Hey there, Plotaholics!
Bryan Tann here again, and this time around I’m here to freak out, mark out, geek out, and lose my damn mind over the recently released Ghostbusters: Afterlife trailer.
Let’s discuss a few things from the trailer:
- Paul Rudd: I have never made it a secret that I fan boy over Paul Rudd. I have loved him ever since Clueless. He’s got a quality about him that makes him so likable whether he is playing a goof (Scott Lang), a regular guy (Mr. Anderson in Perks of Being a Wallflower), or a lovable loser (Ned in Our Idiot Brother). For me, he legitimizes whatever movie, or television show he is in.
- Finn Wolfhard: This kid is going to be The TRUTH for years to come. For me, he could play Paul Rudd’s kid in a movie, and you couldn’t convince me that he isn’t. He’s got a little bit more of an edge about him (Ritchie in It), but he can also be downright sweet as hell.
- We aren’t told anything directly: Jason Reitman has masterfully executed the old creative writing rule, ‘show don’t tell,’ in this trailer. The ‘telling’ is just enough to let us know what is what if we didn’t already know. We don’t really get an idea of what this trailer is for until the 0:55 mark of this 2:34 trailer.
- Tributes Galore: At 1:33 we hear Paul Rudd’s voiceover ask, “Who are you?” At 1:35 we see the iconic jumpsuits, including one with the ‘Spengler’ tag sewn into the fabric. This tells us that Harold Ramis (Egon Spengler in the original Ghostbusters, who tragically passed away in 2014) will not be ignored. Earlier on in the trailer we are told that their grandfather died, indicating that these are Egon’s grandchildren. His spirit (no pun intended) is a driving force of this film. His death is WHY we are here. If someone deserves to be an overarching driving force of this film, its Harold f’ning Ramis (RIP). The trailer then features the Ecto-1 flying through town while one of the kids fires a proton pack from the gunner seat. It is is beyond bad ass. It is also an awesome throwback to the Real Ghostbusters cartoon. Fight me.
- None of the original Ghostbusters appear: In this trailer, not seeing or having any direct mention of Ray Stanz (Dan Aykroyd), Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson), or Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts), is a beautiful and smart choice. We know they are going to be in this movie, but we do not need to see them. We do hear some of Venkman’s “Call it fate, call it luck, call it karma” speech, but that is the only significant reference. One of my biggest gripes against modern movie trailers is that they give us entirely too much to the point of spoiling the film. It’s refreshing to see a trailer not go that route.
Admittedly, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is the primary film I’m looking forward to in 2020. Yes, there are other great films coming soon, but this is the one that I want the most.
The Ghostbusters I grew up with are coming back, and I am beyond excited by this. Thank you, Jason Reitman, even though you said the Ghostbusters were full of crap in your scene in Ghostbusters II.
Check out this trailer. It’s worth it.
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I agree, the trailer was awesome.
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