It's big, daft and goofy, much like the last one. The Ghostbusters franchise could never be accused of doing things by half. Even when it's bad, it's particularly so, but I am still increasing in years which makes my wistful memory of the originals all the more romantic.
I rolled my eyes quite loudly enough to let everyone know without saying a word what I thought of the female centric version and the subsequent effort, littered with gobby children. I had nightmarish visions of a feature animated version next, such was the trajectory.
But for the love of god no, here we are again, milking it for another stab whether it was wanted or needed or otherwise. I hadn't heard any rallying cries for another one, no screaming demands or anything like it, but the powers that be clearly thought there was still a buck or two in it and subsequently here I am again too, checking the runtime before the opening credits have rolled.
Like the kids, the whole cast is getting older and for the original members still alive and kicking enough to take part, the cracks have been evident for some time and the anticipation of a healthy paycheck has never seemed quite so obvious for those that should have hung up their proton packs long ago. Still, if you're mug enough to buy the ticket, then lets say that they deserve it.
Aside from Paul Rudd, I mostly spent the time being a little incredulous at the casting, however.
The whole thing is not bad for all of this, but I could only wince at the anticipated budget, which when I checked stated one hundred million dollars, which is relatively cheap these days, even if the production design seems reliably nostalgic, aggravating lens flare notwithstanding.
Paul Rudd seems to be the only one that comes out of this still smelling relatively fresh, as opposed to the mostly needless ambitious spawn and the eternally desiccating co-stars that have just turned up for a payday. You will be entertained certainly, but if you were around scooping up a copy of Ray Parker Jnr's seven-inch single at the time, you can see a gaping hole where the magic is missing.