Paul Feig’s all-female Ghostbusters reboot arrives trailed by a slew of negative online publicity – rather unfairly as it turns out. This oestrogen-packed incarnation of New York’s finest ghost hunters turns out to be an affectionate homage to the 1984 original, never straying too far from its source. Perhaps that doesn’t make it wildly original, as it rips off the first film’s plot, ghosts and even actors (five of whom make cameo appearances in new roles). But it’s by no means the disaster predicted.

The film reunites Feig with his Bridesmaids stars Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, respectively as university friends Erin and Abby. Once co-authors of a book on the paranormal, physics professor Erin is trying to distance herself from such theories in an effort to gain tenure at her college. But when a series of spooky occurrences leave her covered in ghost-goo, she join forces with Abby and her kooky colleague, Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon).