Personally, I applaud @NeilT for doing what I rather wish I'd done for JJ-Trek and Bayformers -- point out everything wrong with their approaches over and over and loudly in the hopes that each time someone who hadn't seen it last time would this time and stop and think about it and maybe, just maybe, realize I'm right. I'm not as passionate about Ghostbusters as I am about Star Trek, Star Wars, and Transformers. I've done a lot of after-the-fact grumbling, but at the time I was willing to "give them a chance". Now, as
Solo4114 has said elsewhere, I'm done "giving them a chance". When I am partway through the first teaser and go "wait... what the hell?", something's wrong there. When I have behind-the-scenes info about the approach the filmmakers have for the project that runs utterly counter to the spirit of the original, that needs to be shouted from the rooftops.
That said, @NeilT, I
do think you reach from time to time, an dit hurts your credibility. If you confine your vitriol to the actual facts around the film and not cast that onto peripherally-related things, it makes it easier to take your main points seriously. I agree Melissa McCarthy seems to be a terrific person, but I find her a pale imitation of better comedians -- of both genders -- who have come before. And I can't help but wonder if some of her cousin's crazy runs in the family. I think Leslie Jones is capable of much more than the trope she plays in every outing of hers I've seen, and I want her to impress me with her range, dammit. And I just feel bad for everyone else in this film. No need for
ad-hominem attacks on any of them. I feel bad for Paul that he got harangued into doing a film he didn't want to do and now he's getting roasted for it. I feel bad for Sony for having been under bad leadership for a while there. They're doing the right thing with Spider-Man, now. I honestly don't know if I want to push them to release this film or vault it. There are arguments to be made either way.
But the further out we get from that core, the less anger is warranted. Cast members visiting kids? Cool. People getting to visit the set? Cool. Toy companies not getting it, as far as merchandising? Par for the course, currently. Best thing I think we as fans could do is shout loudly enough to Reitman, Aykroyd, and Hudson that we support them and their original aims and to not feel we've abandoned them just because of this. That they should wash their hands of this mistake, take a deep breath, and make the movie they
should have made, with our hearty support. Loudly enough that Sony hears and, more importantly, listens. The drop-off of Fant-four-stic and Batman, featuring Superman: Rush to Justice should have them worried. I'd like to see Feigbusters end up limping around the dregs of Rotten Tomatoes in their company, and Sony lay the blame
right at Pascal's feet.
--Jonah
