[mrmichaelt]

If the ECU blew up, how come nobody was hurt by it? Shouldn't the red geyser have blown a hole through the first floor and then the ceilings above?

I guess the mechanics of it. In GB1, Peck had the power shut down. Here, Garraka forcibly summons the ghosts out of the ECU. While the ghost geyser is still there because the ghosts are freed by force, the power wasn't shut down to the ECU causing an explosion?

Edit: Paul Rudoff informed me the song in Melody Diner was "Love is Strange" by Mickey & Sylvia. Only other song during the movie I could think of was the 3 teen girls at Coney Island maybe playing something? Then of course GB song at start of end credits.

[13th Floor]

I'm okay with Peck not being an antagonist again.FE basically solved this already.I think the busters having to deal with bureocracy and politicians will always be there but it doesn't have to be Pecker.
As for a future sequel,i wrote something in the news thread about what i wish for a sequel but whatever they do i hope there is more focus on Callie....she did nothing in Frozen Empire.Except get insulted by Phoebe.
I'm still kinda not okay about that.

[mrmichaelt]

Some assorted bits that I enjoyed that I haven't mentioned yet

-opening prologue, H&L passes by I think a casket being loaded into a wagon - name of the business on the wagon I think said Tully & Son

-GB2 mug on middle kitchen shelf

-Janine's whale paperweight and the GB2 phone

-Lars uses a Ghost Sniffer in Nadeem's apartment

-Ray alludes to the Farview State Hospital and it sounded like Egon, Ray, and Peter visited in their Columbia years

-Ray is banned from NYPL

-Phoebe stands up to Peck and reminds him he caused a cross rip the last time he shut the Ghostbusters down and Ray sits there smug

more thoughts later

[An Invisible Bed]

Pretty much, but seeing a clip of the statue of liberty walking removed any shadow of doubt at all, which was nice.


Anyway, as a fan of not just Ghostbusters, but late 70s, early 80s sci fi, fantasy and horror in general, things like Bernie Wrightson (concept artist for the original movie) and Heavy Metal, the magazine/movie (produced by Ivan Reitman) it's so cool to see something of that lineage in 2024 be as good as it with Frozen Empire.

I wish I could pitch a Heavy Metal reboot to Jason Reitman in fact.

Between Ray's Occult being in Afterlife and Jason himself saying GB2 was canon it blows my mind the mental gymnastics someone performs to still think "derrr IDK if it's canon."

I always assumed it was, I never heard about the quote from Jason, all I'm saying was it was cool to have a direct nod to II right at the start, changing from a "probably" to a 100%, that's all.

[tylergfoster]

I guess the mechanics of it. In GB1, Peck had the power shut down. Here, Garraka forcibly summons the ghosts out of the ECU. While the ghost geyser is still there because the ghosts are freed by force, the power wasn't shut down to the ECU causing an explosion?

Yeah, if the red geyser is just ghosts, then they may have just passed through the upper floors and roof without actually causing any physical damage. The one part of the building that I recall being shown to be damaged in the movie is the ground-level floor of the firehouse where the car would be parked.

[Nadrarak]

Still, everything SB just mentioned would make great plot points in the next film. Imagine if a rival company sets-up shop. Why hire the people deemed responsible for the crisis to solve it?

With the precedents set in RBG and IDW story lines, the script practically writes itself:

• Disposing of ghosts instead of just containing them would be a lucrative talking point for the competition.

• The demand for mopping up the paranormal spill from the Containment Unit rupture would be high

• Mayor Peck would LOVE to throw city contracts at anyone who could bankrupt the Ghostbusters.

• A rival ghost squad would "disrupt" the field of paranormal investigations and eliminations with new tech.

"Who ya gonna call? No one. This is the 21st century. We have a convenient app. Our rivals still have a landline..."

Imagine a bunch of complete jerks with lightweight packs making TikToks while on busts and creating an even bigger problem with their new system meant to skirt oversight and employee protections.

And if you want to melt down the internet, you get the ATC cast to play those rivals.

[JonXCTrack]

I guess the mechanics of it. In GB1, Peck had the power shut down. Here, Garraka forcibly summons the ghosts out of the ECU. While the ghost geyser is still there because the ghosts are freed by force, the power wasn't shut down to the ECU causing an explosion?

Yeah, if the red geyser is just ghosts, then they may have just passed through the upper floors and roof without actually causing any physical damage. The one part of the building that I recall being shown to be damaged in the movie is the ground-level floor of the firehouse where the car would be parked.

