Holtzman is among my new favorite science characters. I don't give a damn about her sexuality. I'd do science with her anytime.
I want a film that focuses on McKinnon being a science geek who seduces all who cross her path with her awkwardness and quirk, while winning the day with crazy inventions. Do it action-comedy style with someone competent at the helm who can handle quirky, like the Coen Brothers, Terry Gilliam, or Barry Sonnenfeld (on a good day). For bonus points, make it steampunk so the world can be as strange as its star.
I
want the comics to have a multidimensional crossover between the
original and the new. Mainly so Holtzman and Egon can compare tech, fall
head over heels, and bang as (literal) sparks fly. In addition to
flirting with techno babble, they'd exchange snacks: Egon his sweets,
Holtzman her salty.
Wiig tried. She really did. She was a good straight woman in the beginning, then became forgettable. The material failed to give her a character arc. This is especially disappointing because Wiig's character was new - she doesn't correspond to Murray, while the other three are tied to their predescessors. She was the character by which the movie could have found its own voice and themes and that opportunity was squandered.
Did anyone else notice the rather significant missing scene with Wiig's character after she gets the book from the main villain? One second they're exiting the hotel having been fake arrested and then she's in a bathrobe looking at the book. Combine this with her saving the other three from the balloons when they roll out without her.
I think after the arrest she did a, "That's it! I quit! Bye!" scene. So the part where she suits up again is supposed to be a big come back and ties into her "I won't leave you this time" line to McCarthy in the end. Why they edited this out I don't know, since it would've actually introduced some tension and character that she needed. As is, it looks like she was just further away from the action when the apocalypse started.
Leslie Jones could have done a decent job. The
problem? She was given some truly awful racial stereotyping. Holy cow.
That was jarring and bad. I liked the bit where she knew city history.
But it was overshadowed by the rest of the bad archetypes as well as
poor editing for her character. (One second she's joining, then she's
regretting it, but nothing has happened to cause that.) This is an odd
case where a minority character from the 80's (Winston) is a less racist
portrayal than a modern take.Egon: Would you like a Twinkie?
Holtzman: Sure. Have a salty parabola.
Wiig tried. She really did. She was a good straight woman in the beginning, then became forgettable. The material failed to give her a character arc. This is especially disappointing because Wiig's character was new - she doesn't correspond to Murray, while the other three are tied to their predescessors. She was the character by which the movie could have found its own voice and themes and that opportunity was squandered.
Did anyone else notice the rather significant missing scene with Wiig's character after she gets the book from the main villain? One second they're exiting the hotel having been fake arrested and then she's in a bathrobe looking at the book. Combine this with her saving the other three from the balloons when they roll out without her.
I think after the arrest she did a, "That's it! I quit! Bye!" scene. So the part where she suits up again is supposed to be a big come back and ties into her "I won't leave you this time" line to McCarthy in the end. Why they edited this out I don't know, since it would've actually introduced some tension and character that she needed. As is, it looks like she was just further away from the action when the apocalypse started.
McCarthy was where jokes went to die. You know how Megan Fox brought down TMNT? That's McCarthy here. Just awful. Total miscast. Feig's fault. Even when she had good lines her delivery and timing sucked.
There are some good jokes and good scenes. Best? McKinnon busting out her dual wield pistols. That fight scene was AMAZING. Straight out of Girl Genius. The Hemsworth interview was the first place in the film I laughed out loud (though Holtzman made me smile before that).
However, there's no heart to the film, just effects and looks. The friendship story of Wiig and McCarthy is inconsequential and given no weight. There are no character arcs. Several plot points are sloppy and fall flat. This was supposed to be a tale of science heroines saving the day, but it failed to evoke the emotions of camaraderie. This lies squarely on Feig, who was not up to the task of delivering anything more consequential than a poor imitation of the original.
Should you see it? Yes, for McKinnon and Hemsworth. Holtzman was just wonderful. I'd be raving even harder if all four had been on that level of performance. The final fight is also nice, though the ending is anti-climatic. This is not a total train wreck like the first trailer implied, but it is not good or great. Mediocre.
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