Trading in the laughs per minute for a heartwarming family dramedy, Jason Reitman (son of original director Ivan) lovingly constructs his film as a tribute to its fallen star (and original writer) Harold Ramis. As such, it functions as an homage to the entire franchise, even as it essentially resurrects the old Ghostbusters gang (and Gozer) and recycles the plot of the 1984 film. What sets this apart is that it centers around Spengler's legacy and takes place in the quiet countryside rather than the bustling streets of NYC.
At first I was put off by this tone, until I realized there was no way they were ever going to replicate the spirit of the original, so they might as well try something different. Unfortunately, we really miss the presence of the original cast's camaraderie—in particular Bill Murray's wry wit—and this becomes glaringly obvious anytime they appear on screen together. Let's face it; the only reason this film is successful at all is because of the goodwill of the original.
If I could sum it up in even simpler terms, this is the Force Awakens of the Ghostbusters franchise.
3 mini-Pufts out of 5
4 comments:
I was into the "Neo" Ghostbusters movies for a hot minute. I do think that in Afterlife Phoebe is an icon for those on the Autistic Spectrum. She's great! I think they took it a step too far in Empire, though, and I couldn't invest into her friendship with...that girl whose name I can't remember, or her family, because of it. The difficulty in expressing emotions was taken too far, whereas I think they nailed it in the first movie.
Soon enough, I had to acknowledge that they are screwing over the guys. They've yet to let Podcast have a pack, and yes, he can heft them. Someone gave him one at a con, not long after Afterlife's debut. Plus, Mckenna has said that they have lightweight versions. In the second film, they take away Trevor's only true job. Lucky is given multiple great moments akin to Sentai Sixths, and she jumped up the ladder of getting involved in the lore and science a lot faster than Winston. Still, what they did to remove her from the final battle of Afterlife does stick in my craw, and doesn't really align with the mythos of how Gozer works. Though, to do that, they would have had to make it a VERY uncomfortable, and possibly illegal, situation. You know what I'm saying.
I wanted to like the movies, but an eye for an eye makes the world blind. How about, we just move forward not fucking ANYONE over. Treat everyone appropriately. Treat them ALL well. kthx Hollywood~
Plus, let's be real, the original films are really well balanced, and these are really, truly, about Phoebe. Call them Phoebe Spengler: Ghostbuster, if you're deadset on that.
I actually preferred Frozen Empire, because it actually gave the guys more to do. I didn't mind the Phoebe storyline in that one since I could relate to the isolation. I like both Afterlife and Empire for different reasons, but you're right, they don't hold a candle to what made the originals great. I could never really get too invested in the younger characters, because I really only cared about the classic crew.
Ackroyd has said that he has a script where it's turned completely over to the kids, but are they even going to get to do it, after how Empire did? I do think that's the right path to take: passing the torch. But, for me, I wanted them to make good on matching the kids to each of the guys. Kid Ray is the most successful, in my estimation, and you can tell that it's not just Ray who is taken with Podcast, because of it, but Ackroyd himself. That relationship was a high point of Empire, for me. Lucky succeeds Winston well enough, too. It's Trevor where the ball has been dropped, for me. He's too shy and in the background, in Afterlife, to be Kid Peter. They paired him up with Slimer for Empire, but that's really ephemeral. I really need him to take command and get the girl, in 3, completing the arc of being insecure and not really doing anything, to being the point man. I don't think that's going to happen. If anything, Phoebe will do it, or it'll just be another film centered on her, alone.
Looking at him, without the jacket, in that poster, really makes me think the original idea was for him to be Egon's successor, alongside the original guys. Especially given Stranger Things.
I'm really biased to huge teams, if they're done right. Hi, Final Fantasy VI~ But, I don't think they made it fly. Ghostbusters being 3+1 is what feels right, to me. At least it's not a Kathleen Kennedy endeavor. Peter, Ray, and Winston are happy and successful. They're generative. They want to help the new generation, and pass it on. That is a win. I just wish that the new generation was done better.
I do find it very confounding how they sidelined Trevor's character for most of that movie, especially after they built him up in Afterlife. I think there were just too many storylines going on and they didn't know what to do with all the characters, plus they REALLY wanted to cram Slimer back in there. I get the feeling Empire was heavily edited down, because quite a few scenes in the trailers never made it into the final film. Regardless, I liked how Empire felt closer in spirit to the raw comedy style of the original. The casting of a lot of comedic actors helped with that tone.
I get what you're saying about pairing the personalities of the new cast to the older ones. There was a lot of potential in that idea, but I think they dropped the ball in a lot of respects. I kind of reject the whole "new generation" thing in movies though, because it always feels so contrived and cynical. Frozen Empire didn't do too bad at the box office, all things considered, so I really hope that wasn't the last hurrah.
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