Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters is and forever one of the 80's greatest cinematic legacies. Its sequel, Ghostbusters II, was less so, but that didn't stop fans from wanting more. A video game reunited the Busters in 2009 and come 2014, such a reunion ain't possible anymore. Apparently, neither was recasting, which is why Columbia and Director Paul Feig started the franchise anew with a new team. This cinematic restart is also called Ghostbusters.

Dr. Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) is a respected professor at Columbia University approaching tenure. But when a book she co-wrote, Ghosts from our Past, resurfaces, her academic future goes bleak. She gets asked to check out a haunted house thanks to the book, so Erin drags her co-author Dr. Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) and Yates' tech savvy colleague Dr. Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon) along. The trio get laughed out of their jobs, so they go into the paranormal investigation business. They get a fourth Buster, Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones), and a handsome doofus named Kevin (Chris Hemsworth) as their receptionist.

A janitor named Rowan North (Neil Casey) decides to bring on the apocalypse. His endgame is to draw in malevolent spirits to wreck New York and bully its people. Only the Ghostbusters, publicly dismissed by frauds by the Mayor (Andy Garcia), have the tools and the talent to postpone doomsday.

Let's get some issues out of the way. If they're dismissed as frauds, how are they supposed to have a business? Will they end up as Men in Black, shutting away the supernatural from public eyes? Or are they Spider-Man, hated by the media but loved by the public? What're they supposed to do? They didn't even have a plan to contain captured ghosts. A minor character from the start was funny, but grew annoying as his scene went on. Maybe the sequel will improve things.

Its cast keeps it from being "a disaster of biblical proportions." Wiig and McCarthy are likable as unlikely scientists; their arc to overcome their insecurities was a engrossing one. Jones, as Patty Tolan, isn't as loud as the advertisements suggest, and is instead, a formidable Buster. McKinnon makes for a fine scene-stealer as the giddy and eccentric Holtzmann. Casey, as Rowan, makes for a perfectly creepy villain. Hemsworth stands out best as the stupendously too dumb to live Kevin. There were even fun cameos by certain stars of the original film.

The technical department also delivered the goods. The Ghostbusters' equipment, whether redesigned classics or new gear, was pretty awesome. Their proton streams looked cool now as they did in 1984. The ghosts, who were created with or enhanced by CGI, were legitimately creepy. They can make a scene creepy by not being there, something the opening scene establishes. Slimer, the franchise's signature ghost, was the best of the bunch. Rowan's final ghost form was cool, especially the smaller cel-shaded version he assumes before going large. Those looking for a supernatural spectacular will get it.

Ghostbusters stands on its feet alongside the classic original. It's not perfect, but it's still funny and exciting on its own merits. It's not a chore to sit through; I never checked my phone clock once. It makes Bustin feel good.