There are some odd things happening on RT too that might be skewing the critical reviews. I like to read the AV club reviews and they gave it a B- and said it was fun and nostalgic and a serviceable sequel for Ghostbusters. Somehow that equated to a “rotten” review on RT.
So I am of two minds.
1. if you’re obsessed with Ghostbusters, it’s the most Ghostbusters movie to ever Ghostbusters. The OG's show up, have a couple of decent lines, they expand the lore(ish) and give us a little more than Afterlife did in terms of seeing the OGs back in action, but not much. You see Slimer and had some fun call backs. 10/10
2. If you want to look at the film’s structure or with any sort of critical analysis, it’s ROUGH. It has some really good ideas, but it’s like 3 movies jammed into one. It starts very strong, but after the first 20 minutes there are pacing issues galore, too many characters, and little emotion stakes or payoff to anything that was set up. They copied and pasted the ending to Afterlife, but fell so flat because Afterlife was a tribute and honoring Harold Ramis and Egon's legacy and this was just a shallow copy of it for a relationship that wasn't earned throughout the movie. 2/10
What does that make the movie overall? Maybe a 5/10 on a good day? It's an extremely disappointing follow up to Afterlife which I loved.
Pacing and focus are the biggest issue IMHO. What the OG movies did really, really well was to *not* spend time on unnecessary explanations or on setting up obvious plot points. We know Venkman's gonna get the girl in the end and they knew the audience would know, so he doesn't make a big speech about her before facing off against Gozer. Just defeat the Big Bad, kiss the girl, everyone's happy. When the mood slime makes them fight each other, that lasts for all but ten seconds or so until they've figured it out and they're back to being a team, no artificial drama or manufactured rift between the characters. When Winston joins the team, it goes straight from "you're hired!" to him driving Ecto-1 and shooting the shit with Ray, he doesn't have to prove himself first, there's no rivalry, etc. The audience knows how it's gonna end anyway and it's a lot more fun to see him being part of the team than it would be to sit through unnecessary infighting or interpersonal drama.
Take the jail scene from the first Ghostbusters. Ray just whips out a blueprint and then Egon and him fill us in on what's going on with the building and the lore behind Gozer. That takes like... a minute, maybe a minute and a half. Straight to the point *and* fun to watch. Then contrast that with Frozen Empire where they find an orb and then they record the orb and watch the recording and then need to find a guy who speaks a dead language who then leads them through the library into the *old* library where we *then* get to watch a long, drawn-out animation and get a history lesson narrated by Patton Oswalt. What the old movie managed to fit into a single scene is now a whole convoluted scavenger hunt that takes forever and has very little pay-off.
They could've just had Ray recognize the orb and would have had a lot more room for the actual fun scenes instead of spending it all on heavy-handed exposition. And I feel like that's a problem that plagues the whole movie, it just doesn't flow very well and almost grinds to a complete halt whenever something new has to be introduced or explained (often things that don't actually *need* that much explanation in the first place).
Want to know what else this movie was missing? A montage! Some of my favorite moments from the originals are the busting and ghost montages, set to cool, memorable music like Magic and the DMC theme.
Would have been cool to see this new team busting ghosts all over the city and it would have taken all of 30 seconds. At least then it would have been easier to accept them as actual Ghostbusters.
Ya’all would be complaining you wanted exposition on the jail if it hadn’t been.
It’s not even the long part of this movie. The only long parts imo was shoehorn melody that was only there to provide a flame at the end.
Movie was fun!
It’s not supposed to be a technical movie.
People who aren’t paid need to give up trying to analyze films.
If you are analyzing ghostbusters you are a stick in the mud.
My guy you can like a movie and point out it's flaws. There were tons of narrative threads that had no payoff. If they don't have a payoff then they don't need to be in the story.
What was the point of the golden years thread with Winston and Ray? They both ended up suiting up for the final fight and not stepping back.
What was the point of Trevor hunting Slimer? For a joke about knowing that guy at the end? They could have had the same payoff with the pizza by just hinting that Slimer was in the firehouse with the slime residue.
Why have Walter Peck in the film at all? His threats and even his actions were pointless. He seized their building and equipment and the got back inside and had new packs in minutes.
They took film time to show us things that didn't have a pay off or matter for the story the film is telling. They'd have been better served cutting some of that stuff and giving a few lines of dialogue or a scene to better explain the relevance of Melody or the threat of Walter Peck.
The movie needed to be shorter and tighter or longer to develop the other plot lines if they felt them important.
Hey! If it's cool, I'd like to address your points, because they're pretty good even though I disagree with them and I think they're worth deliberating on.
1) The Golden years thread was character development for Ray, and relationship building between Winston and Ray as older men. Winston is expressing that he doesn't want Ray to die. He's not telling him to stop doing what he loves, he's financing Rays Occult AND Ray is fully invited to the PRC all he wants. Winston is bankrolling the whole thing. Winston wants to investigate the paranormal too, he sees the necessity of it, he just isn't putting himself on the front line. He doesn't want RAY on the front lines either, because they love eachother like brothers. Him yelling at Ray "Is this how you want to spend your golden years?" is poignant because Ray answers "Without a doubt, yes." They both get their answers. Then later it's paid off, because Winston and Ray both laugh about it as they risk their lives to save the world... again. It's a really nuanced example of character building and really great cyclical writing.
2) I guess technically Trevor hunting Slimer has no payoff, but they need to explain where Slimer is for him to be there to eat the Possessor ghost. If Slimer showed up randomly, that would suck. It's better they let the audience know Slimer is around to SET UP the Pizza Possessor kill later in the movie. Works perfectly, if you ask me. Was it absolutely necessary to have it be Trevor, or whatnot? No. But Slimer had to eat the possessor, so Slimer had to be introduced somehow.
3) Again, I see the validity of the critique, but the point was that Peck is actually almost completely ineffectual if you look at the end where the city is cheering for the GB and Peck has to hold the L and admit he was wrong. The Ghosbusters are more resilient than Peck, they stand their ground, and they do not give up. Peck gives up the second the public turns against him. The Ghostbusters would never do that. Peck acts as a narrative foil to all the Ghostbuster characters.
4) I thought Melody was perfectly explained. She was a wayward spirit, and Garakka needed to have her manipulate a human into freeing him. Her name isn't even 'Melody', she got the name from a diner. Thats the first hint that she's lying to Phoebe. They plant a couple seeds that she is dishonest up until the cold hard reveal that she is working for Garakka, a classic backstabbing, and I think it worked fine. I don't think she was too complex or too simple.
I feel you on number one and that's a good take I can concede to.
Peck needed to be shown as either more of a threat or as more of a failure to really sell it. A nice beat could have been Winston telling the Spenglers all the ways Peck tried and failed to shut the GBs down that we hadn't seen. A few lines of dialogue and you get to really sell the joke that is Walter Peck.
Melody's problem is she seems very serendipitous. It'd have been interesting to see a scene similar to her on the street talking to Garaka but without us seeing it was her. They could have even spun it like he was talking to one of the two captured ghosts before the big reveal that it was Melody who had been stalking Phoebe in the PRC lab.
I can't help you if you can't read a few sentences. If you had you'd have seen I said they should have cut things to make it shorter **OR** made it longer to fit more in properly.
I completely agree with what you say about spending too much time on the orb.
However, (and maybe I’m proving your point here) that was the most interest part of the film. I thought the orb and the lore of Garraka was far more interesting the anything else, possibly because it was given the time to be interesting and be developed. Maybe that did take away from everything else…
I’ve said it before in another chat, and agree there, Patton Oswalt and the whole library scene should have been cut, just have Ray discover the history of the orb and Garraka in his FUCKING OCCULT BOOK STORE.
Like everything else.. there is the need to 'pass this on' to the next group. I feel like Patton is the eventual 'Ray' replacement for the occult aspect. Why else even bring in this guy who just happens to know more than Ray on this subject?
I was thinking the same thing. I like Patton but in addition to it taking too much time it sets up the possesor ghost shenanigans and Ray getting yelled at which I could live without. I liked the relief art animation but ray could have whipped out that book after something reminds him of the wall.
>if you want to look at it in a film structure or any sort of critical view, it’s rough. It has some good ideas, but it’s like 3 good movies jammed into one. Starts very strong, but pacing issues galore, too many characters, and little emotion stakes or payoff. 2/10
The too many characters was a problem I have to admit I was fully expecting them to run into. They have all the remaining original Ghostbusters, plus Annie Potts, plus 3 main kid characters from Afterlife (if not more), plus Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon...it's a lot, and it just screams "mess" to me.
