Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Ghostbusters II’

3/19/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Sigourney Weaver, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson as Dana Barrett, Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Egon Spengler, Dr. Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore in ‘Ghostbusters II’. (Photo Courtesy of Columbia Pictures.)

There are few things in the creative world more difficult, than creating a quality sequel to a runaway hit. Simply because, some stories come out of the gate perfect, and enthrall audiences and readers in every way imaginable. And if anyone dares to put together a story that doesn’t hold a proper flame to that original, then there will be hell to pay. Through bad word of mouth, low ratings, and a tiny box office haul and sadly, we’ve seen that happen a lot throughout the years. Because there is a ton of pressure in following a juggernaut classic, and it is hard to properly assemble a follow-up that can tip its cap and wow folks again.

But that doesn’t stop creatives from trying, with success. Because despite the many failures, there are some sequels that manage to wow and even surpass the original. But the majority of the time, what we really get are sequels that just… get the job done. They’re not overwhelmingly amazing, they’re not terrible, they just provide solid entertainment and that tends to go under the radar often but should be celebrated. Simply because… those sequels didn’t live in infamy, they just continued a story as best they could and seemingly had the knowledge that there was no way the original could ever be topped and that middle of the road mentality, oddly serves the next chapter in the Ghostbusters franchise well.

Because Ghostbusters II is just that. A quality follow-up that does a good job of paying tribute and respect to the original while still finding ways to entertain the audience. Yet, despite being a mid-tier Ghostbusters flick, it is quite polarizing with the fans, and it does make sense as to why. After all, the original was a breath of fresh air, filled with innovative concepts. Whereas here, there’s a lot of the same. Since the Ghostbusters must find their way together once again to save the world from a powerful deity that is eager to take over and wreak havoc with its special brand of evil. But even that plot could be forgiven through and through, since it is featured often in the franchise, which means that the real frustrations from the fans here, come from the details.

Since some segments of the story are, indeed, outright clones of what came before, which are the tribute moments that fans… didn’t quite jibe with. Because there is a lot of familiarity to be found in how the Ghostbusters reunite, how that first ghost hunt goes. Plus, we get more kitschy montages set to the hottest music of the era, alongside a finale that is high stakes and features a battle royale between the Ghostbusters and the evil and twisted Vigo the Carpathian. Not to mention, there’s even a Ghost Geyser scene as there was in the first one, it’s just that this one involved slime. But those parallels sadly, overshadow some innovation and some incredible moments.

After all, this is a movie that gives slime new life. Since it went from being nothing more than something that covers Venkman to an active character of sorts that helps save the day. Something ghost stories haven’t replicated since. Plus, Vigo is a fascinating villain with a stunning backstory that engages and horrifies all at once, as does his unique powers and flex over the Ghostbusters, specifically Ray. Which is also refreshing and new. And of course… there’s character growth to be found here. Not enough of course, since Winston didn’t really enjoy that honor until Afterlife, but these are innovations to the story that allows for it to stand on its own two legs, and the action and adventure in the story, and the humor, are indeed top notch.

But truly, it doesn’t offer enough of that, and the detractors are right, it does rely on the core elements of the original far too much. Allowing for this to be a solid and fun entry in the franchise. One that doesn’t blow us away but doesn’t ruin the franchise either. It instead made it clear that if the franchise was to survive and grow, it would need more innovation and more unique moments a la the original. A lesson that no one took seriously until after the 2016 reboot, but more on that another time. For what matters most, is that this is a quality Ghostbusters feature. One that deserves more love than it usually gets, because it does harbor some wonders and a finale for the ages.

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