I watched the trailer today. I did not come away with a good feeling. I was (and am) in the 'give it a chance' camp.
I have seen the original upwards of a hundred times (no hyperbole, ask my father, he was probably sick of the film by 1989) and have stated my opinion of reboots in general elsewhere. (part of which includes the proviso that reboots of single films, or even 2 films in this case, can be a good thing. Maybe the cartoon series and deep feeling muddy the waters on this one)
I have always thought the idea of a total gender flip being such a driving force in this film to be a bad idea, but not impossible to make work. (much better in my opinion to show guys and gals working together) I also liked The Heat, because whilst it is a genderflipped 80s buddy cop movie, genderflipping an idea that has so many different executions works really well. Genderflipping something as specific as one well loved film is a different game.
Especially when you don't have Sandra Bullock (who is an awesome actress in my opinion, especially in comedy roles, and has a long background in law enforcement roles too. Heck, if they reboot police academy, they need to call her.)
All of that aside, not least as those aren't things the trailer made me worry about in this film. Some were larger considerations and some were small silly things.
Firstly, I do think the 'new' Winston...pattie I think it is, is a bad idea. Winston was an everyman character, with a military background (some have said elsewhere that was a joke about lying on his resume. I never thought that to be the case.) and the 'new' one comes over as a stereotype in the most overt ways. Like, does she have a cat called Tom and a mouse problem level of stereotype. The writing team literally seems to have taken a step back. It seems to be part of an overall approach that comes from trying to recreate the original, but only paying attention to broad strokes, and not seeing silly details that actually made a difference. ( like ecto being an ambulance not a hearse, though to give credit, I believe Dan Aykroyd originally wanted a hearse, even if the ambulance makes better thematic and comedic sense)
But the internet has burned enough over that.
There is too much daylight in that trailer. The library is too bright (and for all the progressiveness, is that a dress exhibit they are at? Cos y'know girls like looking at dresses...) The scene in the Chinese restaurant....the original used a mix of day and night, and that tone is missing here, forgetting that ghosts come out at night, (or are in dark places) except for when the twinkie gets big, which is the point the film makes with things like the fridge scene. Which brings me to my next worry...
The story. Where is it? Where is 'daniel barett'? I see Hemsworth as the janine replacement, and given his acting history I can see how he is a bit of a Sigourney weaver analogue in this instance, and the implied possession scene in the trailer suggests he is more integral to the story...but I can't see a story in that trailer.
The overall tone seems to miss the mark, with only 2 maybe 3 actually funny moments in that trailer.
The little things....stripes look awful on the costumes. That and the ecto look cheap and not as well thought out as the original. The minor slapstick makes these guys look inept in a way the originals weren't.
Good things for me though were:
The effects looked good and very true stylistically to the original.
I love the look of the 'new' egon (though she may be ray tbh) and her hair is like a tribute to the cartoon. The wig or hat line is actually funny too which helps. (its faint praise, but I actually really like that look and think it works in relation to the film.)
But that's it. The graffiti logo was kind of cool bit also kind of not.
I find the exorcism gag funny, but also cringe worthy so I can't count that as a positive.
Now...I seem to be comparing to the original a lot here, or relating my criticisms back to it a lot, and maybe that's not fair on a reboot. But...the trailer itself encourages that. The film itself encourages that but sticking so tight to parts of the formula of the original. The effects, and Slimer, whilst great looking, definitely invite thinking of the original. And it's a bad thing when a reboot seems to be saying 'hey. Remember this? Wasnt that part cool? We can't do it any better than that, but just wanted you to have that warm nostalgic glow' whilst seeming absent of anything new and cool of its own. (bear traps for ghosts being a funny idea mind you)
So...Yeah. My concern is that this trailer seems to show an overall tone that I don't think works in relation to the original(s) and doesn't seem to be working as it's own thing either. Speaking as part of an international audience, they could have done with a bigger 'star' and they don't seem to have that. (though I may be out of the loop these days)
There's no equivalence for Aykroyd or Murray who were comedy stars internationally back in the eighties.
(they should have called Sandra Bullock. Even if she is a serious actress these days. She's like...the new Tom Hanks.)