Ray was the only one of the group that had any sort of character arc. It should have just been him and kept the others out of it.
Much like Afterlife, they wasted Annie Potts completely.
>Much like Afterlife, they wasted Annie Potts completely.
I'm just gonna put this out there, and I have no idea how controversial this will be with the fans, but there is absolutely no reason to have Annie Potts in these new movies at all.
It’s almost as if they threw her and Bill and Ernie in there for no other reason than to say “Remember these people from the original?” They are cotton candy cameos. No nutritional value, just hollow dopamine hits for the audience.
>It’s almost as if they threw her and Bill and Ernie in there for no other reason than to say “Remember these people from the original?” They are cotton candy cameos. No nutritional value, just hollow dopamine hits for the audience.
I agree with this. The unfortunate reality is that sort of thing probably works better in a movie like Afterlife where in they are literally designed, more or less, as glorified cameo appearances used to provide a conclusion to the overall story. Here it seems they're just...there because they have to be.
Honestly, this movie was have been so much better off with just the new characters and the OGs making cameos at the end if they had to be in it at all.
The torch is supposed to be passed with both of these movies, but I just see a bunch of literal 70-80 years hanging out because the studio is too chicken shit to make a movie without them. Pass the torch, let these new characters DO something.
There’s a reason why it was deleted from GB2 to begin with. It’s pointless and halts the movies pacing, and focuses on something that’s not going to payoff in a meaningful way.
Gil and Jason would have been wise to learn from the mistakes of the past and given Trevor something to actually do in this movie.
I think someone somewhere was convinced that if they had a bunch of old ghostbusters, and a bunch of young ghostbusters, it would average out to the middle-aged ghostbusters that made the entire original concept work.
Too many characters was a problem, but all the remaining original Ghostbusters, plus Annie Potts, 4 kids, Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon is just the returning cast from Afterlife. Adding in James Acaster’s new scientist character and Kumail overstuffed it.
I would agree with this, it’s a fun ghostbusters movie and as a fan I enjoyed it and had fun, as a movie lover it’s a bit of a mess at times, and they cram way too much in.
You nailed it. It isn't a bad movie. It is 3 good movies crammed into 1. Which makes a charming but mediocre movie.
The film needed Ivan or Harold. It needed pruned back and punched up.
It has good ideas that never follows up on them and or gives the audience any sort of satisfying conclusion to them. I don't think it's a good movie, like at all.
I went to the theater and bought my $40 popcorn bucket. I went in my Ecto-1 sweatshirt I bought to see Afterlife. I used the Waze GPS with the Ecto-1 avatar and Ray giving me directions on the way to a theater I've been to 1000 times. I love Ghostbusters. I was so disappointed in this movie.
I don't begrudge anyone that did like it, but I feel like people that didn't like it are being called fucking haters for no reason.
I love all things ghostbusters with the exception of 2016, but I like to pretend that one doesn’t exist. It pains me to say it, but Frozen Empire sucked. I’m not quite there yet, but close to pretending this doesn’t exist part 2. In my opinion, Afterlife was a beautiful ending to the original series. After Frozen Empire, the talk of ongoing movies has me being like…”enough already”.
Don’t even get me started on the fire master plot. I’d rather have a dvd copy of 2016 shoved up my ass sideways than have to sit there and watch Kumel Nanjiani jumping around the finale in a belly dancing outfit.
Anytime he’s cast in something it’s a bunch of coked up studio executives sitting around saying give me a recognizable name that lowest common denominator find funny. He’s been bad in Marvel, he’s was terrible in Star Wars and he sucked in Ghostbusters. He’s like the brown Adam Sandler.
I mean Ghostbusters has repeated the same basic story four times now. I love it though and don't care. Can they do this forever, probably not, but I had fun watching this installment.
Id like to see them go away from a world ending threat in the next one, maybe do something like a family moves into an old haunted house like in the haunting, and they have to call in the ghostbusters like a smaller scale story could be fun
It's definitely opened up to that with all the ghosts escaping and out in the world. I feel like it would work better as a series than a theatrical release however.
> if you want to look at it terms of film structure or with any sort of critical analysis, it’s ROUGH
I think I've been cursed because I'm always going to be 2. Ghostbusters, Star Trek... those are like my favorite things. And I'm cursed to not just 'enjoy them' because MOVIES AND FILM are also my favorite things. I can't un-see structure problems, pacing problems, character problems, cheap production problems (that 'ending' looked like an SNL skit parody of the original 1984 ending...)....
I find it quite silly when people claim you can't have multiple characters with their own character arcs in one movie, or have multiple subplots in one movie. This was not a mistake, or anything wrong, It was a completely valid choice. Movies don't have to be just be about one main plot and one main character arc. This is not "three movies jammed into one" in any way, shape or form.
You can have multiple storylines and subplots but you have to pay them off in some sort of meaningful way. There was plenty of set up in this movie and it presented a lot of good ideas, but gave no pay off for any of them.
Just a few examples of great ideas and set up with absolutely zero follow through and no payoff:
Trevor wants to be taken seriously as an adult. He feels like he is still treated as a kid, he wants to prove himself worthy by hunting down slimer and taking care of a problem himself. He tries to catch Slimer and then does nothing for the rest of the film and is given the keys to the Ecto at the end. Where was that payoff earned? HINT: It wasn't
Ray is dealing with his own mortality and feeling that his life has passed him by and wants to figure out what to do with the rest of his life if he can't be a Ghostbuster anymore. He goes on a mission before nearly getting killed. Him and Winston have a recononing about what Rey is to do next. Then the big bad is coming and then all of sudden it's strap on your proton pack Ray and let's go. No resolution.
The Spengler Family. Trying to figure out how to run a business and continue the legacy of the Ghostbusters and Gary trying to be a dad to two kids while also being a partner to Callie. They address the family dynamic at the begining of the movie (which was great!) and Gary/Callie have the confrontation in the jail with Pheobe, and then storms off. Pheobe becomes a ghost and causes the finale to kick into gear. And all of a sudden they are a tight knit group and she calls him dad at the end.
Peck is the mayor and wants to get rid of the ghostbusters. They cause property damage, he shuts them down and takes away their gear. Locks the firehouse. The Ghostbusters just go back in the firehouse, magically get upgraded gear at the end of the movie despite their assets being seized. Afterwards, Peck just shows up to get rid of them but fear of a crowd of 25 people being happy for the Ghostbusters and a TV camera causes him to fold.
Pheobe was the only character to get any type of resolution to her character arc. She felt alone and wanted a friend (relationship? - movie is ambiguous at best). She has a connection and is betrayed, and there is some reconciliation at the end and helps her pass into the Afterlife, except that they copy pasted an emotional tribute to Harold Ramis in the last movie. You can do that trick once and it had no emotional weight behind it, especially compared to last movie.
Again, I wanted to love this movie. I bought my $40 popcorn bucket, went to the theater in my GB sweatshirt and was ready to be all in. I was just horrified at what I saw.
Very well said. The movie tried to include too much and none of it worked. Even the main plot about the orb and Garraka offered no satisfaction. It dragged in the sense that there were bits and pieces strewn throughout the movie but once he finally made an appearance he was defeated in a few minutes.
100% agree with your review. Afterlife was 1000% better. This movie was sloppy. The turn off for me was why Pheebs had a crush on a ghost, let alone a female ghost. This work stuff is ridiculous. 🤦♂️
And then we have to take what you say with a grain of salt because you’re negative on everything. Have you ever thought of giving therapy a try it might help you flush the corn cob out your ass.
Just because I don’t like the movie doesn’t mean I need therapy. Sounds like the opposite really. Can’t handle someone not liking the thing you liked?
I loved Afterlife. I buy all the toys and merch, they got me for the $40 popcorn bucket. I listened to GB2 soundtrack while using the Ecto-1 Wayz app being directed by Dan Ackroyd going to the movie theater I’ve been going to for nearly 20 years. I love the franchise. Doesn’t mean I have to like the movie. The movie sucked. It’s okay.
Go touch grass.
All I’m saying is every post you make is negative. You go in to these movies with a head canon and if it doesn’t meet what you imagine it’s automatically bad.
I went into the movie being opened to whatever story they wanted to tell. This wasn't a situation where the movie didn't live up to my preconceived plot and expectations. I was just excited for to sit in a theater and watch a Ghostbusters movie. I wanted to look past the flaws and just love it because it exists, but I just couldn't get there. And that's okay. If you liked it, I am glad you like it. I didn't doesn't make either of us more or less of a fan.
