[Alphagaia]

I hope the new movie/series has room for Possessor and Pukie.

I absolutely love those two new ghosts.

[BatDan]

IF we get a new one. No more firemasters and melodys. Strip it all down.
…
—also more RGB references— (boogeyman / sam hein cameos or go home. )

Firemaster and Melody were very RGB so this is a confusing request.

Whats confusing about it? The execution of BOTH firemaster and melody in the final film was poor, undercooked, and overstuffed. If it was one or the other it probably wouldve panned out better.

And I even list off what I meant in parentheses…so, thanks?

Anyway, for me, final battle in Firehouse, The drone trap, and Research Center were still really RGB too.

[Chicken, He Clucked]

Whats confusing about it? The execution of BOTH firemaster and melody in the final film was poor, undercooked, and overstuffed. If it was one or the other it probably wouldve panned out better.

And I even list off what I meant in parentheses…so, thanks?

Anyway, for me, final battle in Firehouse, The drone trap, and Research Center were still really RGB too.

I disagree re: the execution of Melody and Firemaster. I don't get what was poor about either. Firemaster was a source of much humour, all of which landed in my screening. The Melody FX were cool, she was well realised with a full arc. I accept the film is undercooked/overstuffed in places - but pinpointing Melody and Firemaster is odd to me, because to me they were the parts that worked. If anything, Garraka and the Frozen Empire itself was rushed, the PRC was undercooked, and it's the OGB's who - whilst providing laughs, took screentime away from Gary, Phoebe & co. I'm not saying the film doesn't have problems but... it's clear part of the fanbase (not you specifically) took against the direction of this movie and are somewhat reveling and overstating it's failure. For instance, a certain high profile fangroup has taken every opportunity to lament "not enough OGB's" and comment on how FE has killed the franchise, with fake tears, at every available opportunity.

Melody, Firemaster & Garraka are 100% the sort of characters fans would love if featured in Real Ghostbusters, with even less screentime than they get in this movie.

[timeware]

I also felt that Garaka deserved more screen time. Such a big build up to the villains reveal felt kind of lackluster. Even ith sprits unleashed they could have added some new cutscenes or story instead of just dropping him in the game.

Honestly though, I don't see Frozen Empire being the last film of the franchise. The final $200 million at the box office is what surprised me/didn't surprise me with how packed my theatre was.

[BatDan]

Whats confusing about it? The execution of BOTH firemaster and melody in the final film was poor, undercooked, and overstuffed. If it was one or the other it probably wouldve panned out better.

And I even list off what I meant in parentheses…so, thanks?

Anyway, for me, final battle in Firehouse, The drone trap, and Research Center were still really RGB too.

I disagree re: the execution of Melody and Firemaster. I don't get what was poor about either. Firemaster was a source of much humour, all of which landed in my screening. The Melody FX were cool, she was well realised with a full arc. I accept the film is undercooked/overstuffed in places - but pinpointing Melody and Firemaster is odd to me, because to me they were the parts that worked. If anything, Garraka and the Frozen Empire itself was rushed, the PRC was undercooked, and it's the OGB's who - whilst providing laughs, took screentime away from Gary, Phoebe & co. I'm not saying the film doesn't have problems but... it's clear part of the fanbase (not you specifically) took against the direction of this movie and are somewhat reveling and overstating it's failure. For instance, a certain high profile fangroup has taken every opportunity to lament "not enough OGB's" and comment on how FE has killed the franchise, with fake tears, at every available opportunity.

Melody, Firemaster & Garraka are 100% the sort of characters fans would love if featured in Real Ghostbusters, with even less screentime than they get in this movie.

Lol, guilty im of the “not enough OGB” camp. I just want “Ghostbusters: golden years” and have em call it a day, THEN move on.

Im half and half on your points.

