Post by nombrecomun on Nov 25, 2023 20:35:31 GMT
Finally got to watch this....what....2 years after release.
I'm kinda surprised that after so long a wait for somewhat of a spiritual successor to the original movies that this is what we get. I didn't expect the main stars to be the main leads of this new movie but I wished they were integrated a bit more. The movies feels very choppy as if there were plenty of scenes that didn't make it to final cut that would have helped make the film flow better.
The Neutral Stuff: stuff that I can't figure out if it was good or bad.
- a post science world. This is a world that now understands there is supernatural phenomena yet this central kid insists on having a scientific approach to her world view. That's ok but then we see her play supernatural chess and she doesn't seem interested in investigating this phenomenon nor bother telling anyone about it. It's just several scenes that seem to live in their own world.
- Stranger Things. It's clear this show had a huge impact on the creation of this movie. The central characters are kids. Spengler's granddaughter even looks and acts like 11. They even have one of the Stranger Things cast basically playing that same character.
- The original cast. I'm glad that at least there was a mid-movie scene with Ray giving us some explanation for the team fall out and update on the rest......but.....
Pros:
- They handled Harold Ramis' appearance very well and with much respect.
- Continuation of the Gozer story....but....(tbc in Cons)
Cons:
- Paul Rudd. Love the guy but he's wasted here. Not his fault. I'm baffled as to why anyone would want to have a talented guy like him play second/third fiddle to kids.
- Gozer/Ivo Shandor: Fantastic!!!! And they didn't do a damn thing with it. Gozer basically does exactly what the original one did almost 40 years ago. Why bother bringing it back and not explore it more. Same for Ivo. At least we got a bit about the town being founded by him....but that's it. Honestly, if they were going for a renewal of the franchise then this movie should have just been Ivo setting up the return of Gozer for a second movie.
- The first 15 minutes or so hammers you over the head with the nostalgic bits(the music, the gadgets, etc...). It's not needed. We know what this is. At times the music(the old stuff) doesn't fit the scene yet they feel the need to jam that in there.
- The kids as central characters. I don't have a problem with kids as central characters per se. The Goonies did a good job of this. So does Stranger Things. But in this movie there are several things that don't make much sense because the kids are the main focus. For example, where the hell are the parents of the Asian kid???!!! It would have made more sense if that kid was some sort of ghost that only the Spengler granddaughter could see and hear. The 15 year old grandson is a mechanic?!!! That's cool but what about showing some back story.
- Trotting out the original cast at the end for a hero scene. It was awful. The last Spider-Man movie showed us how legacy characters can be handled. The glorified cameo has been an outdated thing for a while.
There's more...but that's about all I care to write. I can't believe there's a second movie coming out!
I'm kinda surprised that after so long a wait for somewhat of a spiritual successor to the original movies that this is what we get. I didn't expect the main stars to be the main leads of this new movie but I wished they were integrated a bit more. The movies feels very choppy as if there were plenty of scenes that didn't make it to final cut that would have helped make the film flow better.
The Neutral Stuff: stuff that I can't figure out if it was good or bad.
- a post science world. This is a world that now understands there is supernatural phenomena yet this central kid insists on having a scientific approach to her world view. That's ok but then we see her play supernatural chess and she doesn't seem interested in investigating this phenomenon nor bother telling anyone about it. It's just several scenes that seem to live in their own world.
- Stranger Things. It's clear this show had a huge impact on the creation of this movie. The central characters are kids. Spengler's granddaughter even looks and acts like 11. They even have one of the Stranger Things cast basically playing that same character.
- The original cast. I'm glad that at least there was a mid-movie scene with Ray giving us some explanation for the team fall out and update on the rest......but.....
Pros:
- They handled Harold Ramis' appearance very well and with much respect.
- Continuation of the Gozer story....but....(tbc in Cons)
Cons:
- Paul Rudd. Love the guy but he's wasted here. Not his fault. I'm baffled as to why anyone would want to have a talented guy like him play second/third fiddle to kids.
- Gozer/Ivo Shandor: Fantastic!!!! And they didn't do a damn thing with it. Gozer basically does exactly what the original one did almost 40 years ago. Why bother bringing it back and not explore it more. Same for Ivo. At least we got a bit about the town being founded by him....but that's it. Honestly, if they were going for a renewal of the franchise then this movie should have just been Ivo setting up the return of Gozer for a second movie.
- The first 15 minutes or so hammers you over the head with the nostalgic bits(the music, the gadgets, etc...). It's not needed. We know what this is. At times the music(the old stuff) doesn't fit the scene yet they feel the need to jam that in there.
- The kids as central characters. I don't have a problem with kids as central characters per se. The Goonies did a good job of this. So does Stranger Things. But in this movie there are several things that don't make much sense because the kids are the main focus. For example, where the hell are the parents of the Asian kid???!!! It would have made more sense if that kid was some sort of ghost that only the Spengler granddaughter could see and hear. The 15 year old grandson is a mechanic?!!! That's cool but what about showing some back story.
- Trotting out the original cast at the end for a hero scene. It was awful. The last Spider-Man movie showed us how legacy characters can be handled. The glorified cameo has been an outdated thing for a while.
There's more...but that's about all I care to write. I can't believe there's a second movie coming out!
I am so sorry...