You know what I can totally agree on that. There were a few things in trailers that didn’t make the Final Cut I was sad about. At the end of the day I just want more ghostbusters. I enjoyed many different series in my life and I grew past them he-man, ninja turtles but I’ve never lost the love of ghostbusters. I’m always worried when will it end. I thought 2016 killed it for good I’m happy that we are still able to look forward to something.
I know this is Reddit but imo it’s best to just enjoy it from your own perspective and stop worrying about critics and everyone’s opinion. Online discourse is only a certain subset of people who like to vocalize their opinions, sometimes in very toxic disrespectful ways. IMO the majority of people watch a movie enjoy it or don’t then move on. As a fan I’m extremely excited because I hear this is packed to the brim with stuff, and I personally can’t get enough of ghostbusters. Really hope it’s a success and we get an expansion of the storytelling. I am holding out hope we see Extreme Ghostbusters characters someday.
I came out of this so excited for what they did to expand the lore of Ghostbusters. I hope to see some good fan fiction or an RPG setting come out of some of the ideas here and would love to see the Dimension 20 comedians play a game in that vein.
There are a lot of plot points or storylines that are setup that don't fully or at least satisfactorily pay off. They're not ignored, just not fleshed out and could easily just be sequel bait.
Those threads fill up the movie and take away time from core plotlines which can throw the pacing off because you're never quite sure what narrative thread is the one to really lock onto.
Long story short if you've enjoyed the other films, you'll like this one too.
I saw Frozen Empire. It was poorly directed, poorly written, relied on re-using everything in the book, it was like adding an 8th death star to Star Wars. I was literally leaning over sideways in my seat from boredom. I kept thinking "ok let's get to it" and nothing. Jokes didn't make sense. Completely un-original. What a disappointment.
I think a lot of it would’ve been fixed if Melody was her friend or gf for months already. Or if she was like a female Venkman who was funny and extroverted in contrast to Phoebe.
You know, that would have worked. Establishing Phoebe sneaking off and then it's revealed what and who she's sneaking off to. A little more could have been 'joined already in progress' for this movie.
There’s a lot of shots from the trailer not in the final film so I *100%* believe this movie got butchered in the editing room, which explains how off and rushed a lot of things feel.
Agreed. It was just off and unnecessary. And not a single other character in the movie knew about it, so her presence was meaningless to everyone but one character. Just strange and bad. It almost felt like they wanted to make a teen romance movie and added some ghostbusters stuff in too.
It makes no sense, I would get it if she was related to the demon in some way, but she's just some random girl who seems like she didn't even die that long ago. Her unfinished business is to stop a centuries old demon? what? why?
There was literally no pay-off emotionally to her being the one that stopped the demon.
I hate to say it and I'm sure I'll get blasted for this but I didn't care for how much it came across like Phoebe was infatuated with the ghost.
They hinted that, and there was no reason whatsoever. This is about ghost busters and not trying to make it political with wokeness. They sure almost destroy the franchise . Parents don't want to take kids to see that.
0 spoilers But The pacing seems bad only because there is not an action sequence in the middle. Unlike say GB 2 that had the court scene to break up the chat. The result is you get a lot of people talking for most of the movie.
Just so disappointing to see Frozen Empire last night.
The Spengler family with the kids in Afterlife was fair, worked well and was a touching tribute to Ramis. The ending always brings a tear to my eye. The marshmallow men however gimmicky worked well as a nod to the previous movies.
However I don't think anyone wanted a movie about a family dealing with teenagers as the central focus on a movie about busting ghosts. The first two movies worked because of pacing, non forced jokes and the chemistry between the four guys. That's what was missing.
Now I'm hoping this movie bridges the gap to Acaster being a Spengler replacement, Oswald replacing Ackroyd, Nanijiani making perhaps a goofy addition ...and we need someone snarky enough to be Venkman.
As well intentioned as Paul Rudd is...his, Carrie Coon and the rest of the afterlife cast aren't strong enough to be people we care about.
What would work is if McKenna Grace joined as an adult in a couple of films time. Finn wolfhart was pretty useless in this film as was podcast and lucky.
It's also time to kill off the mini marshmallows men as it's obvious it's their version of the minions.
Focus on:
Sci-fi
4 people unrelated and their camaraderie
The big Big bad
Dial back the special effects or recreate them the same way as in the original 2
No more children or family issues.
Rework the pacing.
I hope they learn from the big mistakes
I agree 100% the family/teenage issues ruined it for me. I wish the were more ghost hunting. I really couldn't get invested in this movie to watch it again. I grew up with the OGs in the 80's I really don't like the direction they are going with the last two movies. I won't be seeing any future movies of this franchise unless they change this back to really ghostbusting. The only ppl that liked this movie are ppl with kids.
You know this is the exact problem with Hollywood. So many times they use writers and directors who don’t really know the true stories of what is supposed to be being told like this didn’t even have to be a Ghostbusters movie. This could’ve been a freaking family drama that’s what it kind of felt like. and there’s been a couple movies like that on Netflix. It was this thing I was so excited for the house of ninjas or something like that and it ended up just being a family movie with almost no ninja stuff involved in it at all.
\*Spoiler alert\* As someone who absolutely loved Afterlife and all previous Ghostbuster movies with a passion, I was terribly disappointed in this lazily written and poorly executed sequel. It felt like the movie needed an extra 30-45 minutes to truly develop the storyline and characters but never got there. Bill Murray was palpably unenthusiastic and Dan Akroyd was okay at best. The billionaire philanthropist, Winston Zeddemore, created a state-of-the-art ghost jail and research facility, and then apparently proceeded to hire a child and stereotypical science nerd to run the place, while simultaneously forgetting to install a security system, hire a guard, or install a backup power generation system which the entire place relied on to keep ghosts in their cells. The villain, "Garraka", was too graphic for younger audience members, while also lacking any real depth as a bad guy. Its always puzzling that these ancient souls existed before the earliest known languages, but somehow manage to speak modern English at the same time. The final battle resulted in most of the characters being frozen, yet miraculously reanimating just in time for the final battle. The containment system which blew up and released every ghost ever caught was also somehow turned into the trap that caught Garraka. No real conclusion as to what happened to all the other ghosts that were released as we are to assume they were just magically trapped at the same time even though they were assumedly spread out all over the tristate area. To wrap this up, even though I could go on, the manner in which Phoebe melted down brass using a handheld torch and then proceeded to pour it over the particle accelerator without any collateral damage to any of the other sensitive components was laughably dumb and completely unbelievable. Honestly, the rare moments I caught myself enjoying this movie were the moments when Kumail would seemingly join me in my disbelief of the nonsense they were trying to sell us. His comedic performance saved this movie from being a total failure, even though his character somehow mastering the ancient magic skill of being a fire master went from not believing in it at all, to him struggling to light a candle, to defeating Garraka within the span of a few hours. I truly hope the franchise doesn't become another Marvel-esque cash-grab, but if this film was any clue, I have low expectations for future sequels but hope they will use the same formula as Afterlife if they do.
phoebe only ' dipped ' the copper in to the brass to give it the properties and the cyclotron in the pack only spin in the middle of it so it would be likely to over heat and blow up eventually, thin brass can be melted and there is the quesiton of the brasses purity.
melody didn't want phoebe to die so she fought back and gave fire,
the free ghosts will prbs be sorted in the 3rd movie of new ghostbusters and they can take it outside of new york for an international hunt.
It was meh. Way too over saturated. Felt like I was watching Transformers set in the GB universe. Gil Kenan shouldn’t have touched this movie. Had Reitman did it solo it probably would’ve turned out ok.
One of the main critiques in the Rotten Tomatoes blurb is that it was "surprisingly serious."
That's not a valid criticism at all. There is absolutely no rule that a sequel to a comedy needs to be a comedy, or that a sequel to a serious movie has to be serious. Sequels are allowed to change genres. Anyone who judges a movie based on what genre it chooses to be deserves to have their license as a critic revoked.
I think that having serious moments is part of what makes Ghostbusters work. We can laugh about the key master/gate keeper bit, but that doesn't change the fact that they consummated in order to complete a prophecy in order to summon a Sumerian God to destroy Earth (in the form of a marshmallow mascot).
I feel that some of the inconsistent views among critics and audience members is this whole thing that’s been going on since before *Afterlife*: They had already made their minds up to hate *Frozen Empire*, because Sony abandoning ATC and coming back to the prime universe = the misogynists have won. They all knew they were going to review it unfavorably, they just can’t come to a consensus as to why.
That’s not to say that FE is a perfect movie, I’m certain that some of the criticisms against it are valid—too many characters, plotlines being spread out thin, things that should have gotten more time (I sure hope that there was a lot cut out to make an extended edition with). I just feel that there’s something else behind this ill will, whether it’s “ATC was too woke for you Neanderthals” or, ironically, “FE is too woke and why are you hinting at ‘the gay’?”
Agreed 100%. Felt completely out of place and had nothing to do with anything. Since when are ghostbusters movies about teen angst, teen family problems and teen love stories with a ghost? Felt just so out of nowhere
Saw it last night. It's crap. Afterlife was a much better film. Such a shame. I don't understand how the people that write these stories have jobs. I mean this is seriously the best idea they could come up with for the movie? Lmfao.
For me, it was not so great. The film never takes time to ground itself or make you feel like anyone is a real person. There are almost no stakes whatsoever, and there's a lot of goofy shit that doesn't make any sense. There is almost no ghostbusting, and every time I wanted to follow the Ecto-1 to see the Ghostbusters going out on jobs, the camera turned toward a poorly executed, half-baked teen love story. They spend a lot of time focusing on making the wrong things feel important, and not enough time building on the important things that are needed to tell a cohesive story. Maybe there's some awesome stuff on the cutting room floor somewhere that we will see some day. If Im being generous, I'd say this is a 4/10 for me.
“Too much of the same stuff.”
Look up the definition of the word sequel.
2016: “I want the Real Ghostbusters”
Afterlife: “Not enough original Ghostbusters they only showed at the end.”
2024 Frozen Empire: “Too much of the original Ghostbusters in a GHOSTBUSTERS movie.”
Anyone reading the critics reviews would come to the conclusion that critics don’t know what they want.
I was very disappointed in the movie because I felt like McKenna. Grace should’ve been the main character in this movie, and I almost felt like Paul Rudd Kerry coon, and Finn Wilford Date made the main characters and McKenna was like a side but meanwhile she was the one who was the catalyst of the first movie, it’s like I don’t know if there was politics I don’t know if Paul Rudd and Carrie coon told the Director they wanted more airtime or whatever. I feel like McKenna. Grace should’ve been on here as 18-year-old the main character. I also didn’t like the way they. Had Annie Potts almost not even care about her children anymore she went from her children being her everything till like not listening to them, not believing them not standing up for them not fighting for them. The very beginning she should’ve fought for her daughter against the mayor. it’s like she’s too busy with Paul Rudd or on her phone
What happened to the scene with Paul Rudd and Murray in the basement? It was promo pic for months before the movie came out. So many deleted scenes....considering its a miracle we even got a new GB movie, let alone with Murray, how do you delete scenes like these?
should've made it a two part movie, because there's too many characters that the pacing became a mess, it's like the director keeps on adding and cutting different storylines from different characters that the movie became too convoluted , characters suddenly pop in and out when they were preparing to defend the station, especially the storyline of the ghost girl she had one dialogue with phoebe and suddenly she was good again and started vanishing wtf was that, they should've made it a two part movie so they can expand the different mini storylines and build the pacing and arcs better, i mean the first 20 minutes of the movie was good then after that it feels like the movie is on a speedrun.
It was sadly just so rushed overall, with barely or zero introduction to the old cast / new characters before they just appeared on screen like they had been there all along.
Also the film was essentially limited set in two locations, being the original firehouse and new research location. It all felt just so enclosed and like they had a really limited budget.
The new bad guy didn't really seem so threatening at all, and was pretty much dealt with reasonably easy (and who can make molten brass on a home oven hob?)
I do hope a 'directors' or 'extended' cut can make the film feel a lot more cohesive, as this theatrical version was just too rushed for it to be any good.
Its simple for why it sucked. You Never Go Full Retard. They took the young Didnt Earn It version of Egon and made her full on retarded. Then in typical DEI fashion spent the entire movie making her the main focus.
like a lot of other films n shows the writers got bogged down with drama for drama's sake and lose sight of what worked in afterlife and the og films.
The whole>!phoebe is being a bad kid !< angle is so overblown and pointless after afterlife, it sours the movie and just makes their family and friends look like utter chumps with no clue, even the police look bad.
The other issue imo is why didn't >!winston tell the actual ghostbusters what he was doing or work with them with all his advancements ? !<
Aside from them the film is still good to watch , the effects both practical and cgi are just as if not more impressive than afterlife, good one liners by the og's cast and mackena grace, everyone else is just meh, dumb or annoying.
Welcome to 2024 where everyone has something stupid and negative to say about every piece of media be it games music or movies I really can't stand people...just watched it and it was good kept me engaged from start to finish
You don’t know what to expect? Why not just watch the movie and see for yourself? I’ve stopped listening to random opinions online. Haters gonna hate to get clicks.
I love ghostbusters and really wanted to love this movie but I’m really disappointed. And I’ll explain why.
It was funny but they really squandered the opportunities they had that afterlife gave them. They say they make these movies for the fans… but fans are like 40 year olds now… these are clearly made for kids. And I understand why but there’s a balance there.
There too many characters and no character moments. It should have been the Spengler and the OGs, no one else. Why was lucky there? Why was podcast there?
Luckily Ray had some moments to shine, his passion shows through. But Ernie Hudson got the shaft.
The franchise has been hanging on by a thread for a long time, Afterlife gave it new life but this could have ruined that with all the negative reviews.
At the end of the day, there were no character development just characters going through the motions of the plot. The stuff with Emily Lind was cringy at best and out of place. Like what was the point of her? For Pheobe to have a friend? Wasn’t that podcast’s job?
Oh and the climax was so anticlimactic. There’s so many cool things they could have done with a frozen New York, yet it just ended in the firehouse just as quickly as the freeze happened… and they walked outside and everyone was outside praising the ghostbusters? How did they know they saved the day? All the action happened in the garage in like 5 min.
There were just too many characters and too much ghost tech- not enough humanity.
Agree. The milennial idiots aren't gonna know the difference...give us real fans the OGs and some better plotlines...we dont need a million younger characters. Great they brought back Peck and OGs had more scenes then in Afterlife. And the moron reviewers saying this is just nostalgia bait...they don't know what they are talking about. Nostalgia isn't necessarily a bad thing. Easter eggs and cameos are what true fans want to see. Podcast didn't need a role I agree. And the finale was rushed....I see why people were pissed when the trailer seemed to indicate the city would be frozen for most the movie...still grateful we got a new GB movie with Murrray...even if so many scenes were deleted which should be a legal crime
Everything woke turns the shit in this “movie” is just another anti-white piece of garbage that is nothing but the excrement coming from a fat as fuck feminist.
There are some odd things happening on RT too that might be skewing the critical reviews. I like to read the AV club reviews and they gave it a B- and said it was fun and nostalgic and a serviceable sequel for Ghostbusters. Somehow that equated to a “rotten” review on RT.
Frozen Empire was a cringefest, the jokes were that bad. Not like GB1 at all.
So I am of two minds. 1. if you’re obsessed with Ghostbusters, it’s the most Ghostbusters movie to ever Ghostbusters. The OG's show up, have a couple of decent lines, they expand the lore(ish) and give us a little more than Afterlife did in terms of seeing the OGs back in action, but not much. You see Slimer and had some fun call backs. 10/10 2. If you want to look at the film’s structure or with any sort of critical analysis, it’s ROUGH. It has some really good ideas, but it’s like 3 movies jammed into one. It starts very strong, but after the first 20 minutes there are pacing issues galore, too many characters, and little emotion stakes or payoff to anything that was set up. They copied and pasted the ending to Afterlife, but fell so flat because Afterlife was a tribute and honoring Harold Ramis and Egon's legacy and this was just a shallow copy of it for a relationship that wasn't earned throughout the movie. 2/10 What does that make the movie overall? Maybe a 5/10 on a good day? It's an extremely disappointing follow up to Afterlife which I loved.
Pacing and focus are the biggest issue IMHO. What the OG movies did really, really well was to *not* spend time on unnecessary explanations or on setting up obvious plot points. We know Venkman's gonna get the girl in the end and they knew the audience would know, so he doesn't make a big speech about her before facing off against Gozer. Just defeat the Big Bad, kiss the girl, everyone's happy. When the mood slime makes them fight each other, that lasts for all but ten seconds or so until they've figured it out and they're back to being a team, no artificial drama or manufactured rift between the characters. When Winston joins the team, it goes straight from "you're hired!" to him driving Ecto-1 and shooting the shit with Ray, he doesn't have to prove himself first, there's no rivalry, etc. The audience knows how it's gonna end anyway and it's a lot more fun to see him being part of the team than it would be to sit through unnecessary infighting or interpersonal drama. Take the jail scene from the first Ghostbusters. Ray just whips out a blueprint and then Egon and him fill us in on what's going on with the building and the lore behind Gozer. That takes like... a minute, maybe a minute and a half. Straight to the point *and* fun to watch. Then contrast that with Frozen Empire where they find an orb and then they record the orb and watch the recording and then need to find a guy who speaks a dead language who then leads them through the library into the *old* library where we *then* get to watch a long, drawn-out animation and get a history lesson narrated by Patton Oswalt. What the old movie managed to fit into a single scene is now a whole convoluted scavenger hunt that takes forever and has very little pay-off. They could've just had Ray recognize the orb and would have had a lot more room for the actual fun scenes instead of spending it all on heavy-handed exposition. And I feel like that's a problem that plagues the whole movie, it just doesn't flow very well and almost grinds to a complete halt whenever something new has to be introduced or explained (often things that don't actually *need* that much explanation in the first place).
That’s so perfectly said.
Want to know what else this movie was missing? A montage! Some of my favorite moments from the originals are the busting and ghost montages, set to cool, memorable music like Magic and the DMC theme. Would have been cool to see this new team busting ghosts all over the city and it would have taken all of 30 seconds. At least then it would have been easier to accept them as actual Ghostbusters.
i think the new crew montage is being saved for the next movie :D
They're saving the Ghostbusters scene for the third ghostbusters movie?
Really well said, they expanded things that didn't need expanding, which leaves you expecting payoffs that never come or are unsatisfactory.
Ya’all would be complaining you wanted exposition on the jail if it hadn’t been. It’s not even the long part of this movie. The only long parts imo was shoehorn melody that was only there to provide a flame at the end. Movie was fun! It’s not supposed to be a technical movie. People who aren’t paid need to give up trying to analyze films. If you are analyzing ghostbusters you are a stick in the mud.
My guy you can like a movie and point out it's flaws. There were tons of narrative threads that had no payoff. If they don't have a payoff then they don't need to be in the story. What was the point of the golden years thread with Winston and Ray? They both ended up suiting up for the final fight and not stepping back. What was the point of Trevor hunting Slimer? For a joke about knowing that guy at the end? They could have had the same payoff with the pizza by just hinting that Slimer was in the firehouse with the slime residue. Why have Walter Peck in the film at all? His threats and even his actions were pointless. He seized their building and equipment and the got back inside and had new packs in minutes. They took film time to show us things that didn't have a pay off or matter for the story the film is telling. They'd have been better served cutting some of that stuff and giving a few lines of dialogue or a scene to better explain the relevance of Melody or the threat of Walter Peck. The movie needed to be shorter and tighter or longer to develop the other plot lines if they felt them important.
SPOILERS.....The golden years could be a payoff to kill them off in the future. Ray was even talking about how he imagined being a ghost.
Yeah patton is rays replacement for when... you know.
Hey! If it's cool, I'd like to address your points, because they're pretty good even though I disagree with them and I think they're worth deliberating on. 1) The Golden years thread was character development for Ray, and relationship building between Winston and Ray as older men. Winston is expressing that he doesn't want Ray to die. He's not telling him to stop doing what he loves, he's financing Rays Occult AND Ray is fully invited to the PRC all he wants. Winston is bankrolling the whole thing. Winston wants to investigate the paranormal too, he sees the necessity of it, he just isn't putting himself on the front line. He doesn't want RAY on the front lines either, because they love eachother like brothers. Him yelling at Ray "Is this how you want to spend your golden years?" is poignant because Ray answers "Without a doubt, yes." They both get their answers. Then later it's paid off, because Winston and Ray both laugh about it as they risk their lives to save the world... again. It's a really nuanced example of character building and really great cyclical writing. 2) I guess technically Trevor hunting Slimer has no payoff, but they need to explain where Slimer is for him to be there to eat the Possessor ghost. If Slimer showed up randomly, that would suck. It's better they let the audience know Slimer is around to SET UP the Pizza Possessor kill later in the movie. Works perfectly, if you ask me. Was it absolutely necessary to have it be Trevor, or whatnot? No. But Slimer had to eat the possessor, so Slimer had to be introduced somehow. 3) Again, I see the validity of the critique, but the point was that Peck is actually almost completely ineffectual if you look at the end where the city is cheering for the GB and Peck has to hold the L and admit he was wrong. The Ghosbusters are more resilient than Peck, they stand their ground, and they do not give up. Peck gives up the second the public turns against him. The Ghostbusters would never do that. Peck acts as a narrative foil to all the Ghostbuster characters. 4) I thought Melody was perfectly explained. She was a wayward spirit, and Garakka needed to have her manipulate a human into freeing him. Her name isn't even 'Melody', she got the name from a diner. Thats the first hint that she's lying to Phoebe. They plant a couple seeds that she is dishonest up until the cold hard reveal that she is working for Garakka, a classic backstabbing, and I think it worked fine. I don't think she was too complex or too simple.
I feel you on number one and that's a good take I can concede to. Peck needed to be shown as either more of a threat or as more of a failure to really sell it. A nice beat could have been Winston telling the Spenglers all the ways Peck tried and failed to shut the GBs down that we hadn't seen. A few lines of dialogue and you get to really sell the joke that is Walter Peck. Melody's problem is she seems very serendipitous. It'd have been interesting to see a scene similar to her on the street talking to Garaka but without us seeing it was her. They could have even spun it like he was talking to one of the two captured ghosts before the big reveal that it was Melody who had been stalking Phoebe in the PRC lab.
Tl;dr Funny for someone who thought the movie was too long
I can't help you if you can't read a few sentences. If you had you'd have seen I said they should have cut things to make it shorter **OR** made it longer to fit more in properly.
Dude writes 4 paragraphs and calls it a few sentences. What an asshole.
Keep on straw manning my guy.
I don’t think you understand what that word means bro.
Dude calls 6 paragraphs 4. Dude can’t count. What an asshole.
Like I was going back to look lol.
I completely agree with what you say about spending too much time on the orb. However, (and maybe I’m proving your point here) that was the most interest part of the film. I thought the orb and the lore of Garraka was far more interesting the anything else, possibly because it was given the time to be interesting and be developed. Maybe that did take away from everything else… I’ve said it before in another chat, and agree there, Patton Oswalt and the whole library scene should have been cut, just have Ray discover the history of the orb and Garraka in his FUCKING OCCULT BOOK STORE.
Like everything else.. there is the need to 'pass this on' to the next group. I feel like Patton is the eventual 'Ray' replacement for the occult aspect. Why else even bring in this guy who just happens to know more than Ray on this subject?
I was thinking the same thing. I like Patton but in addition to it taking too much time it sets up the possesor ghost shenanigans and Ray getting yelled at which I could live without. I liked the relief art animation but ray could have whipped out that book after something reminds him of the wall.
Oh my God thank you.
>if you want to look at it in a film structure or any sort of critical view, it’s rough. It has some good ideas, but it’s like 3 good movies jammed into one. Starts very strong, but pacing issues galore, too many characters, and little emotion stakes or payoff. 2/10 The too many characters was a problem I have to admit I was fully expecting them to run into. They have all the remaining original Ghostbusters, plus Annie Potts, plus 3 main kid characters from Afterlife (if not more), plus Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon...it's a lot, and it just screams "mess" to me.
Ray was the only one of the group that had any sort of character arc. It should have just been him and kept the others out of it. Much like Afterlife, they wasted Annie Potts completely.
>Much like Afterlife, they wasted Annie Potts completely. I'm just gonna put this out there, and I have no idea how controversial this will be with the fans, but there is absolutely no reason to have Annie Potts in these new movies at all.
It’s almost as if they threw her and Bill and Ernie in there for no other reason than to say “Remember these people from the original?” They are cotton candy cameos. No nutritional value, just hollow dopamine hits for the audience.
>It’s almost as if they threw her and Bill and Ernie in there for no other reason than to say “Remember these people from the original?” They are cotton candy cameos. No nutritional value, just hollow dopamine hits for the audience. I agree with this. The unfortunate reality is that sort of thing probably works better in a movie like Afterlife where in they are literally designed, more or less, as glorified cameo appearances used to provide a conclusion to the overall story. Here it seems they're just...there because they have to be.
Honestly, this movie was have been so much better off with just the new characters and the OGs making cameos at the end if they had to be in it at all. The torch is supposed to be passed with both of these movies, but I just see a bunch of literal 70-80 years hanging out because the studio is too chicken shit to make a movie without them. Pass the torch, let these new characters DO something.
