Sound the sirens on Ecto-1, because here we go again.although A cold reception from some critics (me, I’m a critic), Ghostbusters: Afterlife Already spawned sequels: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Paul Feig’s collaboration with Melissa McCarthy aside, this horror-comedy series has ties to the 1984 film Ghostbusters and its 1989 sequel, Ghostbusters II, But following the family of the late Egon Spengler doubles down on the legend.
This makes for a new chapter filled with characters, CGI ghouls, and scientific shouts. While it does have a few jokes at times (thanks to the likes of Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt), overall this sequel is a bewildering mix of fan service and baffling choices designed to appeal to a broad audience. Confusing combination of people. In fact, parents may welcome the warning.
what is Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire about?
Egon’s descendants moved to New York City, took over the iconic Lower Manhattan Firehouse, and answered the call to exterminate ghosts. Egon’s daughter Carly (Carrie Coon, played by Cruise Control) is in a lighter mood, spending time with her ghost dog friend Gary Grobertson (played by an unflappable Paul Rudd). moved in together, and Grobertson timidly assumed the role of stepfather to the children. Trevor (played by the grouchy Finn Wolfhard) is now 18, a fact he repeats over and over again rather than showing any actual character growth. Phoebe (played by McKenna Grace), now 15, is the centerpiece of this sequel, as she grapples with complex obsessions, child labor laws and an icy apocalypse.
Script – from afterlife Director Jason Reitman and frozen empire Helmer Gil Kenan – lays down detailed lore to establish a simple premise: an angry, cold god wants to take over the world. The old and new Ghostbusters must team up to stop this.
The combination of the old and new Ghostbusters team-ups makes for a confusing film that fails because it’s too eager to appeal to adults who grew up with the first two films, as well as their children, who might Attracted to merchandising strategies and product placement. (Just buy the Cheetos ahead of time. They get more screen time than a few supporting characters.)
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire A clumsy touch on nostalgia.
This slapdash sequel brings back Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts – this time in more than just cameo mode. (Thankfully, the GCI ghost of the late Harold Ramis rests in peace.) frozen empire It also loops through familiar scenes, such as the Ghostbusters’ firehouse and the exterior of the Bryant Park Library with its iconic lion statue, recalling the horrors of haunting ghosts from the past, including Slimer. There are also classic clips from past movies, TV commercials for toys and Ghostbusters cereal, and a montage of Ray Parker Jr.’s music videos.
These allusions will likely delight fans of the original film. But none of these ancient artifacts have received a new polish. Even the original cast’s performances range from polite playfulness to obvious overacting. (Well, except for Aykroyd—who’s clearly happy to be back in the supernatural saddle, though his enthusiasm isn’t contagious.) As a result, retro content aimed at adults is slowly disappearing. But things that center on children can sometimes be shockingly misjudged.
What parents should know before taking their children to see Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire?
Some parents may worry about the presence of scary spirits in this ghost story. But as in past entries, these sinister ghosts include the delightfully menacing (Stay Puft and his mini-minions), the bewilderingly sexy (Götzel), and the gothic (The Carpathians Vigo). There’s no real nightmare material to be found in this new production, as the ghosts range from a mind-bending “sewer dragon” to a horned deity that feels like a tame pastiche. Pan’s Labyrinth.
Even more disturbing is how the writers treat their teenage characters. Returning from the last film, the poorly nicknamed podcaster (the brave Logan King) and Trevor’s love interest Lucky (the unfortunately underused Celeste O’Connor) mrs webb) conveniently access internship opportunities that take them far from their home in Oklahoma and into this story set in New York City. However, only the latter is saddled with a confusing series of sex jokes.
When Lucky walks into a stranger’s apartment on an investigative mission, she makes blithe comments about nipple play, loud sex, and a hidden room she believes is a “sex dungeon”—prompting the flustered resident (Nan Jani) defends his late grandmother’s collection. cultural relics. It’s a series of uncomfortable jokes for social reasons, and it’s also disturbing to put dirty humor on a black teenage girl when the movie is filled with mature adults.