I think the screentime of the OGBs was “fine” in this. I didnt think they “took away” screentime, i think the writing just didnt have them interacting with the new characters fluidly enough. Thats why i thought the Ray, Pheobe, Podcast team up was perfect. They didnt find a reason for Venkman and Janine to be there. Winston felt like he was there just as a plot device for finance and head figure.

Venkman shouldve been Garys mentor in showing him how to be a team lead as well as a father figure.

The ending was almost near perfect, it felt very “Back in the Saddle” loved the montage of Pheobe making the copper pack, the ogbs being the trappers while the Spenglers manned the copper pack. *chefs kiss* and then it was bogged down by trying to tie in TWO subplots: both of which werent even the main busters.

The thing that took away screentime from main character development for Gary and Co, wasnt the OGBs..it was Firemaster and Melody. I mean yeah, Kumail was brilliant..but its too bad Melody had to be smooshed into his story arc in the last minute.

But nah dawg—Melody dragged this movie through and through. Shouldve shelved her for the next one and let this movie be Kumails story.

The movie kept leaving us behind when Gary goes on a call to linger on awkward dialogue with Melody and Phoebe. It dragged, it was lame, and it serviced nothing except leading to a lit match in the last 5 seconds of the movie. You could have written her out altogether and just have Kumail find another lighter on his own in the firehouse.

Character wise: like i said, movie kept leaving us at the firehouse while Gary went on busts..An effective scene should have been Gary and Callie (maybe Venkman) on a call, theyre about to trap a ghost...they turn to call back for Phoebe only to forget she isnt there, the ghost gets away. Venkman: way to go, team..

Ya know, some kind of away to show some action while advancing what the characters are going through.

[Chicken, He Clucked]

Fair points. The Melody plotline didn’t just lead to the lit match, it led to Phoebe questioning why they were busting the ghosts and her possession scene which is one of the greatest moments out of any of the movies.

[TheManEatingToaster]

Whitelock posted a montage of assorted sets/props/construction. Of note, props of the mayor's office's files on the GBs list
-Winston's DOB as June 17, 1945 (same as the IDW comics Winston)
-Ray's DOB as July 1, 1954 (seems they slightly modded from Aykroyd's)
-Peter's DOB as October 25, 1954

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7C9sMgithd/

Kinda wished they didn't retcon Winston being ex military, wasn't that from an older script from the first movie? He even wears an M65 jacket when the Containment Unit is shut down.

[BatDan]

Fair points. The Melody plotline didn’t just lead to the lit match, it led to Phoebe questioning why they were busting the ghosts and her possession scene which is one of the greatest moments out of any of the movies.

Ill give you that. That part was cool, creepy, and visually engaging. But even so, when you take a step back from the tone and visuals..writing-wise it was convoluted.

Like was Pheobe THAT depressed? And why was Phoebe THAT dumb and gullible? she supposed to be the New Egon. Egon would never let his emotions get in the way of science.

[Kingpin]

Ray doesnt need a pack, he can have a neutrona- wrist gun. (Do they have an official name yet?)

By suggesting Ray has a Compact Thrower in the place of a Pack you've already conceded that Ray isn't as operationally effective as having someone the age of Lucky, Trevor, Podcast, or Gary and Callie.

Keep Ray on with the Ghostbusters in the role his Spirits Unleashed counterpart has adopted: the team historian and lore master. You can even have him do a bit of field paranormal investigation, but when it comes to the Ghostbusting it has to be the younger cast.

Whats confusing about it? The execution of BOTH firemaster and melody in the final film was poor, undercooked, and overstuffed.

The fire masters got about as much development on-screen as Vigo did, maybe even a bit more than him (and I don't hear any complaints about Vigo's backstory). And what more did you need to know about Melody? She and her family died in a fire that was heavily implied to have been caused by her, and she was looking to find a way to cross over to the other side to be with them.

For instance, a certain high profile fangroup

Ghostbusters Fans Worldwide?

Even ith sprits unleashed they could have added some new cutscenes or story instead of just dropping him in the game.

New cutscenes and story costs money, and in the end the Frozen Empire update was just intended to be a quick bit of fun to help tie in/promote the film. We're lucky we got the 2024 Proton Pack and uniform skins, the bounty mission with Garraka, and the temporary frozen Firehouse overlay.

I didnt think they “took away” screentime

The scant scenes with Trevor and Lucky would speak to the contrary.

Kinda wished they didn't retcon Winston being ex military

Is the absence in 2024 a retcon if the concept never made it into the original movie?

she supposed to be the New Egon. Egon would never let his emotions get in the way of science.

She's still a teenager, and one who's just had he raison d'être taken away from her. Afterlife showed us that she's still able to express anger and upset when she's frustrated, and as for Egon... "Your mother!" immediately comes to mind.

[gerard55]

Ray doesnt need a pack, he can have a neutrona- wrist gun. (Do they have an official name yet?)

He woulda been better off with one considering how utterly awkwardly he was handling the wand in this movie, he had it up against his shoulder like an assault rifle for some reason and wielding it left handed for the first time ever (he's apparently a lefty IRL but its never manifested itself until now in how he holds the wand). Just looked totally bizarre.

[jonogunn]

I would REALLY like to know what Dan was thinking when he decided to hold it that way.

If anyone meets him at a con or some Q&A please ask him this!

[Demon Vice Commander]

Ray doesnt need a pack, he can have a neutrona- wrist gun. (Do they have an official name yet?)

He woulda been better off with one considering how utterly awkwardly he was handling the wand in this movie, he had it up against his shoulder like an assault rifle for some reason and wielding it left handed for the first time ever (he's apparently a lefty IRL but its never manifested itself until now in how he holds the wand). Just looked totally bizarre.

Dan looked really awkward suited up with the pack; I get that he's the originator of the franchise, and I suppose can hold the thrower however he wants to, but he really needed some help (all actors do) - gripping the wand by the trigger box, belt cinched high, elbow pads sliding down, etc. Prop and costume continuity appears to have been pretty lax on this film, and I'm guessing Gil was either unaware or too intimidated to give an OG notes on how to wield the thrower.

[zeta otaku]

Am I misremembering or was there a version of the library lion fight where he got injured at some point? Maybe I headcanonned it?

I dunno, let's just chalk it up to Ray having arthritis in right thumb and couldn't hit the trigger without holding the thrower like this.

[mrmichaelt]

I never got around to it but there could be some continuity issues maybe from reshoots in a studio set in Atlanta. There was some unknown reshoot in December at Trilith involving actors like Rudd, Murray, and Aykroyd. YHS lent their GB2 dark flight suits to the reshoots so they at least filmed the Ray and Winston suiting up scenes at Trilith. Not sure if a keen eye could screen grab the whole final battle part and see any differences in the costume details to connote some are from UK and some from Atlanta.

I just assumed they were opening one door and Ray propped his thrower like that to focus on that doorway. Shrug.

[BatDan]

Ray doesnt need a pack, he can have a neutrona- wrist gun. (Do they have an official name yet?)

By suggesting Ray has a Compact Thrower in the place of a Pack you've already conceded that Ray isn't as operationally effective as having someone the age of Lucky, Trevor, Podcast, or Gary and Callie.

Keep Ray on with the Ghostbusters in the role his Spirits Unleashed counterpart has adopted: the team historian and lore master. You can even have him do a bit of field paranormal investigation, but when it comes to the Ghostbusting it has to be the younger cast.

Whats confusing about it? The execution of BOTH firemaster and melody in the final film was poor, undercooked, and overstuffed.

The fire masters got about as much development on-screen as Vigo did, maybe even a bit more than him (and I don't hear any complaints about Vigo's backstory). And what more did you need to know about Melody? She and her family died in a fire that was heavily implied to have been caused by her, and she was looking to find a way to cross over to the other side to be with them.

Okay pal. I never said Ray was incapable. Someone else did, so i suggested the compact thrower.