We see a giant hole blast through the roof, so I think it's a fair assumption there are holes blown through each level of the firehouse. Yet we don't see that at all. Just some cracking of the main level floor.

[jonogunn]

there's a bit of avengers" age of ultron thing going on in this movie that would have made peck's return in the NEXT movie make more sense.

much like the avengers, the ghostbusters were the sole cause of the events happening and resulted in people's deaths! and like the ending of avengers 2 this was never addressed and the team went on their merry way like nothing happened.

fortunately for the avengers they addressed this in civil war with general ross as the guy trying to shut them down. walter peck would have fit perfectly for the next movie

[MurraytheMantis]

Both the production designer and the production notes mention a ghost called Phosphor.

PHOSPHOR: Phosphor is a spirit that uses high-intensity light beams to dramatic effect. A stunning, ultraviolet ghost that appears to float calmly, with beautiful tentacles undulating, this specter is a resident of the Paranormal Research Center, being studied by Winston Zeddemore's team of scientists.

This ghost is not in the movie. It’s mentioned in Adam Savages video on YouTube by the production designer.

So we can add this to the growing list of cut material.

My theory they cut around Bill Murray and had shots of the ghost in its tank that had Bill in the reflection of the glass. So they had to make an all black tank in post to hide Bill and added the scary faced ghost with the long teeth instead.

[deadderek]

Between Ray's Occult being in Afterlife and Jason himself saying GB2 was canon it blows my mind the mental gymnastics someone performs to still think "derrr IDK if it's canon."

I always assumed it was, I never heard about the quote from Jason, all I'm saying was it was cool to have a direct nod to II right at the start, changing from a "probably" to a 100%, that's all.

At the start? Besides there being 0 reason to doubt it, Ray's Occult in the trailer should have been the absolute end of anyone's doubt. Period.

[mrmichaelt]

Both the production designer and the production notes mention a ghost called Phosphor.

PHOSPHOR: Phosphor is a spirit that uses high-intensity light beams to dramatic effect. A stunning, ultraviolet ghost that appears to float calmly, with beautiful tentacles undulating, this specter is a resident of the Paranormal Research Center, being studied by Winston Zeddemore's team of scientists.

This ghost is not in the movie. It’s mentioned in Adam Savages video on YouTube by the production designer.

So we can add this to the growing list of cut material.

My theory they cut around Bill Murray and had shots of the ghost in its tank that had Bill in the reflection of the glass. So they had to make an all black tank in post to hide Bill and added the scary faced ghost with the long teeth instead.

Phosphor appears briefly. In the intro scene, he's the one that stares back at Phoebe when she turns away and later when the lab briefly loses power and he's halfway out of his enclosure then the Proton Fields are turned back on and he's essentially pulled backwards into the enclosure. Edit: My mistake, I see now in the other thread Doug says that ghost is Bonesy, not Phosphor.

[BatDan]

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/pFceu ... tid=WC7FNe

Some extra Venkman Shades footage in this spot. There was definitely a lot that got cut from this film. Probably some good stuff.

The Melody stuff worked for some. But for me, that subplot could shed a few pounds and opened up some time for other bits.

Seriously, why wouldn’t you just have Melody imprisoned in the PRC and have Phoebe meet and connect with her through the glass? It woulda made WAY WAY more sense to introduce her that way. But i digress.

[mrmichaelt]

Kenan interview - comments on Phoebe and Melody, his inspiration for freezing Coney Island, getting to film in NYC (though he seems to say the real Mayor's office was used?), Tom Rothman suggested the Frost poem, Kenan voiced Garraka (nice paralleism to Ivan voicing a couple entities in GB1).
https://www.bkmag.com/2024/03/26/watch- ... nd-on-ice/

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/pFceu ... tid=WC7FNe

Some extra Venkman Shades footage in this spot. There was definitely a lot that got cut from this film. Probably some good stuff.

Yeah, seems there was a whole thing with Ray controlling the drone trap but in the movie it's Podcast.

[gamera1968]

Hopefully when the physical copies of the film drop (DVD/Blu-ray) we'll get a proper director's cut of the film with all of the missing / alternate scenes that can be watched all at once.

[zeta otaku]

Hopefully when the physical copies of the film drop (DVD/Blu-ray) we'll get a proper director's cut of the film with all of the missing / alternate scenes that can be watched all at once.

It's been confirmed already that we won't be getting a director's cut. Here's hoping we at least get deleted scenes this time.

[Ectopher]

Opening title should have been Ghostbusters song! Camera driving through the misty ghost cloud, Garakka’s eyes and fade right into the main title! So simple, #1 place to start on the fan edit when we get to see deleted scenes.

