Review Detail

Taking the moronic controversy out of the equation, I was not a fan of 2016's Ghostbusters. I hated it, if I'm being honest. Its humor, its characters, its story, its visuals, none of it really worked for me and it angered me something fierce. But as time went by, I felt like maybe I was a bit too harsh on it. Out of curiosity, I decided to check this edit out and, much to my shock, I quite liked it. Almost every change made is for the absolute better. Not only does removing a large majority of the improv, pop culture references, and filler it keep the story focused and have it flow much more naturally and move at a much smoother, less bumpy pace but it also allows the humor to come from the characters, much like the original Ghostbusters films. The characters, especially Erin and Abby, are also more likable and compelling with the improv and out-of-character lines and scenarios -- i.e. especially the dreadful Bill Murray subplot -- being cut out. Even Rowan, as a villain, works much better here, as the changes and edits made allow Paul Feig and Katie Dippold's deconstruction of toxic masculinity to actually have a chance to shine. This is such a significant improvement upon the original cuts it's not even funny. If you want to see a better-realized version of this take on the property, I say give this a watch.