupid?

But seriously though, some of the biggest sci-fi hits of all time, movies which are right up there alongside the original Ghostbusters in terms of reverence, have ass-kicking female leads. Terminator, Aliens, these movies were fucking amazing, and honestly I think we would all agree that like, remaking "Aliens" for example, but replacing Ripley with a male-lead just for the fuck of it, would be utterly silly.

I realize gender-swapping a role in the direction of male -> female is probably more significant than the other way around, due to the historical restrictions placed on women and all that, but come the fuck on - the sci-fi genre has time and time again proved that female leads usually kick ass (and the new Mad Max film is yet another example here.)

But this... this just looks gratuitous. The thing is that the elements which made Ghostbusters work were really "lightning in a bottle" elements: 80s NYC, Bill Murray, the weird blend of horror and comedy (people forget that Ghostbusters was at times also genuinely disturbing despite being a comedy), Bill Murray (did I mention Bill Murray?), the chemistry between Venkman, Egon, Ray, etc., These are all things that are fucking hard to replicate especially if you're specifically trying to replicate them.

I mean, this could work... we don't know yet. But the trailer definitely isn't encouraging. And that sentiment has absolutely nothing to do with the gender swapped roles. Even if they had an all-male cast with 2016 SNL actors, (let's replace female Winston with Tracey Morgan for maximum laughs - since black people scream a lot right??!) I can almost guarantee the reaction would be equally negative.

[Grumman]

All else being equal, I'd prefer to watch a action movie with a female lead than a male lead. I like watching action movies, I like attractive women, and I like the combination of the two.

But this is not just Ghostbusters with a female team this time around. I'd be all in favour of that - maybe with some backstory about how they bought into the business franchise after the GFC. But not if it's by the team behind Bridesmaids.

[The Romulan Republic]

And while I can't say anything about your personal reasons, I do think a lot of that is probably due to the gender changes, plus the usual knee-jerk anti-reboot crowd.

Oh Christ...

You're so right. It' all about the gender swapping. I mean, what were they thinking??? Women can't do science. That's crazy talk. I just can't believe a woman in any role that doesn't involve being a stripper, secretary or housewife. Did I mention I hate women and think they're stupid?

I said nothing about you personally. I never claimed that all critics of the film are motivated by sexism (in fact I explicitly said otherwise, as you fucking quoted), nor did I argue that women were unable to portray these kinds of roles myself. All of which makes you either an imbecile or a liar, and my money's on the latter, you snide asshole.

But seriously though, some of the biggest sci-fi hits of all time, movies which are right up there alongside the original Ghostbusters in terms of reverence, have ass-kicking female leads. Terminator, Aliens, these movies were fucking amazing, and honestly I think we would all agree that like, remaking "Aliens" for example, but replacing Ripley with a male-lead just for the fuck of it, would be utterly silly.

As you yourself acknowledge, their is a difference between swapping male for female and female for male, even though their shouldn't be, because of the history of sexism.

I realize gender-swapping a role in the direction of male -> female is probably more significant than the other way around, due to the historical restrictions placed on women and all that, but come the fuck on - the sci-fi genre has time and time again proved that female leads usually kick ass (and the new Mad Max film is yet another example here.)

Its funny how you seem to think you're disagreeing with me here when I never said otherwise.

Man, I'm a serious Buffy and Fury Road fan. I know their are great works of speculative fiction with female leads, and I've got no problem with it. I also know that such works are not necessarily met with great hostility.

But some people do object, perhaps especially if its a man being replaced by a woman rather than a role that was originally female like in Fury Road, Terminator, and Alien.

Plus there is, as I said, the usual "they changed it so its bad" fan whiner crowd, regardless of gender issues.

But this... this just looks gratuitous. The thing is that the elements which made Ghostbusters work were really "lightning in a bottle" elements: 80s NYC, Bill Murray, the weird blend of horror and comedy (people forget that Ghostbusters was at times also genuinely disturbing despite being a comedy), Bill Murray (did I mention Bill Murray?), the chemistry between Venkman, Egon, Ray, etc., These are all things that are fucking hard to replicate especially if you're specifically trying to replicate them.

Perhaps.

I think it would be better if they took the basic premise and ran in a very different direction (with the gender change being only one possible example of that), rather than trying to ape the original except with female leads. Hell, this is pretty much my whole basic philosophy regarding reboots. But then people would complain about that too.

