To be honest, I was under the impression that this film had already been released, just because it seems like I’ve been hearing about it for years. But no, actually, it won’t be coming out until next month, on November 24th. Personally, I would think that a Ghostbusters sequel would be a natural Halloween release but I think this film is going more for the family film audience than the horror spoof audience.
Well, regardless, here is the international trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife!
The new trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife dropped today and you can watch it below.
Someone on twitter commented that the bad thing about a new Ghostbusters movie coming out is that we’re now going to have to spend a few months “relitigating” the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters, the existence of which Afterlife appears to ignore. I can’t remember who it was who tweeted it but whoever it was is very much correct. So, I’ll say this about the 2016 Ghostbusters …. it wasn’t very good. At the time, a lot of people (like me) tried really hard to focus on the positive when we reviewed the film, largely because the online backlash against the reboot was so deeply misogynistic, obnoxious, and stupid. But, when taken on its own terms and separated from both the controversy and also what we all wished the movie could be, the 2016 Ghostbusters was rather forgettable. I mean, I honestly don’t remember a damn thing about it other than Melissa McCarthy going on and on about wontons and the finale feeling as if it was lifted from Pixels.
(The fact that an Adam Sandler-starring tribute to old video games was more memorable than the reboot of pop cultural milestone should tell you all you need to know about the 2016 version of Ghostbusters.)
The trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife doesn’t really look that memorable, either. If anything, it looks like it’s trying a bit too hard to mix sentiment with comedy. The little Marshmallow Man is cute, though I suspect that the main reason he’s in the film is because of the popularity of Baby Yoda. Anyway, we’ll see how it goes. Jason Reitman has been struggling a bit lately, with both audiences and critics. After the initial successes of Thank You For Smoking, Juno, Up In The Air, and Young Adult, there’s been a bit of a backlash against him and his style of storytelling. In other words, he could use a hit or, at the very least, a film that’s not considered to be a complete disaster. If nothing else, Ghostbusters: Afterlife will probably make more money than The Front Runner.
So here we are with yet another Ghostbusters film that wants to take things in a different direction. We’ve had guys fight, girls fight, and now, we’ll have kids fight. The could be what the franchise needs right now. Shows like Stranger Things and films like IT: Chapter One have shown that kids in stories pull in audiences. Jason Reitman (Juno, Tully) takes over directing duties here with his dad, Ivan, peeking in now and then.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife takes place in a more rural area, where a family (led by The Leftovers’ Carrie Coon) have moved in. The kids stumble on some strange events in town, and I guess this leads them to finding out who they’re related to. The Ghost traps, the Photon Packs and Ecto-1 are all still there, though I’ll admit I’m going to miss Kate McKinnon’s geeky gadget girl here. Hopefully, they’ll be able to make up with that in one of these characters, who could something of a TMNT Donatello-like whiz kid to the team.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife, starring Carrie Coon (Avengers: Infinity War), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man and the Wasp), McKenna Grace (Captain Marvel, The Haunting of Hill House), and Finn Wolfhard (IT: Chapter One, IT:Chapter Two) will hit cinemas in the Summer of 2020.
Through the Shattered Lens 