Studio: Sony Pictures (1 hr. 45 min.)
Plot: Four friends suit up to stop an evil scientist from letting ghosts run savage on the Big Apple.
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Neil Casey, Chris Hemsworth, Bill Murray
Rating: PG-13
Bottom Line: ****
By Khaleel Herbert
Four friends, proton blasters, a car and, of course, ghosts terrorizing the Big Apple. Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, that’s who!
Ghostbusters: Answer the Call follows the story of Physics Professor Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig), who is questioned about her book on ghosts by Ed Mulgrave (Ed Begley Jr.), the owner of the Aldridge Museum. To avoid risking her tenure as a professor, Erin says the book was just a joke. Ed doesn’t believe her and begs her to consider inspecting his haunted museum.
After discovering that her book is available on Amazon, Erin visits her friend and co-author Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) and asks why she put the book online. Abby says the people needed to know that ghosts exist. Erin tells Abby and lab partner, Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon), about a ghost haunting the Aldridge Museum.
The trio go to check out and potentially capture evidence of a “real” ghost. Sure enough, they detect the ghost of Gertrude Aldridge (Bess Rous). After getting kicked out of their respected colleges for believing in ghosts, Erin, Abby and Jillian move into an empty floor above an Asian restaurant and soon, the Ghostbusters are born.
Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones), a subway station worker, joins the team after spotting a ghost when she followed a man talking in riddles down a subway tunnel (Neil Casey). She not only knows the ins and outs of New York City, but she also hooks the team up with a car that soon becomes the iconic Ghostbusters-mobile.
Answer the Call has its similarities to the classic 1984 Ghostbusters film. Erin, Abby and Jillian get kicked out of their respected colleges because they didn’t support their pursuits of ghosts, just like Doctors Venkman, Stantz and Spengler. Erin, when she saw the ghost of Gertrude Aldridge, was sprayed with slime just like Dr. Venkman when he came face-to-face with the ghost at the library.
Even some of the ghosts from the 1984 film appeared like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and Slimer, the fat green ghost. Ghostbusters fans will be happy to know that there are some appearances from the original Ghostbusters movies including Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts.
Answer the Call was visually stunning and a joy to see in 3D. The ghosts hover and jump off the screen, making them so real that you can “touch” them. The orange blasts from the proton rays looked like they were coming right at you!
McCarthy, Wiig, Jones and McKinnon had great chemistry with each other and had different personalities that harmoniously welded together like Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis.
Ghostbusters: Answer the Call is more than just a reboot. It’s a classic for the new generation of Ghostbusters fans while also paying homage to the original with a great cast, plot and visual effects worth watching in 3D
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Printed in the August 7, 2016 – August 20, 2016 edition.