Ghostbusters: Afterlife saved the franchise. After Sony refused to listen to what the fans wanted in 2016 and gave us malignant pile of slop that was Ghostbusters: Answer The Call, the studio recognized the error of their ways and made a wise decision to right the course.
Jason Reitman delivered us a true sequel that was heartfelt, faithful to the franchise and didn’t overdo it with the fan service. Now, the time for a follow up is here and the trailer for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has arrived.
I’m not impressed.
It Doesn’t Feel Like A True Ghostbusters Movie
The three canon Ghostbusters films all had a certain feel to them. It’s hard to describe. The best way to do so would be that it is somewhere between whimsical and scary. The trailer for Frozen Empire did not have that same sentiment. The one scene where humor was exhibited was the typical trailer trope, where somebody says something intended to be taken seriously and then a character (In this case, Patton Oswalt) says something “whacky” like: “That is so awesome!”
It felt forced, and instead of supernatural, it felt unnatural.
The rest of it was a paint by numbers trailer. Quiet piano music, none of the main players really saying much. Everyone just stares up at the sky mysteriously, some of them sad. We’ve all seen this trailer hundreds of times before. It is just as boring now, as it was in 1998 when Godzilla started this trend.
Despite The Logo Being In The Shot, A Frozen City Landscape Reminded Me Less About “Ghostbusters” And More About The Dreadful “The Day After Tomorrow”.
The ad is uninspired. The only thing that made me even remotely interested in it was the Ghostbusters logo. There is no grit, there is very little humor and inexplicably; the trailer is completely devoid of actual ghosts. The ad leads the viewer to believe that the antagonist in this movie is fear itself.
Yippee! Hooray!
The other aspect of the trailer that I find bothersome is that it was more reminiscent of environmental disaster movies than it was about Ghostbusters. I saw New York City getting frozen over and my mind went to The Day After Tomorrow. Nobody wants to be reminded about The Day After Tomorrow. That really ruined my day.
There Is Still Time To Change The Title
The title choice for the movie feels forced and unnecessary. This is a title that the execs at Disney would come up with after a week long brain storming session. It is unoriginal, uninspired and seems to be more merchandise oriented than usual.
I Hear A Title Such As: “Frozen Empire” And This Meme Comes To Mind. Meme Credit To Philip Gilbert, GNN Social Media Team.
This is further impacted by the somber titling of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Transitioning from Afterlife to Frozen Empire is clunky. A more agreeable title may have been: Ghostbusters: Beyond The Realm or something similar to that.
I see Frozen Empire and I am under the impression that Elsa and Anna are going to make an appearance.
Final Takeaway
It is important to remember that this is a reaction to a trailer for a trailer (I don’t know when trailers started getting trailers but this is the world we live in now.). More details could emerge that change my mind and give me a more positive outlook on this movie. As it stands, from what I’ve seen so far I am not optimistic.
I applaud Jason Reitman for course correcting and restoring dignity back to this storied franchise. However, Jason Reitman is not perfect. Ivan Reitman wasn’t even perfect. He signed off on the 2016 reboot and is just as responsible for that abomination as any other participating party.
I will say that after the job Jason did with his installment, I am willing to give this trailer the benefit of the doubt and head to the theater when this new addition releases.
I just hope I don’t regret it.
What do you think, GNN Fans? sound off in the comments below and let your voices be heard!
Thank You for reading! When I am not writing I enjoy spending time with my wife Barbara, my three year old daughter Frances, and my loyal hound Marbles. For more hot takes, follow me here and on our brand new YouTube channel. You can also check out more of my content on my author’s page.
Stay Geeky Everybody!