At first, I thought this wouldn't have worked easily, because they would have needed to crossfade from the theme to the sewer dragon chase score - but it could have been fun to cut to the inside of the car, and Gary has the theme playing as they're driving, and Callie gives him a tired look and eye-roll as if to say "c'mon Gary, really?" and shuts it off.

[mrmichaelt]

I loved the resolution was still a bit of x factors happening at the right time. GB1 was crossing the streams into the portal. GB2 was the people singing outside then the Slime Blowers really. AL was Egon helping Phoebe and Trevor opting to shoot at the silo capacitors instead of joining in shooting Gozer. Here it was Melody's match, Nadeem's pyrokinesis, the brass upgrade pack, and Ray's plan with the ECU.

[MurraytheMantis]

A lot of negative reviews have question cutting off the fire pole.

In the film you can see two poles. In the finale after cutting you can see two.

Turns out there’s actually three!



So yet again the filmmakers actually know what they’re doing and critics need to actually watch the film!

[Bison256]

The old woman on Ray's and Podcast's err podcast was lucky her husband's ghost wasn't in the watch. If it been her husband would ended up in the new containment unit.

[JWils23]

A lot of negative reviews have question cutting off the fire pole.

In the film you can see two poles. In the finale after cutting you can see two.

Turns out there’s actually three!



So yet again the filmmakers actually know what they’re doing and critics need to actually watch the film!

After seeing the movie a second time, the pole they cut isn’t one coming down to the apparatus bay. It’s the pole coming from the 3rd floor down to the kitchen. You can tell because none of the poles on in the app bay have a black mat at the bottom. We only see that black and yellow mat (not sure if it’s a mat in the movie or just painted, in the real firehouses they're rubber mats) but you can see that black and yellow in the background as they’re cutting it. I can see why people think they’re cutting the app bay poles because that’s what they focus on when they come up with the idea, but that detail in the background gives it away. It also makes sense to cut the one in the kitchen since that is where they’re melting everything down.

[tylergfoster]

So yet again the filmmakers actually know what they’re doing and critics need to actually watch the film!

Well, I watched the film. I was pretty sure there were at least two poles, but it would fall on the filmmakers to make sure that information is visually clear just from watching the movie, which I have to say, it is not.

[Avilos]

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/pFceu ... tid=WC7FNe

Some extra Venkman Shades footage in this spot. There was definitely a lot that got cut from this film. Probably some good stuff.

The Melody stuff worked for some. But for me, that subplot could shed a few pounds and opened up some time for other bits.

Seriously, why wouldn’t you just have Melody imprisoned in the PRC and have Phoebe meet and connect with her through the glass? It woulda made WAY WAY more sense to introduce her that way. But i digress.

No offense but Melody imprisoned in the PRC is an awful idea. It’s very intentional that none of the ghosts imprisoned there are human. It would make the Ghostbusters look awful. More so a human child. That they are preventing her from crossing over.

I think what feels off about Melody to some is the movies never really dealt with ghosts having feelings and human personalties.

But Afterlife for the first explored Human spirits and the ability to pass to other side with Egon.

[Raystantz84]

Saw it again and enjoyed it much more the second time. Was pretty disappointed in my first outing but couldn’t resist checking it out again.

The movie went by so damn fast the first time, I really didn’t get the time to take in the characterizations. Much better on second viewing. ESPECIALLY Ray. Aykroyd is perfection and he nails all of Rays intricacies. Venkman was better on second viewing as well. He’s great in the interview scene and his bickering with Ray was my favorite part (just do it, we trust you!).

First hour is the best part even though others said it was slow. It still lags a bit but just seeing the characters hanging out in the firehouse hit me better this time. I just wanted to hang out there with them. That last 20 minutes or so are still way too fast and nothing really has time to breathe. It’s like they took their sweet time and then said SHIT we have 10 minutes left, we need to wrap it up! I really hope they listen to fans and give us an extended cut. It’s even more obvious in second viewing that things were cut and moved around quite a bit.

The Melody parts still drag but knowing what to expect from those story wise, I wasn’t too annoyed by them this time through.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed the movie more the second time. Would bump it from a 6/10 to a 7/10.

Release the extended cut!

[LeoCor Replicas]

(Apologies for how long this is. XD)

I don't think I've ever seen a film so poorly judged by critics who claim to have watched it, since it feels like they missed 90% of the film.

