It's 78% on the strength of puff pieces, many of which go off on a tangent about how the movie had been maligned by misogynists, and the only reason anyone could possibly dislike it is if they're women-haters.
The "top critics" score is a much less generous 48% ("rotten"). [EDIT: They've also only counted about 85 reviews (21 "top critics") so far. That's less than half of what a summer "tentpole" film would normally get, meaning there's probably another 80-120 reviews out there that haven't been published yet.] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times summarized the film as follows:
So bad.
“Ghostbusters†is a horror from start to finish, and that’s not me saying it’s legitimately scary.
More like I was horrified by what was transpiring onscreen.
How could so many talented, well-meaning artists, who clearly loved and respected the original, produce such a raggedy-looking, thuddingly unfunny, utterly unnecessary reboot?
For months, controversy has swirled around the new “Ghostbusters†movie. The trailer was reportedly the most hated in YouTube history, for what that’s worth (or not worth), which led to some pundits saying some of that hate was rooted in sexism.
Others said the fact the Leslie Jones character wasn’t a scientist and seemed to have a role that called for her to play into stereotypes smacked of racism.
Of course, people were voicing these opinions without having seen the entire movie. Well, I have seen it — and while I believe the concerns about racial stereotypes were overblown, “Ghostbusters†is one of the worst movies of the year for multiple other reasons, including:
- Bad acting.
- Uninspired directing, editing, cinematography and music.
- Cheesy special effects.
- A forgettable villain.
- A terrible script.
And that's exactly what the trailer made it look like: bad acting, uninspired directing, editing, cinematography and music, cheesy special effects, and a terrible script. These things have nothing to do with the main characters being played by women, and everything to do with the movie looking like a hackneyed piece of shit meant to cash in on the nostalgia people like me have for the original film.
You'd have to pay me to see this movie.