Ghostbusters (1984) review

(8/10)

"Who ya gonna call?" This line has become one of the most popular taglines in movie history, and it's easy to see why. This movie is funny, creative, and just full of laughs for all senses of humor.

PLOT:Professors Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Raymond Stantz (Dan Akyroyd), and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) are all leading in parapsychology. One day, they are called to the library to investigate a particular ghost siting, which sets them off into their new career. After they're kicked out of the college they teach at, the get some money and start a "ghost-busting" business made to catch ghosts and keep the city safe. After their first big job at a famous hotel, they become worldwide hits! However, things start to get dangerous when they find out that a certain apartment building is being haunted by the Sumerian god, Gozer, and its two minions. These minions head after Venkman's crush, Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) and her nerdy neighbor, Louis Tully (Rick Moranis). Now it's up to our ghostbusters and their new employee, Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson), to stop Gozer and save the town from a near apocalypse. It's a great plot exected very well.



ACTING:All of the performances in here are great. I think the star of the show would be Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman; his sharp, dry humor propelled the movie forward and kept it more entertaining. The other shiners would be Dan Akyroyd as Raymond Stantz, Harold Ramis as Egon Spenkler, Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett, Rick Moranis as Louis Tully, Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddmore, William Atherton as Walter Peck, and Slavitza Johan as Gozer. Rick Moranis did outstanding playing the character of the awkward nerd; I felt that it fit him very well. Sigourney Weaver played a very good part by playing of off Murray's sarcastic dialogue. Though Akyroyd did a good job, I don't think this was his best role, for he was very childlike.

SCORE:The score is pretty good. It's composed of some curious and creepy themes. The soundtrack is pretty great too; it contains the title track by Ray Parker, Jr. as well as some oldies and creepy-sounding songs. I'd buy it.

EFFECTS:The effects in here weren't a marvel, but they were pretty fantastic. The effects they used to make the ghosts were pretty realistic as well as ridiculous-looking. The green blob-of-a-ghost is very well known because of this. The effects of the ghost dogs, Gozer and the temple, and the "streams" all looked great as well, thanks to the typical '80s effects.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie is definitely an '80s classic among everyone. It's funny, a little freaky, and very loveable. The humor in here is very diversified; it ranges from dry and sarcastic to harsh and stereotypical and even to dirty jokes. The humor has a little something for everyone. The scenes with the dogs and Gozer also ended up being pretty freaky in the end, which, in turn, makes them seem pretty well done. One thing in particular about this movie is the fact of how its humour and entertainment value make it a loveable classic among everyone. However, the '80s cheese brings some flaws to it. Upon rewatching, I notice that the dialogue can get pretty cheesy in parts as well as certain situations. This will forever hold its '80s classic reputation due to the cheesiness. Only a few scenes come off as cheesy and jumpy, but it's overall an entertaining movie.

OVERALL,a great comedy with a great plot, great performances, creepy score and great soundtrack, fantastic effects, a variety of humor, well-crafted freaky moments, and a high entertainment factors, but the dialogue can get cheesy and the plot can get shaky in some parts.