*This* is a Ghostbusters film. It's funny, exciting, and heartfelt. The cast excels in this film, some more so than in Afterlife, such as Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon, who have a much better opportunity to showcase both their romantic and comedic chemistry in this film, since they don't have to spend the last part of the film as terror dogs.

Despite what many say, the OG cast was on top of their game. Ernie Hudson acting as basically the boss of the Ghostbusters feels like such a fitting part, seeing as how much of his character was cut from the 1984 film. Aykroyd remains one of the coolest people in the GB universe, moving through the film with as much techno-babble and cheeky smiles that made him the lovable character he always has been. Murray, though in the film less so than his counterparts, makes the most of his time. The interrogation scene where he throws the pens at Kumail's character is pure, unadulterated Venkman. He hasn't lost a beat, so I'm confused why so many feel like Murray didn't wanna be in this film. Murray was always very clear if he didn't want to be in a GB film (thus why we didn't see a return of Venkman until 2021). Also, seeing Janine finally don a flight suit and a badass compact particle thrower was insanely cool.

Speaking of Kumail, the Firemasters is easily one of the most interesting story ideas for this universe that I've heard, and I'd love to see more. The additions of Kumail, Patton, and James are wholly welcome as they each make their mark in the film excellently. Whether it's Kumail's slow, squeaky ride down the firepole in full brass armor, Patton delivering one of the funniest lines I've heard in a long time involving Mary Todd Lincoln, or James' Egon-esque deadpan delivery, they all proved to be fantastic in their debut.

Onto the big bad, Garraka. Intriguing, pretty scary, perhaps not as iconic as Gozer or Vigo, yet a serviceable villain that is actually really cool. Plus, extra cool points for his ability to freeze a proton stream. If anything, the real villain is ol' Dickless himself, (now mayor of New York) Walter Peck. Seemingly aware of the reality of the paranormal (perhaps getting 50 gallons of marshmallow dumped on him changed his mind), he still is determined to shut down the Ghostbusters for good, something Phoebe refuses to take lying down. At least, until it appears that supporting the team is good for his PR, so his tune seems to change by the end of the film.

One of the more unusual, yet interesting aspects of the film is Phoebe's relationship with a ghost named Melody, an eternally-16 victim of a house fire she inadvertently caused. Her last exchange with Phoebe where Melody gives Phoebe her matchbook as a memento just before becoming one with the universe was actually kind of a nice character moment.

Is it perfect? No, but since when is that requirement of moviegoing? Nothing will beat the original, but it shouldn't have to be beat. Plus, there's a kind of magic in seeing kids become enthralled in something that came long before them, yet still captures their imagination.

All opinions are valid, but one can't help but feel like some of the criticisms of this film are misplaced. Overall, this will be a very fun re-watch.

[jonogunn]

i really hope they change their minds on an extended cut. I bet it would do for this film what the extended cut did for batman v superman. make the movie flow better and make a bit more sense.

[MurraytheMantis]

So yet again the filmmakers actually know what they’re doing and critics need to actually watch the film!

Well, I watched the film. I was pretty sure there were at least two poles, but it would fall on the filmmakers to make sure that information is visually clear just from watching the movie, which I have to say, it is not.

Yet it is clear. We see various fire poles throughout. We see two during the final battle.

Plus we see Phoebe is upstairs cutting the small section off.

We then later see the fire master descend the fire pole. Which confirms that it is still intact. You don’t have to spoon feed the info to your audience when the events already show you.

Also there’s always been more than one pole

[13th Floor]

The whole sequence at the police station was the movie at its peak i think,most characters are doing something relevant to their journey or being funny.
Winston going on about the lions helping kids think the library is cool and then Phoebe's little defeated comment " i think the library is cool"
Like someone mentioned, Ray's little smirk when Phoebe goes against Peck.
and again the scene with Ray and Winston.Pretty sure Aykroyd is firing off a billion paranormaltechnobabble per second that i will only really know what he said on a rewatch with subtitles on

[Avilos]

I loved the movie on first viewing. But after seeing 3 times, so far, it’s totally worth seeing again. Each time I pick up things I never noticed before. This has got to be the movie with the most foreshadowing of all. There are hints that you never would catch the first time. Same applies to the complexity of some of the characters and the actor’s performances.

[jonogunn]

Any pitch meeting fans?

[RichardLess]

Any pitch meeting fans?

Yeah I posted that as well in the now locked news thread.

Sums up my feelings perfectly. Too many characters, too much contrived storytelling. Ryan is great. It’s a great skit and a wonderful series.

Super easy, barely an inconvenience