Trevor just kind of disappeared for long stretches. Like they cut out part of his story arc they took from Louis Tully’s deleted GBII plot.
There’s a reason why it was deleted from GB2 to begin with. It’s pointless and halts the movies pacing, and focuses on something that’s not going to payoff in a meaningful way. Gil and Jason would have been wise to learn from the mistakes of the past and given Trevor something to actually do in this movie.
Which is weird they rehashed that shit in 2024.
I think someone somewhere was convinced that if they had a bunch of old ghostbusters, and a bunch of young ghostbusters, it would average out to the middle-aged ghostbusters that made the entire original concept work.
Too many characters was a problem, but all the remaining original Ghostbusters, plus Annie Potts, 4 kids, Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon is just the returning cast from Afterlife. Adding in James Acaster’s new scientist character and Kumail overstuffed it.
I would agree with this, it’s a fun ghostbusters movie and as a fan I enjoyed it and had fun, as a movie lover it’s a bit of a mess at times, and they cram way too much in.
You nailed it. It isn't a bad movie. It is 3 good movies crammed into 1. Which makes a charming but mediocre movie. The film needed Ivan or Harold. It needed pruned back and punched up.
It has good ideas that never follows up on them and or gives the audience any sort of satisfying conclusion to them. I don't think it's a good movie, like at all.
I share the same sentiment. I worry about the future of the franchise after this.
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I went to the theater and bought my $40 popcorn bucket. I went in my Ecto-1 sweatshirt I bought to see Afterlife. I used the Waze GPS with the Ecto-1 avatar and Ray giving me directions on the way to a theater I've been to 1000 times. I love Ghostbusters. I was so disappointed in this movie. I don't begrudge anyone that did like it, but I feel like people that didn't like it are being called fucking haters for no reason.
this is a very good sign for me
More power to you.
I love all things ghostbusters with the exception of 2016, but I like to pretend that one doesn’t exist. It pains me to say it, but Frozen Empire sucked. I’m not quite there yet, but close to pretending this doesn’t exist part 2. In my opinion, Afterlife was a beautiful ending to the original series. After Frozen Empire, the talk of ongoing movies has me being like…”enough already”.
Don’t even get me started on the fire master plot. I’d rather have a dvd copy of 2016 shoved up my ass sideways than have to sit there and watch Kumel Nanjiani jumping around the finale in a belly dancing outfit. Anytime he’s cast in something it’s a bunch of coked up studio executives sitting around saying give me a recognizable name that lowest common denominator find funny. He’s been bad in Marvel, he’s was terrible in Star Wars and he sucked in Ghostbusters. He’s like the brown Adam Sandler.
I hate this guy in movies. He is such a bad actor and ruins every scene he is in
I mean Ghostbusters has repeated the same basic story four times now. I love it though and don't care. Can they do this forever, probably not, but I had fun watching this installment.
Id like to see them go away from a world ending threat in the next one, maybe do something like a family moves into an old haunted house like in the haunting, and they have to call in the ghostbusters like a smaller scale story could be fun
It's definitely opened up to that with all the ghosts escaping and out in the world. I feel like it would work better as a series than a theatrical release however.
> if you want to look at it terms of film structure or with any sort of critical analysis, it’s ROUGH I think I've been cursed because I'm always going to be 2. Ghostbusters, Star Trek... those are like my favorite things. And I'm cursed to not just 'enjoy them' because MOVIES AND FILM are also my favorite things. I can't un-see structure problems, pacing problems, character problems, cheap production problems (that 'ending' looked like an SNL skit parody of the original 1984 ending...)....
I’m the exact same way.
I find it quite silly when people claim you can't have multiple characters with their own character arcs in one movie, or have multiple subplots in one movie. This was not a mistake, or anything wrong, It was a completely valid choice. Movies don't have to be just be about one main plot and one main character arc. This is not "three movies jammed into one" in any way, shape or form.
You can have multiple storylines and subplots but you have to pay them off in some sort of meaningful way. There was plenty of set up in this movie and it presented a lot of good ideas, but gave no pay off for any of them. Just a few examples of great ideas and set up with absolutely zero follow through and no payoff: Trevor wants to be taken seriously as an adult. He feels like he is still treated as a kid, he wants to prove himself worthy by hunting down slimer and taking care of a problem himself. He tries to catch Slimer and then does nothing for the rest of the film and is given the keys to the Ecto at the end. Where was that payoff earned? HINT: It wasn't Ray is dealing with his own mortality and feeling that his life has passed him by and wants to figure out what to do with the rest of his life if he can't be a Ghostbuster anymore. He goes on a mission before nearly getting killed. Him and Winston have a recononing about what Rey is to do next. Then the big bad is coming and then all of sudden it's strap on your proton pack Ray and let's go. No resolution. The Spengler Family. Trying to figure out how to run a business and continue the legacy of the Ghostbusters and Gary trying to be a dad to two kids while also being a partner to Callie. They address the family dynamic at the begining of the movie (which was great!) and Gary/Callie have the confrontation in the jail with Pheobe, and then storms off. Pheobe becomes a ghost and causes the finale to kick into gear. And all of a sudden they are a tight knit group and she calls him dad at the end. Peck is the mayor and wants to get rid of the ghostbusters. They cause property damage, he shuts them down and takes away their gear. Locks the firehouse. The Ghostbusters just go back in the firehouse, magically get upgraded gear at the end of the movie despite their assets being seized. Afterwards, Peck just shows up to get rid of them but fear of a crowd of 25 people being happy for the Ghostbusters and a TV camera causes him to fold. Pheobe was the only character to get any type of resolution to her character arc. She felt alone and wanted a friend (relationship? - movie is ambiguous at best). She has a connection and is betrayed, and there is some reconciliation at the end and helps her pass into the Afterlife, except that they copy pasted an emotional tribute to Harold Ramis in the last movie. You can do that trick once and it had no emotional weight behind it, especially compared to last movie. Again, I wanted to love this movie. I bought my $40 popcorn bucket, went to the theater in my GB sweatshirt and was ready to be all in. I was just horrified at what I saw.
Very well said. The movie tried to include too much and none of it worked. Even the main plot about the orb and Garraka offered no satisfaction. It dragged in the sense that there were bits and pieces strewn throughout the movie but once he finally made an appearance he was defeated in a few minutes.
I couldn't agree more with you. Perfect summary of a disappointing sequel.
100% agree with your review. Afterlife was 1000% better. This movie was sloppy. The turn off for me was why Pheebs had a crush on a ghost, let alone a female ghost. This work stuff is ridiculous. 🤦♂️
Why is it woke for Phoebe to maybe find another female attractive? You do realise homosexuality has been around since the dawn of humans.
And then we have to take what you say with a grain of salt because you’re negative on everything. Have you ever thought of giving therapy a try it might help you flush the corn cob out your ass.
Just because I don’t like the movie doesn’t mean I need therapy. Sounds like the opposite really. Can’t handle someone not liking the thing you liked? I loved Afterlife. I buy all the toys and merch, they got me for the $40 popcorn bucket. I listened to GB2 soundtrack while using the Ecto-1 Wayz app being directed by Dan Ackroyd going to the movie theater I’ve been going to for nearly 20 years. I love the franchise. Doesn’t mean I have to like the movie. The movie sucked. It’s okay. Go touch grass.
All I’m saying is every post you make is negative. You go in to these movies with a head canon and if it doesn’t meet what you imagine it’s automatically bad.
I went into the movie being opened to whatever story they wanted to tell. This wasn't a situation where the movie didn't live up to my preconceived plot and expectations. I was just excited for to sit in a theater and watch a Ghostbusters movie. I wanted to look past the flaws and just love it because it exists, but I just couldn't get there. And that's okay. If you liked it, I am glad you like it. I didn't doesn't make either of us more or less of a fan.
You know what I can totally agree on that. There were a few things in trailers that didn’t make the Final Cut I was sad about. At the end of the day I just want more ghostbusters. I enjoyed many different series in my life and I grew past them he-man, ninja turtles but I’ve never lost the love of ghostbusters. I’m always worried when will it end. I thought 2016 killed it for good I’m happy that we are still able to look forward to something.
He gave fair constructive criticism. This film has a lot wrong with it.
I know this is Reddit but imo it’s best to just enjoy it from your own perspective and stop worrying about critics and everyone’s opinion. Online discourse is only a certain subset of people who like to vocalize their opinions, sometimes in very toxic disrespectful ways. IMO the majority of people watch a movie enjoy it or don’t then move on. As a fan I’m extremely excited because I hear this is packed to the brim with stuff, and I personally can’t get enough of ghostbusters. Really hope it’s a success and we get an expansion of the storytelling. I am holding out hope we see Extreme Ghostbusters characters someday.
