Here’s how and why Ghostbusters: Afterlife succeeds in balancing nostalgia and new characters better than Star Wars: The Force Awakens does. In recent years, beloved franchises like Star Wars and Ghostbusters have spawned sequels and reboots, films which have earned equal amounts of praise and criticism in their handling of legacy. While no film is without mistakes, Ghostbusters: Afterlife seems to have rectified issues Star Wars audiences had with the sequel trilogy in the way it honors the original Ghostbusters story.
Like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the Ghostbusters: Afterlife cast features descendants of the original cast. In the film, Egon Spengler’s nerdy granddaughter Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) discovers Egon’s involvement in the Ghostbusters after she and her family move onto his Midwestern farm. As the film progresses, Phoebe must work to prevent an apocalyptic paranormal event that’s brewing outside of town. Just as the world is about to be beset by ghosts, she finds help in the remaining team of Ghostbusters.
While both films contain memorable throwbacks to their source material, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is better at connecting past and current characters, developing a backstory between the films, reintroducing fan-favorites in a meaningful way, and matching the aesthetic of the original Ghostbusters. Star Wars: The Force Awakens makes great attempts to do right by its legacy characters, but it does fall a little short in its execution. Let’s take a look at how Ghostbusters: Afterlife fixes Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ mistakes and celebrates the original movie while focusing on a brand-new cast of characters.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife Connected Legacy Characters With Originals Very Well
Ghostbusters: Afterlife worked so well due to how it utilized the presence of the original Ghostbusters, whereas Star Wars: The Force Awakens relied a bit too much on characters like Han Solo and Leia Organa. While there are hints of individual Ghostbusters present – Egon’s unseen ghost guides Phoebe around his house, Phoebe calls Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) for help, and the entire group does not appear until the climax of the film when Phoebe and her family are taking on a paranormal invasion. This makes the showdown with Gozer the Gozerian even more impactful, as the movie does not rely on the original players to steer the narrative. The focus of the movie is on a new, younger generation of Ghostbusters and allows audiences to get to know and root for them. These fresh characters also have the chance to thrive in an already established universe.
The original Ghostbusters’ ending appearance serves as a figurative passing of the torch to Egon’s descendants and a touching tribute to Harold Ramis, who passed away in 2014. In this sense, the legacy characters have a more meaningful connection to the original characters. In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, original characters are reintroduced intermittently throughout the film, which lessens their overall impact and contribution to the narrative.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife Understood How To Tell The Missing Story
Unlike Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which glosses over what happened to Han, Leia and Luke between movies, the timeline of the original Ghostbusters is pretty straightforward in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. During a phone call with Phoebe, Ray catches her and the audience up on what the original characters have been doing since the end of 1989’s Ghostbusters II. Apparently, the four had a falling out when ghost-busting business slowed down and Egon left the group to pursue evidence of another potentially catastrophic event in Oklahoma. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) returned to work as a college professor and presumably ended up with Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), as one of the mid-credits scenes implies. Ray went back to running his occult shop, and Winston (Ernie Hudson) entered finance and became a wildly successful businessman. Ray is still sore over Egon’s abrupt departure, though he eventually makes amends with Egon’s ghost in the end.
The Ghostbusters seem to be doing very well for themselves in the grand scheme of things. In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, meanwhile, neither Han, Leia, or Luke are very happy during the gap years. Han and Leia’s son Ben tears the entire family apart after he becomes Kylo Ren. Han and Leia separate, Leia becomes a general in the Resistance, Han returns to smuggling, and Luke becomes a hermit. After the events of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, many fans were disappointed to discover how the famed trio spent their time and felt it was undeserving of their characters. Ghostbusters: Afterlife seems to revise that by giving original characters a better-developed continuation of their stories.
The Original Ghostbusters Cameo Is Paid Off Perfectly
Of all the cameos of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, surprise or otherwise, the one audiences were most looking forward to seeing was all of the original Ghostbusters. Just as Gozer is about to unleash chaos on Phoebe’s family, the original team shows up to save the day. What makes their cameo even more poignant is the inclusion of Egon at the end, when it’s revealed he’s assisting Phoebe with the proton pack. The digital recreation is seamless and a wonderful payoff to the buildup from the rest of the film. Since the announcement of a Ghostbusters sequel, many have wondered how the film would honor Egon Spengler. Ghostbusters: Afterlife doesn’t include Egon for the sake of including him – he is a vital part of the story and crucial to providing closure to his teammates and his family. Unlike Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ cameos are interspersed around the film and do not yield the same emotional payoff.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife Retained Enough Of The Original’s Look
Although 1984’s Ghostbusters is more of a horror-comedy and Ghostbusters: Afterlife is more of a family adventure, the sequel still retains the original movie’s look and feel. There are lighter, comedic moments, but most of the movie contains that underlying air of mystery and suspense. The aesthetic of Ghostbusters: Afterlife is on point with the original, as seen in the practical effects used with the Terror Dogs or Gozer’s minions. The crew also put in great effort to replicate Gozer’s iconic costume and make-up. Conversely, some fans took issue with how the lightsaber effects changed in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as they lost the practicality and realism from earlier episodes. This is how Ghostbusters: Afterlife improved Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ mistakes and did a far more effective job at marrying what makes the original great with fresh content.