I mean, this could work... we don't know yet. But the trailer definitely isn't encouraging. And that sentiment has absolutely nothing to do with the gender swapped roles.

Maybe not for you.

But definitely for some people.

Frankly, you took my comment far too personally.

Even if they had an all-male cast with 2016 SNL actors, (let's replace female Winston with Tracey Morgan for maximum laughs - since black people scream a lot right??!) I can almost guarantee the reaction would be equally negative.

Possibly. There's really no way to know.

I think their'd still be a degree of negativity, but for somewhat different reasons.

[LastShadow]

It looks underwhelming to say the least. They could have spent a hair more budget in areas like costumes and Ecto 1.
The jumpsuits looked ...off, could be those random orange lines and lack of descriptive patches. Maybe just nostalgia there, but the old suits seemed more interesting, more team like, these are just jumpers they found in a closet, at least looks wise.

And the Ecto 1 is ICONIC, and was based on the Ambulance model, this one is a repainted hearse (literally) with some bits tacked on.

It looks like they went cheesy in the wrong areas, the Ecto 1 looks half-arsed, somewhere between the blues mobile and the real Ecto 1.

Nostalgia aside, they could have dropped a few CGI ghosts and put some real effort in with the physical stuff.

[TheFeniX]

I think I can sum up my feelings by looking at it this way and playing into the SNL alums line: Show me a trailer with the Grown-ups cast, doing what they always cast them to do, and I'd likely be taking just as quick a pass. Adam Sandler, Kevin (Sorry I'm not Chris Farley) James, Chris Rock playing "we need a wise-cracking black man in this" and a Spade/Schneider toss-up. Whichever doesn't get on the team is now Rick Moranis 2.0.

I'd be less inclined to see that than with the cast currently in the movie.

Grown-ups wasn't..... awful. It had moments of laughs, but it exists as a whole bunch of moments crammed together loosely into a movie about (gasp) growing up. I mean, it's best moment was Maria Bello and Selma Hayak in bikinis, but whatever. It was really just an excuse for Sandler to take another vacation and get paid for it. Also, Chris Rock makes a bunch of "toe" related puns.

Bridesmaids had it's moment as well, but I had the same vibe.

With the 1984 Ghostbusters, it's more like "we need this to happen, how do we make that funny?" Ray and the cigarette dropping the first time he sees slimer. Moranis is about to get his soul sucked, the monster corners him, he is ignored by people because "New Yorkers are terrible people." There is so much comedy in Ghostbusters tied directly to the plot. Every jab at Peck by Venkman only serves to push him to shut down the Busters. Venkman makes jokes and also gets the information he needs out of Dana while she's pushing him for sex thinking he's the key master.

Basically, it wasn't a sketch comedy which Grown-ups and Bridesmaid almost certainly were. That said, both of those films made bank and critics gave Bridesmaids a pass for some reason calling it great comedy, while simultaneously panning Grown-ups. So, I'm not inclined to really say Ghostbusters is going to tank. It might actually do quite well based on name power and morons who made sure Meet the Spartans was a financial success.

NOTE: This is all provided the writers, seemingly type-cast actors, and the trailer are somehow hiding a decent comedy.

[Patroklos]

Oh, its certainly going to be successful as a business decision. Make no mistake, that's the ONLY reason its being made at all. The execs don't care about an empowering female cast of putting lighting in a bottle a second time to create a legendary film. This is a pure name recognition cash grab.

[Lagmonster]

A friend of mine quipped, "This'll do just well enough to keep Paul getting Directors' gigs". I'll absolutely watch this on Netflix, if it does well enough with the critics.

Addendum: The trailer sucked. It made the movie look like a string of topical gags and cheap homages to the original. I especially hated the part where the girl licked her ghost-zapper gun. I don't even know why, but I hated that. It's the only part in the trailer that I genuinely winced at.

Addendum 2: Someone in LA made a fan-recut of the new trailer, and it's actually way fucking better. If you can find it (I found it via Slate), watch it, and see if it changes your impression. I'd love to find someone who hadn't seen the trailer at all, and have them watch the re-cut one first, then watch the actual trailer, and see if they are more or less enthusiastic about the film.

Addendum 3: Actual-Scientist Friend: "Why Quantum physics? WHY? Egon was just a plain "mad scientist" and we were all fine with that. The Director said, what, 'I WANTED TO MAKE HER SOUND AS SMART AS POSSIBLE AND THIS IS THE SCARIEST NEW SCIENCE-SOUNDING THING I CAN THINK OF'?"

