Great to see Ghostbusters old and new together on a mission back in NYC working out of the old Firehouse headquarters. But this pretty predictable film was neither as fun, nor exciting, as we hoped it would be.
There’s a cool chase in the beginning, but this take is more character than action driven. This sequel to Ghostbusters Afterlife now takes the Spenglers from Oklahoma to their Firehouse roots, where they’re back chasing spirits in the Big Apple. Jason Reitman was supposed to direct, but instead turned that over to Gil Kenan and they wrote the script together. There is a dedication to the original director of films, Jason’s father, Ivan, also listed as producer on this the 40th anniversary of the original film of the franchise.
Paul Rudd steps into the lead as nerdy Ghostbuster Gary. He’s the man in Callie Spengler’s life. Callie (Carrie Coon), and kids Phoebe and Trevor (Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard) have added the likable Rudd (Sexiest Man Alive) to the Spengler family as Gary Grooberson. These actors play generally play amiable characters encountering various ghostly interactions.
Phoebe is the brainchild who is most gung-ho about finding, trapping and studying the spirits menacing New York City. She’s fearless, and seeing her swing out the side of the decked out Ghost-mobile starts the film with a bang. There’s no doubt Phoebe is a direct descendant of Egon (Harold Ramis), spectacles and all.
Unfortunately, Phoebe’s Ghostbusting career is derailed by the team’s old nemesis dating back to the original film, Mayor Peck (William Atherton), who has never stopped trying to shut them down. Nevertheless, Grace’s Phoebe provides one of the most engaging characters in this film, along with hundreds of cute little mischievous Stay-Puft marshmallow men that periodically liven things up. Ordered to stay back, Phoebe meets a mysterious, cross dimensional ghost with history, and they hang together. But the film intimates there may be more to the relationship between these two female characters. Her ethereal friend, Melody (Emily Alyn Lind) floats in and out keeping all guessing if she’s friend or foe.
Nadeem Razmaadi (Kumail Nanjiani) unintentionally holds the powerful key in this film. He’s introduced as a street smart grifter trying to sell his grandmother’s brass sphere that may hold some kind of power. Nanjiani is basically his comedic self as Nadeem. All he cares about is getting some cash. There are some effective special effects as we find out more about what this ancient trinket can summon for the Ghostbusters to contend with. Garruck is the ancient evil spirit who pops right out ready to free all of the ghosts in the firehouse containment chamber. Plus this Gozer has the power to turn anything and everything to ice!
As the stakes for world destruction rise, the veteran Ghostbusters start showing up, one by one. Dan Aykroyd, back as Dr. Raymond “Ray” Stantz still gets very excited by paranormal activity. Ernie Hudson, as Dr. Winston Zeddemore, has become a respected, wealthy industrialist and, last, but kind of least, Bill Murray’s Dr. Peter Venkman makes his entrance wryly charming as ever. Aykroyd looked like he really relished his role here, spouting all kind of ectoplasmic information, and Ernie Hudson gets plenty of screen time. But Murray isn’t included in much more and seems even more deadpan and disinterested than usual. We would have welcomed more interaction with the newbies and the original team.
There’s such a large cast that some characters get lost in the shuffle. Finn Wolfhard gets off to a promising start in the opening car chase, and then is mostly absent until the final minutes. Same for Annie Potts as Janine Weinetz and don’t blink your eyes when you see Patton Oswalt as Dr. Hubert Wartzki. Oswalt is a fun character in his own right, but he’s here, there and gone in an instant.
There is a certain amount of nostalgia which we saw at our screening with Ghostbuster club members who do charity work dressed up in the khaki jumpsuits with jacked up proton blaster back packs. There are just too many characters, old and new. Even the poster is overloaded. It feels long, with action and special effects that are not so special. And when you have an iconic theme song, why not use it to punch up scenes throughout so we could all shout, “Who You Gonna Call!”
Columbia Pictures. 1 hour 55 minutes. PG-13