Using an equivalency of screentime between Vigo and Firemaster is a bit of a stretch, my man

Vigo was the ghost of really evil dude who needed a body to inhabit. It was simple, cut and dry. No extra 3rd party subplots stuffed in order to foil him. Just venkman and co saving their friend and baby. Das it. It was simple and satisfying with every watch. Especially when that score swells when they swing down from libby.

Now if in Gb2 we had Vigo, a descendent of Vigos rival, and an extra character that supplies said rival with aide to defeat Vigo..Ontop Of the ghostbusters fending him off. Then youd have some equivalent weight to stand on (and dont be like “but what about louis! He had slimer help him get to the museum! Dont be reachin, bro. It lame)

To answer your other question, i didnt want anything else from Melody lol..the addition of her character in general was one character too many in an already stacked cast. Writing her out entirely would have done the movie a big favor. To me she was the worst part of the film. All those scenes were so cringe and flat.

As i already said..the movie should have settled on one or the other. Including both made things convoluted and overstuffed.

It would have been way more satisfying arc for Nadeem in the long run if he figures things out on his own and didnt need the deus ex machina of melody to throw him a match at the last second.

Anyway!..Of the two, id chose Firemaster, i loved Kumails performance overall and i enjoyed the lore of “ancient ghostbusters”

[deadderek]

Whitelock posted a montage of assorted sets/props/construction. Of note, props of the mayor's office's files on the GBs list
-Winston's DOB as June 17, 1945 (same as the IDW comics Winston)
-Ray's DOB as July 1, 1954 (seems they slightly modded from Aykroyd's)
-Peter's DOB as October 25, 1954

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7C9sMgithd/

Kinda wished they didn't retcon Winston being ex military, wasn't that from an older script from the first movie? He even wears an M65 jacket when the Containment Unit is shut down.

Just because something isn't shown on screen, doesn't mean it's a retcon. Going by strictly the movies, we know next to nothing about the Ghostbusters personal lives. Marriages, kids,etc.

[13th Floor]

Before Peter enters i thought he was holding that way so he wouldn't hit Winston who was right in front of him
But then when Garraka enters he's still holding that way,i think it's just a simple mistake and in the heat of the shooting Gil didn't pay attention or that it was worth it to shoot it again.
I thought it had something to do with Ray being out of action for awhile and losing his skills,which is kinda weird cause in Afterlife he's handling the proton pack just fine.

[Chicken, He Clucked]

Using an equivalency of screentime between Vigo and Firemaster is a bit of a stretch, my man

Not really. There are characters with minimal screentime in the early movies.

No extra 3rd party subplots stuffed in order to foil him. Just venkman and co saving their friend and baby. Das it. It was simple and satisfying with every watch. Especially when that score swells when they swing down from libby.

Like what you like, dude. Love GBII, but the Ghostbusters facing off against Vigo is hugely anticlimactic because it’s simple and loosely written with no escalation. GBII has a weak third act. Frozen Empire’s ending worked more for me as it tied together pay-offs for multiple plot threads, it had tension and visual spectacle. Not perfect but the tri-stream proton pack was hype.

(and dont be like “but what about louis! He had slimer help him get to the museum! Dont be reachin, bro. It lame)

I mean you pointed out a flaw in your argument and then said that calling it out is lame. XD

To answer your other question, i didnt want anything else from Melody lol..the addition of her character in general was one character too many in an already stacked cast. Writing her out entirely would have done the movie a big favor. To me she was the worst part of the film. All those scenes were so cringe and flat.

I felt like she was the most interesting and fresh aspect of the movie. And evidently plenty of people didn’t find her scenes cringe or flat, so it’s just interesting to me so many fans took against the character. I think her inclusion elevates the movie.

As i already said..the movie should have settled on one or the other. Including both made things convoluted and overstuffed.

