It’s hard to believe a full-fledged Ghostbusters film hasn’t been in theaters since 1989, but it’s now 2016 and they’re back…sort of. Whether or not you’ve embraced the franchise’s reboot, it’s worth paying tribute to the fact that many consider the original 1984 film to be one of Hollywood’s most libertarian blockbusters.
After losing their jobs at Columbia University, paranormal investigators, Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler start their own extermination service known as the “Ghostbusters.” Naturally, no one takes them seriously, until a rise in paranormal activity begins to threaten New York.
As their service becomes more in demand, the Ghostbusters do what any successful business does: expand. They purchase an office in the form of a firehouse, make a cheesy advertisement, and hire extra staff: receptionist Janine Melnitz, and a fourth buster, Winston Zeddemore. The Ghostbusters new found fame and success, however, is short lived when the Environmental Protection Agency has them arrested and their business shut down for operating unlicensed waste, deactivating their spirit containment system and inadvertently releasing hundreds of ghosts, who begin terrorizing New York.
The situation escalates even more when the ghosts successfully summon Gozer, the god of destruction, to bring about the end of the world. The government, having no means of combating the supernatural threat, releases the Ghostbusters from custody to battle Gozer. When our heroes finally come face to face with the god of destruction, it allows the Ghostbusters to choose the form of the destructor. Trying to think of something completely harmless, Ray envisions his favorite corporate mascot, the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, which arrives in giant form and begins to destroy the city.