New Ghostbusters cast shakes off criticism to revive classic story

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The four lead actresses of the new Ghostbusters are out to prove that women can fight supernatural entities just as well as their male predecessors.

The new Ghostbusters
The new Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters is based on the 1984 film of the same name that saw eccentric ghost hunters played by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson save New York City from supernatural destruction.

The new film, due in theatres on July 15, follows a similar plot. Eccentric parapsychologists battle ghosts wreaking havoc on Manhattan, this time with Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones.

The cast know a little something about being underdogs. When the new Ghostbusters movie was announced, it garnered strong positive and negative reactions for its all-female cast, a point subtly referenced throughout the film.

The film’s first trailer released in March divided audiences and garnered more than 900,000 dislikes, YouTube’s most-disliked movie trailer.

“I did not respond well. I might have tweeted out my address to a couple of people to come see me,” Jones said, adding that her costars “had to calm me down.”

Fans of the original franchise may see some familiar faces – human and paranormal – pop up as cameos, as well as gadgets such as the Ecto-1 car and proton packs.

But the real nostalgia is reviving the chemistry of the original foursome, who became cult film heroes.