Or just more time in the oven and a more focused script? If you’re losing anyone from the script it makes sense to lose Patton Oswalt first of all. Give that exposition to Lars or Ray and replace the library sequence with another bust.
I can’t remember if a scene like this exists as I’m waiting for physical to rewatch, but after the diner sequence Phoebe should’ve investigated the fire and found about the fire Melody caused and her background - maybe via old newspaper cuttings or in the library archive - connective tissue to help flesh out her arc.

It would have been way more satisfying arc for Nadeem in the long run if he figures things out on his own and didnt need the deus ex machina of melody to throw him a match at the last second.

Would it? Is anybody actually invested in his Firemaster arc? He’s just a joke machine like Louis Tully. He doesn’t have an emotional thread in the story. The lore of ancient Ghostbusters was underdeveloped, wasn’t it just Garakka specifically they were trapping?

[mrmichaelt]

Tested video on the Compact Thrower.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YypkmcPjQ8

but after the diner sequence Phoebe should’ve investigated the fire and found about the fire Melody caused and her background - maybe via old newspaper cuttings or in the library archive - connective tissue to help flesh out her arc.

Yeah... that would have been great. Phoebe heads to the library, looks up old newspapers on microfiche...

Is anybody actually invested in his Firemaster arc? He’s just a joke machine like Louis Tully. He doesn’t have an emotional thread in the story. The lore of ancient Ghostbusters was underdeveloped, wasn’t it just Garakka specifically they were trapping?

I dug Nadeem's arc. He's line with the theme of outcasts or the last person you'd expect manning up and saving the world that Ghostbusters began with.

No, it was said they were a group of roving mythical spirit catchers so Garraka was just one of their exploits. Which in itself was interesting, they were known well enough they were preserved in text. So the door's open to explore more of them in tie-in content and whatnot.

[timeware]

I think Adam is signaling that he want's Hasbro to make the compact thrower their next campaign. How cool would it look over a Nintendo Power Glove?

[mrmichaelt]

I think Adam is signaling that he want's Hasbro to make the compact thrower their next campaign. How cool would it look over a Nintendo Power Glove?

If Hasbro doesn't have plans to make a Compact Thrower at some point, idk wth they're even doing over there.

[zeta otaku]

I think Adam is signaling that he want's Hasbro to make the compact thrower their next campaign. How cool would it look over a Nintendo Power Glove?

If Hasbro doesn't have plans to make a Compact Thrower at some point, idk wth they're even doing over there.

Seriously. All they need to do is pump out the new Tactical thrower and the compact thrower and they'll have 4 throwers with the same electronics with minimal remolding for THREE of the throwers (the compact thrower will need to have new tooling for the body). It's pretty brilliant.

[13th Floor]

The fact the barrel of the compact thrower ends before the person's hand still bothers me.

[zeta otaku]

The fact the barrel of the compact thrower ends before the person's hand still bothers me.

I love the overall design, but yeah, that irks me too. There are a few things about it that just make no sense to me in-universe and the BIGGEST one is if you're making this new piece of equipment based off existing tech, why go through the trouble of mirroring the body of the standard thrower?

Also, did I understand right that this is only meant to fire a burst of proton stream and not a continuous stream like the full throwers? To be blunt... what's the point? At first, I assumed these were the the equivalent of the mini packs from the IDW comics, lower powered stream for tighter spaces or residential busts. Then I assumed the "singletron" on it was more of a capacitor and less of a generator where the user drains it, then swaps it out when it's dry (think XGB packs when the plot demanded it). If these just fire small bursts of stream as implied, they can't tether a ghost. I'm just baffled by the function of this now.

[Bison256]

I think it's supposed to imply it's a modified standard thrower.

[gerard55]

The fact the barrel of the compact thrower ends before the person's hand still bothers me.

I love the overall design, but yeah, that irks me too. There are a few things about it that just make no sense to me in-universe and the BIGGEST one is if you're making this new piece of equipment based off existing tech, why go through the trouble of mirroring the body of the standard thrower?

