'Ghostbusters' Finally Faces Critics

Few movies have been cursed with pre-release negative buzz the way the upcoming remake of Ghostbusters has. Internet trolls have unleashed a barrage of vitriol at the film, which revises the 1984 original with an all-female principal cast, leading observers to wonder if the negative attention will hurt the film at the box office. We'll find out once and for all on July 15 when the film finally hits theaters and is able to stand on its own merits.

Many commentators have blamed sexism for the online backlash against the film and its trailers, while most of those who've spoken out against the film have insisted that they're reacting negatively solely to the quality of the trailers; the movie simply doesn't look funny, they claim. Much of negative buzz, though, appears to be self-perpetuating; the majority of the trailers' huge numbers of dislikes on YouTube seem to come from commenters jumping on the dislike bandwagon for the sake of being part of story.

At last, it's time this week for the uninformed trolls to step aside and let the film speak for itself. Ghostbusters had its LA premiere this weekend, and critics' reviews will begin to roll in over the next few days. By the middle of the week, we should have a better idea of how the movie will fare as it enters the box-office fray.