Addendum 4 (I'm getting good at these!): Someone else I know pointed out that besides the movie being a rip-off of an original idea, many of the gags in the trailer were as well. The projectile vomit monster, the scary head-rotating evil possessed person - both are iconic images from The Exorcist.

[TheFeniX]

I believe all three of the original Busters were Parapsychologists. Egon was way ahead because it seems his parents essentially ruined his childhood by being nofun. But yes, Mad Scientist really does fit his motif.

"Quantum something something" has been a catch-all for writers for a long time. Parapsychologist doesn't have the same ring to it now I guess since Ghosthunters is a thing. I recall a writer for Bioshock Infinite talking about how he included all the Quantum and multi-verse theory bullshit because "it made me feel stupid when reading about it." Also, since someone read a yahoo article about how Quantum particles do random and crazy shit, it gives them a way to say "SCIENCE! because ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN WITH QUANTUMS!"

Also, maybe Nukulur Scientist was broken since Denise Richards played one, I don't know.

This is kind of an evolution of "nerd shit." Hackers are played out. Engineer probably sounds too blue-collar these days to be a "smart" profession. Particle physics and Quantums baby. Big Bang Theory is funny, right?

[Iroscato]

Quantum really is the modern-day radiation in giving Hollywood a quick and easy route to handwave absurdity. That and dark matter. Not really a complaint as it can be used in a fun way sometimes (see The Flash), just an amused observation.

[biostem]

I looked up a few of the fan edits, and some of them make the movie seem a lot better - excising the "The power of Patty compels you" bit helped, as did a lot of superfluous material.

The whole "licking the gun" part was off-putting, I think because it didn't come across as either seductive or scary/intimidating. If, perhaps, they kind of hinted at her getting a little to friendly with the equipment, (sort of like how it was hinted that Ray did some "experimenting" with the mood slime in GB2), then perhaps it could work...

[Channel72]

With the 1984 Ghostbusters, it's more like "we need this to happen, how do we make that funny?" Ray and the cigarette dropping the first time he sees slimer. Moranis is about to get his soul sucked, the monster corners him, he is ignored by people because "New Yorkers are terrible people." There is so much comedy in Ghostbusters tied directly to the plot. Every jab at Peck by Venkman only serves to push him to shut down the Busters. Venkman makes jokes and also gets the information he needs out of Dana while she's pushing him for sex thinking he's the key master.

The humor in the original is so amazing sometimes it's hard to even classify. Rick Moranis looking all disheveled and growling at the horse-drawn carriage driver in central park, randomly handing Egon a lamp or whatever, the whole "rectification of the Vuldronai speech", pretty much everything Venkman says... I mean, the writing is just beyond hilarious sometimes. I'd be shocked if that sort of writing can possibly co-exist in a movie with dated exorcist jokes and a loud black female stereotype. Even Ghostbusters 2 had it's moments, despite being too cheesy for the most part.

[biostem]

With the 1984 Ghostbusters, it's more like "we need this to happen, how do we make that funny?" Ray and the cigarette dropping the first time he sees slimer. Moranis is about to get his soul sucked, the monster corners him, he is ignored by people because "New Yorkers are terrible people." There is so much comedy in Ghostbusters tied directly to the plot. Every jab at Peck by Venkman only serves to push him to shut down the Busters. Venkman makes jokes and also gets the information he needs out of Dana while she's pushing him for sex thinking he's the key master.

The humor in the original is so amazing sometimes it's hard to even classify. Rick Moranis looking all disheveled and growling at the horse-drawn carriage driver in central park, randomly handing Egon a lamp or whatever, the whole "rectification of the Vuldronai speech", pretty much everything Venkman says... I mean, the writing is just beyond hilarious sometimes. I'd be shocked if that sort of writing can possibly co-exist in a movie with dated exorcist jokes and a loud black female stereotype. Even Ghostbusters 2 had it's moments, despite being too cheesy for the most part.

I think part of the problem is that in the original Ghostbusters, them being male is of secondary or no importance - they're a bunch of awkward and discredited scientists fumbling through a discovery of world-altering significance, and we see them turn from a disordered group who gambled it all into 4 serious and effective professions, (while still retaining their wit and humor). They had questionable qualifications for the line of work they decided to go into, but possessed the skills to make it work.