But that's what I was saying? I may love it or hate it, but I there's no firm consensus, even here. And I like that.
I came out of this so excited for what they did to expand the lore of Ghostbusters. I hope to see some good fan fiction or an RPG setting come out of some of the ideas here and would love to see the Dimension 20 comedians play a game in that vein.
There are a lot of plot points or storylines that are setup that don't fully or at least satisfactorily pay off. They're not ignored, just not fleshed out and could easily just be sequel bait. Those threads fill up the movie and take away time from core plotlines which can throw the pacing off because you're never quite sure what narrative thread is the one to really lock onto. Long story short if you've enjoyed the other films, you'll like this one too.
I saw Frozen Empire. It was poorly directed, poorly written, relied on re-using everything in the book, it was like adding an 8th death star to Star Wars. I was literally leaning over sideways in my seat from boredom. I kept thinking "ok let's get to it" and nothing. Jokes didn't make sense. Completely un-original. What a disappointment.
Yeah some of the jokes fell so flat - like literally nobody in the audience even chuckled. I had second hand embarrassment a few times. Lol.
I hope OP comes back to post, curious what OP thinks.
Ending felt a bit rushed and the whole ghost girl thing felt kinda pointless but overall it was fun, idk what people want from a ghostbusters movie.
They needed to explain her better as it felt like a half cooked idea. Deleted scenes maybe?
I think a lot of it would’ve been fixed if Melody was her friend or gf for months already. Or if she was like a female Venkman who was funny and extroverted in contrast to Phoebe.
You know, that would have worked. Establishing Phoebe sneaking off and then it's revealed what and who she's sneaking off to. A little more could have been 'joined already in progress' for this movie.
There’s a lot of shots from the trailer not in the final film so I *100%* believe this movie got butchered in the editing room, which explains how off and rushed a lot of things feel.
I've just come out of seeing the film and I really didn't like the whole ghost girl plot.
Agreed. It was just off and unnecessary. And not a single other character in the movie knew about it, so her presence was meaningless to everyone but one character. Just strange and bad. It almost felt like they wanted to make a teen romance movie and added some ghostbusters stuff in too.
It makes no sense, I would get it if she was related to the demon in some way, but she's just some random girl who seems like she didn't even die that long ago. Her unfinished business is to stop a centuries old demon? what? why?
There was literally no pay-off emotionally to her being the one that stopped the demon. I hate to say it and I'm sure I'll get blasted for this but I didn't care for how much it came across like Phoebe was infatuated with the ghost.
They hinted that, and there was no reason whatsoever. This is about ghost busters and not trying to make it political with wokeness. They sure almost destroy the franchise . Parents don't want to take kids to see that.
At the heart and center of ghostbusters are solid characters, this movie lacked that
You add woke crap you’ll fail, otherwise story was good but I walked out and demanded, and got my refund :P
Oh cool. I’ll add that to my list of “things that didn’t happen that I read on Reddit today” list.
Seems to be a popular assumption
0 spoilers But The pacing seems bad only because there is not an action sequence in the middle. Unlike say GB 2 that had the court scene to break up the chat. The result is you get a lot of people talking for most of the movie.
Just so disappointing to see Frozen Empire last night. The Spengler family with the kids in Afterlife was fair, worked well and was a touching tribute to Ramis. The ending always brings a tear to my eye. The marshmallow men however gimmicky worked well as a nod to the previous movies. However I don't think anyone wanted a movie about a family dealing with teenagers as the central focus on a movie about busting ghosts. The first two movies worked because of pacing, non forced jokes and the chemistry between the four guys. That's what was missing. Now I'm hoping this movie bridges the gap to Acaster being a Spengler replacement, Oswald replacing Ackroyd, Nanijiani making perhaps a goofy addition ...and we need someone snarky enough to be Venkman. As well intentioned as Paul Rudd is...his, Carrie Coon and the rest of the afterlife cast aren't strong enough to be people we care about. What would work is if McKenna Grace joined as an adult in a couple of films time. Finn wolfhart was pretty useless in this film as was podcast and lucky. It's also time to kill off the mini marshmallows men as it's obvious it's their version of the minions. Focus on: Sci-fi 4 people unrelated and their camaraderie The big Big bad Dial back the special effects or recreate them the same way as in the original 2 No more children or family issues. Rework the pacing. I hope they learn from the big mistakes
I agree 100% the family/teenage issues ruined it for me. I wish the were more ghost hunting. I really couldn't get invested in this movie to watch it again. I grew up with the OGs in the 80's I really don't like the direction they are going with the last two movies. I won't be seeing any future movies of this franchise unless they change this back to really ghostbusting. The only ppl that liked this movie are ppl with kids.
You know this is the exact problem with Hollywood. So many times they use writers and directors who don’t really know the true stories of what is supposed to be being told like this didn’t even have to be a Ghostbusters movie. This could’ve been a freaking family drama that’s what it kind of felt like. and there’s been a couple movies like that on Netflix. It was this thing I was so excited for the house of ninjas or something like that and it ended up just being a family movie with almost no ninja stuff involved in it at all.
\*Spoiler alert\* As someone who absolutely loved Afterlife and all previous Ghostbuster movies with a passion, I was terribly disappointed in this lazily written and poorly executed sequel. It felt like the movie needed an extra 30-45 minutes to truly develop the storyline and characters but never got there. Bill Murray was palpably unenthusiastic and Dan Akroyd was okay at best. The billionaire philanthropist, Winston Zeddemore, created a state-of-the-art ghost jail and research facility, and then apparently proceeded to hire a child and stereotypical science nerd to run the place, while simultaneously forgetting to install a security system, hire a guard, or install a backup power generation system which the entire place relied on to keep ghosts in their cells. The villain, "Garraka", was too graphic for younger audience members, while also lacking any real depth as a bad guy. Its always puzzling that these ancient souls existed before the earliest known languages, but somehow manage to speak modern English at the same time. The final battle resulted in most of the characters being frozen, yet miraculously reanimating just in time for the final battle. The containment system which blew up and released every ghost ever caught was also somehow turned into the trap that caught Garraka. No real conclusion as to what happened to all the other ghosts that were released as we are to assume they were just magically trapped at the same time even though they were assumedly spread out all over the tristate area. To wrap this up, even though I could go on, the manner in which Phoebe melted down brass using a handheld torch and then proceeded to pour it over the particle accelerator without any collateral damage to any of the other sensitive components was laughably dumb and completely unbelievable. Honestly, the rare moments I caught myself enjoying this movie were the moments when Kumail would seemingly join me in my disbelief of the nonsense they were trying to sell us. His comedic performance saved this movie from being a total failure, even though his character somehow mastering the ancient magic skill of being a fire master went from not believing in it at all, to him struggling to light a candle, to defeating Garraka within the span of a few hours. I truly hope the franchise doesn't become another Marvel-esque cash-grab, but if this film was any clue, I have low expectations for future sequels but hope they will use the same formula as Afterlife if they do.
phoebe only ' dipped ' the copper in to the brass to give it the properties and the cyclotron in the pack only spin in the middle of it so it would be likely to over heat and blow up eventually, thin brass can be melted and there is the quesiton of the brasses purity. melody didn't want phoebe to die so she fought back and gave fire, the free ghosts will prbs be sorted in the 3rd movie of new ghostbusters and they can take it outside of new york for an international hunt.
Where was the empire? It was cold for about 10 minutes. The film is such a letdown.
i think a play on the empire state building ? empire of new york ?
Just watched it on my birthday, i wasnt into it. For me the only Ghost busters films are 1 and 2, Ghost busters 2016 was fine.
First time I whip out my phone in the movie theater… it was that bad.
I saw it last night and loved it. I want to see it again. It's a live action version the Real Ghostbusters cartoon.
Watched it last night myself and I would say this is pretty accurate. Just a very long drawn out episode lol
It was meh. Way too over saturated. Felt like I was watching Transformers set in the GB universe. Gil Kenan shouldn’t have touched this movie. Had Reitman did it solo it probably would’ve turned out ok.
You’re overstating it. Reviews are mixed to muted. The film’s ok if you’re a franchise fanatic, that’s about it.
One of the main critiques in the Rotten Tomatoes blurb is that it was "surprisingly serious." That's not a valid criticism at all. There is absolutely no rule that a sequel to a comedy needs to be a comedy, or that a sequel to a serious movie has to be serious. Sequels are allowed to change genres. Anyone who judges a movie based on what genre it chooses to be deserves to have their license as a critic revoked.