Also, did I understand right that this is only meant to fire a burst of proton stream and not a continuous stream like the full throwers? To be blunt... what's the point? At first, I assumed these were the the equivalent of the mini packs from the IDW comics, lower powered stream for tighter spaces or residential busts. Then I assumed the "singletron" on it was more of a capacitor and less of a generator where the user drains it, then swaps it out when it's dry (think XGB packs when the plot demanded it). If these just fire small bursts of stream as implied, they can't tether a ghost. I'm just baffled by the function of this now.

Exactly my opinion on it as well, as far as ghostbusting goes it makes no sense. You see 'Lucky' at the end of the movie firing it at Garraka and its basically like firing a revolver with burst, recoil, burst, recoil. What's the point of something that does that when its a continuous stream that wrangles the ghost? All that is gonna do is maybe knock a ghost away slightly?

I'm sure it'll make a good toy\collectible for hasbro to make (probably 99% of the reason for it being in the movie) but considering how Ghosts are trapped in these movies it makes no real sense.

Design wise as said its basically a thrower with some addons and some parts taken away, though I have to wonder why there's still a brass barb on the trigger box that's not plugged into anything. Would have made more sense for them to retain the green tubing on the barb and have that go somewhere on the thrower body, vs brass barb sitting there for no apparent reason.

[13th Floor]

Design wise as said its basically a thrower with some addons and some parts taken away, though I have to wonder why there's still a brass barb on the trigger box that's not plugged into anything. Would have made more sense for them to retain the green tubing on the barb and have that go somewhere on the thrower body, vs brass barb sitting there for no apparent reason.

Don't know why the compact thrower wasn't something else entirely,i don't know about the hardcore GB fans but i'm not against new weapons,as long as there aren't an overabundance of them and they feel like thought out tools.
Maybe Ghost corps saw all the proton gadgets in GB 2016,got scared and pivoted.
I didn't like the Proton Glove and Proton Pistol but they should still try different stuff

[mrmichaelt]

I think it's supposed to imply it's a modified standard thrower.

In the video, the prop maker Ben Hall calls it a 'single shot blast'. Curious what it's original application is for. A sharpshooter in tight quarters? Be the first to wrangle a ghost then the newbie team joins in and wrangles the ghost into the trap? Nah, too specific. Hmm.

[13th Floor]

Since it's a single shot weapon and designed for mobility i suppose it is used to make the jobs go easier?And to reach the ghost first before someone with the pack comes in?
An example:
Team arrives on call,Compact user rushes in,finds ghost and starts shooting at it and moving around.If the ghost moves to another room the compact user can reach it first and can theoretically shoot the ghost while running which is very difficult for the pack user.
Also,since these are more precise shots it lowers the use of the traditional protom stream which is known to cause alot of damage

[gerard55]

I think it's supposed to imply it's a modified standard thrower.

In the video, the prop maker Ben Hall calls it a 'single shot blast'. Curious what it's original application is for. A sharpshooter in tight quarters? Be the first to wrangle a ghost then the newbie team joins in and wrangles the ghost into the trap? Nah, too specific. Hmm.

It doesn't seem to wrangle anything, the way it's demoed with Lucky in the lab is how it was used against garraka at the end, it hits the target, the stream vanishes then it gets fired again. During the finale when they all fire at Garraka you can see Lucky talking about how the particle beams dont work and her arm is moving back and forth between shots.

The only time the stream from this lasted any length of time is when all the streams got frozen and fell to the ground, so at that point it lasted a little longer for cinematic effect. But besides that it seems to be it just hits the ghost then vanishes.

With that in mind sometimes I wonder if the writers forget how the equipment is meant to work. It’s like when you see afterlife for the first time, the ogs arrive, they immediately cross the streams against gozer, your brain goes ‘yay I remember them doing that before’. Then a few mins later you realise that you didn’t and the stream crossing was to trigger an explosion to close the dimensional gate in 84, so using it against gozer directly really made no sense at all besides being a callback that made sense in the original but not in afterlife with how it was executed.