Elsewhere, Phoebe stumbles into a star-crossed lovers subplot as she falls for a ghost girl named Melody (sleep doctorEmily Alyn Lind). Phoebe is quickly established as a queer character who flirts with Sapphire. Following a cliche queer coming-of-age story, Phoebe feels so isolated from her friends and family—albeit because of the ghost hunt, not her sexuality—that she becomes desperate to get closer to her crush. This results in a disturbingly grand gesture that comes shockingly close to a suicide attempt.The picky ones will note that Phoebe provided a disclaimer before taking action, calling it “non-lethal”, implying it’s not permanent – so the effect is greater ghost dad Coma zone. But in description, it’s still grim and potentially triggering.
Considering the grim statistics of suicide among LGBTQ youth in the United States, it feels incomprehensible that this scene was brought to the screen. Plot-wise, it’s easy to make up different pieces of movie science to get to the same plot point. So why did the filmmakers, trying to make a family-friendly movie, touch on something so sensitive so carelessly?
5 ways to help prevent suicide among LGBTQ youth
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Lack of chemistry and community.
In addition to these huge red flags, this sequel is too packed with content to be consistently entertaining.There are two original reasons Ghostbusters A large part of what makes the movie such a hit is the chemistry between the four leads.Egon, Venkman, Ray and Winston pleasure follow.Here, Kenan and Reitman don’t seem to believe their audience is invested enough in the Spengler family to succeed without their eccentric best friends and Almost all the main characters from the first two movies. There are too many characters for this army of characters to be supported by the film, and many feel like little more than cameos. They don’t provide any arc, but provide the opportunity to happily leave behind the exposition or movie science mumbo jumbo, and on rare occasions provide a laugh track.
This lack of cohesion has the most profound impact on the central plot, which is how Phoebe feels about her place in the family and the Ghostbusters. If executed skillfully, this disconnect could leave the audience feeling as uninhibited as she does. Instead, Kennan risks making the audience feel disconnected from the whole, as the film jumps haphazardly from scene to scene with little sense of tone, context, or plot cohesion. At times, even the characters’ roles seemed less determined by who they were or what they knew and more by who was available to shoot that day. How else to explain why characters who don’t share a scene operate with exactly the same information?
Another loss from the lack of connectivity is New York City’s image. In the first two films, the city itself proved to be an important part of the movie. Roaring New Yorkers and their anxious mayor are hard to convince, creating a conflict for the upstart paranormal scientist. The gritty character of New York in the 1980s colors these films, Ghostbusters II An entire city’s community comes together (in song, too!) to chip in and save the world.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Most of it was shot in Georgia and looks the part. The look of New York City cannot make up for Kennan’s apparent disinterest in depicting the culture and chaos of this iconic metropolis, where locals would have been dismissive of the Titanic’s eventual docking. Instead, he delivers a jarring sequence on sunny Coney Island that looks nothing like it, as the icy destruction unfolds, followed by some aerial views of frigid New York. It’s almost impossible for the average person on the street to make a montage.
tell everything about you Ghostbusters IIPersonally, this is my favorite. But it’s impossible not to get wrapped up in the excitement and good wishes of the holiday finale. on the other hand, frozen empireThe climax is filled with grimaces and CGI nonsense that undercuts the emotional undercurrent and leaves the audience feeling apathetic rather than enthusiastic.
in the end, Ghostbusters, Ice Empire Not a good movie, not a good children’s movie either. (It’s worth noting that this reviewer would argue that many recent movies turn redLucca, and Nimona – has proven you can do both. ) However, it is still better than Ghostbusters: AfterlifeI described the film as “a brutal reanimated corpse stuffed with half-baked new characters and lazy fan service.”
best i can say Ghostbusters, Ice Empire Yes, that’s not the worst.that would be Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Ghostbusters, Ice Empire In theaters March 22.
If you are feeling suicidal or going through a mental health crisis, talk to someone. You can contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988; the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860; or the Trevor Project at 866-488-7386. Text “START” to the crisis text hotline 741-741.Contact the NAMI Helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time), or email [email protected]. If you don’t like this phone, consider using the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Chat: crisis chat network.here is one International Resource List.