‘Ghostbusters’: Stinker or Sleeper?

In a summer ranging from uninspired retreads  (“Now You See Me 2,” “Independence Day: Resurgence”) to big budget original busts (“The BFG”) to at least one solid hit (“Finding Dory”), no film has drawn as much buzz or stirred up as much frenzied controversy as the “Ghostbusters” reboot, which opens Friday.

Despite the top creative talents brought in for the project, starting with its co-writer (with Katie Dippold) and director Paul Feig, along with the female dream team of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and current “Saturday Night Live” stars Kate McKininnon and Leslie Jones, it has been under fire from day one.

The film had a 74 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes on Sunday.

Critics wondered why the movie was being redone in the first place and “fanboys” complained about the female stars. Throw in terrible trailers and one of the worst theme songs in movie history, and it has not been looking good for the film. Surely this would be one of the worst train wrecks of all time.

And now that it’s here? The new “Ghostbusters” was screened for critics and the public late last week — and early reviews are, well, mixed.

The New York Times praised it in classic NYT fashion, saying: “It’s at once satisfyingly familiar and satisfyingly different, kind of like a new production of ‘Macbeth’ or a Christopher Nolan rethink of Batman.”

Vanity Fair panned it, deeming it “quick and dull and weightless,” adding that it is an “uninspired slog.” Basically: “It spends so much time doing battle with its legacy that it forgets to be its own movie, putting a talented cast to waste and marking another disappointment in this dreadful summer movie season.”

The Hollywood Reporter said it’s a “bust,” calling the film a “big goopy splat of ectoplasm.”

The Guardian could only muster a meh: “It’s OK. Given that most blockbusters are eye-rollingly po-faced superhero films, OK is not bad. But it’s not great.”

Entertainment Weekly gave it a C+ grade, saying, “It’s time to ask the only question that should’ve been posed in the first place: Is the new ‘Ghostbusters’ funny? The answer is: Kind of, but not nearly to the degree it should be considering the talent involved.”

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Film blogger and obsessed lifelong “Ghostbusters” fan Ameesh Shah, who saw the movie in Los Angeles and was highly skeptical going in, says Feig and the ladies have managed to pull off a winner.

“I give it an 8 out of 10,” Shah told LifeZette. “The movie is good, has great laughs, and good humor. It will be liked by a lot of people and it pays homage to the originals — but really, the women are a new spin on the old story.”

Shah went on to describe the basics of the reboot’s plot, which first focuses on Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig), a college professor who gets approached by a museum owner hoping she can help him because she’s written on the science of ghosts. This gets her in touch with her old friend Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy), whom she had abandoned years before because the scientific community kept mocking their research on the paranormal.

Related: More ‘Ghostbusters’ Trouble

After reuniting with Abby and being introduced to Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon), a scientist who goes on to engineer their proton packs and other equipment, the three head to the museum and Gilbert gets her first caught-on-camera meeting with a ghost. For Erin, it is her first step to getting recognition for her past work.

On the other hand, Abby sees it as a new start to a career in the field she loves so much. But the two are shunned and laughed at. The three ladies begin to see the end of their old lives and the beginning of a new one — aiming to save their city from spirits and other paranormal experiences.

They find a workplace and hire Erin’s dream man, Kevin (Chris Hemsworth), as their assistant because he looks good wearing anything.

The final piece in the puzzle comes when they hire a fourth Ghostbuster, the streetwise Patty (Leslie Jones), who comes to them after encountering a ghost and a man named Rowan (Neil Casey), an evil genius who had gone nuts over demanding recognition for his own past scientific accomplishments concerning the spirit world — and now wants to destroy New York.

The Ghostbusters take on a number of obstacles to save the day.

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“This movie is a story all on its own, with no real connections to the past ones,” says Shah. “Though unlike what was shown via the previews, I think they did it with class and humor that would make the old actors proud. It’s baffling why the trailers were so badly done when this movie has so much to offer that’s done right.”

The movie’s trailers led to complaints that the special effects were too reliant on CGI, when the original used more traditional methods and modeling to create its effects. But Shah says that the movie’s spooks and other spectral threats are superbly rendered.

As far as the theme song goes, he notes it’s one of the weak spots that knocked the film down to an 8 out of 10, “but there’s so much else going on that’s great in the movie, I barely even remember how much I hated the song at the moment.”

But more importantly, he took note of the positive audience reaction. “The audience was laughing out loud throughout the movie, and burst into applause several times throughout,” says Shah. “They especially went crazy when Bill Murray showed up, and his scene is a pretty lengthy one, not just a split-second cameo. I’ve got to say, I couldn’t be more surprised — but everyone has pulled off a winner here.” 

Ultimately, the box office will be the final arbiter.