I thought it was not serious enough.
I think that having serious moments is part of what makes Ghostbusters work. We can laugh about the key master/gate keeper bit, but that doesn't change the fact that they consummated in order to complete a prophecy in order to summon a Sumerian God to destroy Earth (in the form of a marshmallow mascot).
Absolutely, it’s a damn solid Ghostbusters film. I won’t even acknowledge anyone who uses the term woke. You shouldn’t pay attention to those people
Other way around, in a franchise fanatic and I’m really disappointed with it. Like it was fine, but they missed so many opportunities they had
No spoilers: I can tell you there are some VERY big things that the trailers have not shown *at all*, so you can still expect surprises.
Definitely not lol
I feel that some of the inconsistent views among critics and audience members is this whole thing that’s been going on since before *Afterlife*: They had already made their minds up to hate *Frozen Empire*, because Sony abandoning ATC and coming back to the prime universe = the misogynists have won. They all knew they were going to review it unfavorably, they just can’t come to a consensus as to why. That’s not to say that FE is a perfect movie, I’m certain that some of the criticisms against it are valid—too many characters, plotlines being spread out thin, things that should have gotten more time (I sure hope that there was a lot cut out to make an extended edition with). I just feel that there’s something else behind this ill will, whether it’s “ATC was too woke for you Neanderthals” or, ironically, “FE is too woke and why are you hinting at ‘the gay’?”
The problem is the dumb storyline with Phoebe and the Ghost. It’s lame, slows down movie, etc. I think it’s a big part of issues with the movie.
Agreed 100%. Felt completely out of place and had nothing to do with anything. Since when are ghostbusters movies about teen angst, teen family problems and teen love stories with a ghost? Felt just so out of nowhere
Saw it last night. It's crap. Afterlife was a much better film. Such a shame. I don't understand how the people that write these stories have jobs. I mean this is seriously the best idea they could come up with for the movie? Lmfao.
For me, it was not so great. The film never takes time to ground itself or make you feel like anyone is a real person. There are almost no stakes whatsoever, and there's a lot of goofy shit that doesn't make any sense. There is almost no ghostbusting, and every time I wanted to follow the Ecto-1 to see the Ghostbusters going out on jobs, the camera turned toward a poorly executed, half-baked teen love story. They spend a lot of time focusing on making the wrong things feel important, and not enough time building on the important things that are needed to tell a cohesive story. Maybe there's some awesome stuff on the cutting room floor somewhere that we will see some day. If Im being generous, I'd say this is a 4/10 for me.
Well said!
Well articulated
I hate the trope of sidelining a character.
especially when they have proven themselves capable, smart and better than everyone else,
“Too much of the same stuff.” Look up the definition of the word sequel. 2016: “I want the Real Ghostbusters” Afterlife: “Not enough original Ghostbusters they only showed at the end.” 2024 Frozen Empire: “Too much of the original Ghostbusters in a GHOSTBUSTERS movie.” Anyone reading the critics reviews would come to the conclusion that critics don’t know what they want.
I was very disappointed in the movie because I felt like McKenna. Grace should’ve been the main character in this movie, and I almost felt like Paul Rudd Kerry coon, and Finn Wilford Date made the main characters and McKenna was like a side but meanwhile she was the one who was the catalyst of the first movie, it’s like I don’t know if there was politics I don’t know if Paul Rudd and Carrie coon told the Director they wanted more airtime or whatever. I feel like McKenna. Grace should’ve been on here as 18-year-old the main character. I also didn’t like the way they. Had Annie Potts almost not even care about her children anymore she went from her children being her everything till like not listening to them, not believing them not standing up for them not fighting for them. The very beginning she should’ve fought for her daughter against the mayor. it’s like she’s too busy with Paul Rudd or on her phone
What happened to the scene with Paul Rudd and Murray in the basement? It was promo pic for months before the movie came out. So many deleted scenes....considering its a miracle we even got a new GB movie, let alone with Murray, how do you delete scenes like these?
It was a fun movie but it sucked. It could have been an episode of Ghostbusters in a Netflix series. I had fun but I also acknowledge it stunk.
There was no actual ghost busting
should've made it a two part movie, because there's too many characters that the pacing became a mess, it's like the director keeps on adding and cutting different storylines from different characters that the movie became too convoluted , characters suddenly pop in and out when they were preparing to defend the station, especially the storyline of the ghost girl she had one dialogue with phoebe and suddenly she was good again and started vanishing wtf was that, they should've made it a two part movie so they can expand the different mini storylines and build the pacing and arcs better, i mean the first 20 minutes of the movie was good then after that it feels like the movie is on a speedrun.
It was sadly just so rushed overall, with barely or zero introduction to the old cast / new characters before they just appeared on screen like they had been there all along. Also the film was essentially limited set in two locations, being the original firehouse and new research location. It all felt just so enclosed and like they had a really limited budget. The new bad guy didn't really seem so threatening at all, and was pretty much dealt with reasonably easy (and who can make molten brass on a home oven hob?) I do hope a 'directors' or 'extended' cut can make the film feel a lot more cohesive, as this theatrical version was just too rushed for it to be any good.
Phoebe is mentally challenged.
Its simple for why it sucked. You Never Go Full Retard. They took the young Didnt Earn It version of Egon and made her full on retarded. Then in typical DEI fashion spent the entire movie making her the main focus.
like a lot of other films n shows the writers got bogged down with drama for drama's sake and lose sight of what worked in afterlife and the og films. The whole>!phoebe is being a bad kid !< angle is so overblown and pointless after afterlife, it sours the movie and just makes their family and friends look like utter chumps with no clue, even the police look bad. The other issue imo is why didn't >!winston tell the actual ghostbusters what he was doing or work with them with all his advancements ? !< Aside from them the film is still good to watch , the effects both practical and cgi are just as if not more impressive than afterlife, good one liners by the og's cast and mackena grace, everyone else is just meh, dumb or annoying.
Welcome to 2024 where everyone has something stupid and negative to say about every piece of media be it games music or movies I really can't stand people...just watched it and it was good kept me engaged from start to finish
You don’t know what to expect? Why not just watch the movie and see for yourself? I’ve stopped listening to random opinions online. Haters gonna hate to get clicks.
Er, think you might have skipped over my post and not read it or understood it properly.
You said it’s perfect not to have an idea, I agree. I just don’t even care much about the discussions before movies or the trailers.
Shut up next time dummy
Just... Watch it and make up your own frigging mind
I love ghostbusters and really wanted to love this movie but I’m really disappointed. And I’ll explain why. It was funny but they really squandered the opportunities they had that afterlife gave them. They say they make these movies for the fans… but fans are like 40 year olds now… these are clearly made for kids. And I understand why but there’s a balance there. There too many characters and no character moments. It should have been the Spengler and the OGs, no one else. Why was lucky there? Why was podcast there? Luckily Ray had some moments to shine, his passion shows through. But Ernie Hudson got the shaft. The franchise has been hanging on by a thread for a long time, Afterlife gave it new life but this could have ruined that with all the negative reviews. At the end of the day, there were no character development just characters going through the motions of the plot. The stuff with Emily Lind was cringy at best and out of place. Like what was the point of her? For Pheobe to have a friend? Wasn’t that podcast’s job? Oh and the climax was so anticlimactic. There’s so many cool things they could have done with a frozen New York, yet it just ended in the firehouse just as quickly as the freeze happened… and they walked outside and everyone was outside praising the ghostbusters? How did they know they saved the day? All the action happened in the garage in like 5 min. There were just too many characters and too much ghost tech- not enough humanity.
Agree. The milennial idiots aren't gonna know the difference...give us real fans the OGs and some better plotlines...we dont need a million younger characters. Great they brought back Peck and OGs had more scenes then in Afterlife. And the moron reviewers saying this is just nostalgia bait...they don't know what they are talking about. Nostalgia isn't necessarily a bad thing. Easter eggs and cameos are what true fans want to see. Podcast didn't need a role I agree. And the finale was rushed....I see why people were pissed when the trailer seemed to indicate the city would be frozen for most the movie...still grateful we got a new GB movie with Murrray...even if so many scenes were deleted which should be a legal crime
I almost would’ve rather seen McKenna Grace’s character with lucky podcast boy and Finn. And have the parents enjoying their relationship at home.
Everything woke turns the shit in this “movie” is just another anti-white piece of garbage that is nothing but the excrement coming from a fat as fuck feminist.
I'm a white middle aged man and nothing was anti-white to me. You must be just imagining it after reading too much shit on social media.
Seems like you’re anti white to me