Wednesday 10 August 2016

Ghostbusters [2016 version] (4½ Stars)


This is a film that was 32 years in the making. It's a remake of the 1984 Ghostbusters film, and it easily exceeds it in quality. That's not just because of the better special effects available today. It's the portrayal of four powerful women saving the world. None of the four are portrayed as sexual objects, so there can be no claims that they've been objectified as women. Three of the four are academics with a doctor title, while the fourth is a giant who would intimidate most men by her size alone. And yet the women are still sexy, all four of them. They're powerful, intelligent and independent, which is what makes them so sexy. They step into a post-patriarchal world, brandishing their phallic weapons, showing who is calling the shots.

Do men have a place in this new world? Of course. Chris Hemsworth plays their assistant, hired only because of his good looks. He's too stupid to answer the phone, but he's allowed in the office as a sex object. Men can be objectified as well.


I'll write a lot more about this film when I own it on disc. I don't want to give spoilers for a film that is still being shown in cinemas. All I'll say is that the film has more after-credits sequences than any other film I've ever seen. It even has a post-credits karaoke sequence for the audience to sing the Ghostbusters theme song. Unfortunately I was the only person singing in today's audience. Germans are far too reserved!

What also impressed me is that the audience wasn't forced to sit in boredom while waiting for the post credits scenes, which is what happens in every Marvel film. Throughout the credits things were happening either at the side or in the middle of the screen. Chris Hemsworth's dance was so amazing that I hope it'll be included as a Blu-ray extra, a clean version without the names of the cast and crew rolling over the picture.


This is a ticket to remember. It's my first cinema ticket since returning to Germany. I'm sorry the photo is so blurred. I can't figure out how to take a photo without a flash on my old mobile phone which I've just started using again after four years. I can turn the flash off as often as I want, but when I take the photo it turns itself back on. Verfluchte Technik!

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