Spoilers Ghostbusters: Afterlife grade and discussion thread

​

More than thirty years in the making, Afterlife is finally here! I won't be able to see it until Saturday but I can't wait!

 

Went to the 7:00 showing tonight in full gear. Loved it. I don't think I'd describe it as a comedy, which is why I think the critical response has been mixed. As an adventure movie it's great.

 

I saw the movie at Disney Springs in Orlando, and when our town got called out in the film as a great spot for a ghost invasion, there was a huge laugh/groan combo in the theater. Everybody did legit laugh at all of Phoebe's jokes, though! And not a single dry eye in the house at the last showdown. I don't know how they did what they did, but goddamn it worked.

 

Good movie. The "are you a God?" scene was hilarious. Peter looking at Ray with a “don’t mess this one up” face. The Egon ghost was well done as well.
The only issue I have with it was the score as it just felt like they just reused the tunes from the first movie. Plus there were no pop songs. I know that's a very 80's thing but the Ghostbusters soundtracks were always a hit.
That and there was no Slimer.

Strange summer school where the teacher just puts on Chucky. Did they say why Phoebe was there? I assume it was so she would make friends.

 

I thought it was a pretty clever remixing of the Elmer Bernstein score by Rob Simonsen, myself. There was that one pop track in mid-credits - Billie Eilish, was it? Something about 'ghosts don't stay in haunted houses'...

EDIT: Correction - it's Phoebe herself, Mckenna Grace, singing!!

I swear, I thought for a second at the end of the second post-credits scene that that was what we were about to get - Slimer bursting out of the failing containment grid and roaring straight into the camera.

That, and apparently it's so small a town (with so giant a Walmart) that there's literally nothing else for the kids to do. She certainly didn't seem like she'd be having any problems academically, she's practically ready for college at age 12!

 

Didn’t Ray say the station was a Starbucks now? Also, he said that Egon took all their stuff but they arrived on the scene with proton packs. I assumed he made more for the off chance they were needed.

 

Didn't care for it one bit.

This movie is on nostalgia overdrive. It's too concerned with wanting to wink and nod to the fans of the original film. It shows almost no interest in wanting to try anything new.

 

I'm listening to it right now; it's just been released on YouTube. I too thought it was a wonderful update; my only gripe is that Elmer Bernstein didn't get a bigger credit for it.

Yes, he did. Those two things struck me too. Did Winston buy out the Starbucks?

I loved it and can't wait to see it again. I shed a tear or two at the end. Seeing the guys again, I got the same vibe I got watching Peter Davison in Doctor Who's "Time Crash": yes, they're older but they still look great and it's just wonderful to see them again, and all the little fanservice callbacks and Easter Eggs worked for me. "Egon Spengler can burn in hell" gave me the same feeling I had when Luke Skywalker tossed that lightsaber over the cliff.

I'd say the ratio of comedy to adventure is only slightly shifted in favour of the latter, compared to the first movie, which plays like a modern Marvel movie now anyway.

More of a creative remix of the original film with a bit of The Goonies and a dash of Hocus Pocus but, for me, it worked.

 

Very much enjoyed it. Shameless nostalgia done right. Not a hint of cynicism. Loved the new cast.
I like that it didn't really try to be a full on comedy (not that it was devoid of humour by any means) and decided to just be a family adventure movie...Well at least until the original team showed up, but it's impossible for those guys NOT to make anything they're in together a comedy. Really hope to see more like this!
Also, not going to lie I started tearing up there near the end.

On the nerdy lore side of things, I'm still left with a few questions; like did GBII happen or not? Because it would be weird if the car was converted back to it's original state (licence plate and all) after it's make-over . . . unless of course they bought and converted a second '59 Cadi hearse and Ecto 1-A is a different car altogether? I mean yeah, there were some background easter eggs like the dancing toaster in Egon's kitchen, and Ray's occult book shop; but you'd think "and they brought the Statue of Liberty to life and walked it down 5th Avenue" would have rated a mention in there somewhere.
Also a little confused by Shandor's motivations; in the original movie it's implied he was out to destroy the world because after WWI he decided humanity is too sick to survive. Here it makes it look like he was going for an immortality "reign in hell" play. Not that those two are mutually exclusive, and I guess it was worth it for that one gag of Gozer just dismissively ripping though him.

Some questions however were answered, like "is the video game in continuity?": no, no it's not since the plot of this movie rather precludes it on several counts; not least of which being the involvement of both Shandor and Gozer. A shame, though not terribly surprising.

ETA: almost forgot to mention, but did anyone else catch this thing getting it's own cameo!? I mean of all the things to reference, the fact that they went with a toy ghost from the cartoon spin-off's merch line is about as deep as deep cuts get.
I'm of two minds whether the PKE meter's new "taser" function is a visual nod to Extreme Ghostbusters though. It could be a coincidence I guess?

 

I was wondering about that. The lack of 1991 on the wall also is a strike against it.

 

On the flip side; shutting down Shandor's mandala network could easily account for why all the ghost sightings died off so fast, and what put Egon back on Gozer & Shador's trail after all those years. Plus over-investing in the franchise scheme right when their income evaporated would have easily left them financially ruined.

 

Reviewing the plot of the game, it would be extremely difficult to reconcile the two depictions of Shandor, but other than that it doesn't seem too incompatible.

 

So there is a second post credits scene then? My mom and I left after the first one.

Really enjoyed it, I thought it was actually a pretty good combination of old and new. Lots of fun references and callbacks to the original, but not so much that it overwhelmed the new stuff.
I thought the whole cast, old and new, did a great job.
The new design for Gozer was definitely a lot cooler than the flesh colored leotard with some bubbles glued to it we got in the first one.
Loved the OG guys showing up a the end, with the "are you a god" bit being my favorite.
I will admit, I got a bit choked up for a second when

Spoiler: a character showed up.

Egon showed up and helped Phoebe with her proton pack

Loved the first post credits scene,

Spoiler: which raises a question for me.

does it mean that Peter and Dana have been together this whole time?

 

Spoiler

Yeah. Back in NYC, Winston and Janine are discussing old times and how he's now a successful businessman ("but I'll always be a Ghostbuster") who has bought the firehouse (and is footing the bills for Ray's Occult - "He'll turn a profit one of these days"). We see Winston arriving at the old HQ, followed by Ecto 1, which is driven in behind him. Cut to the basement, and we slowly zoom into the containment unit, which shows a red warning light, setting up the possibility of a sequel with Winston perhaps setting up a new team.

 

Is the game canon? Because that had the car back to its original Ghostbusters look

 

Probably not, unless Egon took the original car and they had to get a replacement for when they started up again.

 

It was, but I don't think it's compatible anymore.

 

I was surprised

Spoiler

Olivia Wilde was playing Gozer!

 

I think we can all agree this was Josh Gad’s best role to date