Solid retro and Bill Murray. From the movie "Ghostbusters: The Heirs" will bring you old school
Miscellaneous / / November 29, 2021
You will be deeply moved. And on top of that, have a lot of fun.
On December 2, the film "Ghostbusters: The Heirs" will be released on Russian screens. This is a direct sequel to the 1984 cult comedy directed by Ivan Reitman, as well as its sequel. By the way, in some cinemas the picture can be seen already from November 27.
The Hunters franchise turned out to be quite voluminous: in addition to two films, there were also books and even an animated series with other characters. And in 2016, Sony Pictures decided to bring the universe back to the screens.
The eminent director Paul Fig was called in to film the restart (“Hooligans and nerds»). The four main characters were gender reassigned, and popular comedic actresses were invited to play them. Only this did not save the remake from a shameful failure.
The fact is that the original was a subtle dialogue comedy that stood out from the popular blockbusters of the time. The new "Hunters" could not find the necessary intonation and disappointed with their clumsy and inappropriate humor. The film raised twice the budget, but the audience was so indignant that the studio simply did not dare to shoot a sequel.
However, a few years later, Sony Pictures returned to the idea of resurrecting the lucrative franchise. Feeling anger fans, the producers this time decided to approach the reboot of such an important work more carefully.
Jason Reitman, the son of the director of the first two parts, was put in the director's chair, and the emphasis was placed on subtle irony in dialogues and a sense of nostalgia. As for the 2016 Hunters, the studio pretended they didn't exist at all.
Unlucky adults and charismatic children
One of the original four's cast members, Harold Ramis, died in 2014, and this sad event was played up in a pretty interesting way. According to the plot, his character, Egon Spengler, dies at the beginning of the film, trying to contain some otherworldly entity.
V empty house his adult daughter Kelly (Carrie Kuhn) and her two children move in: the young inventor Phoebe (McKenna Grace) and the slightly shy teenager Trevor (Finn Wolfhard).
While her brother is trying to win the heart of a local girl, Phoebe examines the strange devices inherited from her grandfather. Gradually, she realizes that he wanted to stop the global evil.
Reitman Jr. makes a great movie about sonorous youth (“Juneau") And classic awkward heroes going through a growing up crisis (" Poor Rich Girl "," Tully "). And all this was useful for him to reboot "Hunters".
So, Kelly does not know how to handle money at all and is still full of resentment against her late father, who abandoned her in childhood. And the school teacher, Mr. Gruberson (Paul Rudd), with childlike spontaneity, gets involved in strange adventures of catching ghosts. The young brother and sister Spenglers are perfectly worked out - it's hard not to fall in love with the images of these guys.
Most likely, in the characters of Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd, many millennials recognize themselves. And the four young heroes will simply remind viewers how great it is to look at the world through the eyes of a child - as if the adventure itself can find you anywhere.
Millennial nostalgia and love for Stephen King
Instead of repeating the mistakes of Paul Fig, the authors went on the path of the horror film "It" by Andres Muschetti and the hit Netflix "Stranger Things." Moreover, this impression is further enhanced by the fact that Finn Wolfhard played in all these projects. In short, the directors played the audience love card for the eras of the 80s and 90s. And this trick still works great.
Despite the fact that the heroes have to fight the same villains as in the first part, and many events literally quote the original, the new film is completely different in spirit. For example, the action was moved from New York to the American hinterland, where everything breathes Stephen King - No wonder Mr. Gruberson turns on the wards "Kujo" on the cassette.
We can say that Reitman Jr.'s film is modeled after the family comedies of the past like Honey, I Shrunk the Children and Jumanji. Therefore, it works like a time machine, sending viewers back to childhood for two hours.
Respect for the past is felt even in the gravitation towards practical effects. Of course, there is a lot of CGI in the film, but Goser's henchmen, for example, are created using animatronics. And this is very touching and valuable.
Oiled, but sweet ending to tears
The only fly in the ointment in this whole huge barrel of honey is the ending. The fact is that just before the finale, the actors from the original film appear: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson (fear not, this is not a spoiler). And the impression from this remains twofold. On the one hand, the reunion of the old guard looks insanely sweet and sentimental.
But on the other hand, the return of Murray and company does not help the plot in any way. Indeed, for such a good film, one could write a much more elegant denouement. Yes, and it is simply painful to look at already elderly actors who have not even been given funny lines.
In general, there is a feeling that the ending was edited in a hurry, trying to fit as many touching moments as possible and at the same time trying to close all the story arcs. On the other hand, the crumpled denouement is compensated by a funny scene with Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver. Wait until the credits end to see it - a very hilarious reference to the 1984 movie awaits you.
But despite the fact that Reitman Jr.'s film sags by the end, it deserves the most sincere praise - especially against the background of the first attempt to reboot the "Hunters", which you want to forget how horrible dream. This is not a breakthrough, but incredibly cute picture, after which you will leave the hall, singing that very song and shouting: "Ghostbusters!"
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