They make it a point to emphasize that these new Ghostbusters are hyper-competent from the get-go, and seem to have most of the events happen to them, as opposed to them tackling things, (the ghost vomit, the possession, etc).

[Kojiro]

I think part of the problem is that in the original Ghostbusters, them being male is of secondary or no importance

My partner pointed out that literally the first joke you see in the trailer is 'goo went in my vagina!' which hopefully doesn't reflect the overall tone. She found it off putting more than anything. That's not the kind of audience identification you want, even if it is a female one.

The whole "licking the gun" part was off-putting, I think because it didn't come across as either seductive or scary/intimidating.

If that was done in say, Avengers with Black Widow certain groups would be screaming murder.

On the whole, meh. I certainly won't pay to see this. I would pay to see a Ghostbusters film that was actually new, even if it was a continuation. Why couldn't these girls be the daughters of the original cast, carrying on the family business or even a franchise in another city.

[biostem]

If that was done in say, Avengers with Black Widow certain groups would be screaming murder.

My point of reference there was how in many anime series, they'll have a bad guy lick his knife in order to show he's really mean/demented...

Why couldn't these girls be the daughters of the original cast, carrying on the family business or even a franchise in another city.

Have the one girl be the daughter of Ramis' character/Egon as an homage, and the others be new. I'd, at the very least, have Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson make a cameo to help them setup the new franchise initially, and maybe another short appearance later on. Bill Murray seems to not want to have anything more to do with Ghostbusters...

[Kojiro]

I thought BM was confirmed to be appearing as a cameo but NOT as Venkman?

Honestly that's one of the confusing things. They start out talking about what happened 30 years ago, show you the same HQ but... it's actually in no way connected.

[hunter5]

I thought BM was confirmed to be appearing as a cameo but NOT as Venkman?

Honestly that's one of the confusing things. They start out talking about what happened 30 years ago, show you the same HQ but... it's actually in no way connected.

Yeah the starting text in the trailer confused a lot of fans because this movie is separate from the original movies. It made it seem like a desperate attempt to attract an audience.

[TheFeniX]

Wait, seriously? This isn't actually a "30 years later" deal where the original team existed? It's a straight reboot set in 2016? Hilarious. More so than the movie looks to be.

[Mr Bean]

If it makes money we will get two of them. I hope for either wild success or total financial ruin. Nothing in between. Only then can we achieve change.

[Kojiro]

Wait, seriously? This isn't actually a "30 years later" deal where the original team existed? It's a straight reboot set in 2016? Hilarious. More so than the movie looks to be.

Making it a reboot will invite the harshest comparisons. One of the best things a reboot can do is to do an original take on old concepts. Given they're going with the team of 4 (including token black), using the same firehouse and even (arguably badly) copying the iconic vehicle so far 'original' is not a word that comes to mind. The proton packs don't even seem original- and way to fight stereotypes by slapping a love heart on there. The extra anti ghost weapons seem original but they appear to be actual weapons- not instruments of capture. I can see this having two flaws. One, if we see them firing dual pistols or face punching ghosts to death (such as it were) they'll immediately lose any nostalgia power. Secondly if they decided that female ghostbuster engineer makes better weapons that actually vanquish ghost it'll be seen as oneupsmanship. It will elicit the same groans that came from Thor readers when it was proclaimed Mjolnir was more powerful in the hands of a female... because... female.

So yeah, the '30 years later' thing is purely to play on nostalgia that will never actually be present.

[biostem]

I don't know if the most recent Ghostbusters video game is considered canon, but in it, Ray explains that you need to blast the ghost to a certain extent first, in order to weaken it, before you can actually suck it up in a trap... so maybe that's what the pistols and gauntlet are for?

[Kojiro]

Possibly? I have no idea as to the canon status but what you're talking about does sound suspiciously like a game mechanic. Weaken them before the finisher and all that.

[biostem]

Possibly? I have no idea as to the canon status but what you're talking about does sound suspiciously like a game mechanic. Weaken them before the finisher and all that.

Oh no doubt. I mean, the game had an attachment/mode for the proton pack that turned it into a shotgun, or one that fired photon torpedo-like projectiles...

[Lord Revan]

Possibly? I have no idea as to the canon status but what you're talking about does sound suspiciously like a game mechanic. Weaken them before the finisher and all that.

it does seem it's that but it's done in a way that makes sense in context.