Blitzway - 1/6 Scale Ghostbusters - Collectible Figures

[drfeelgood]

I don't understand the hate for GBII, It sits alongside the first film really well. Its not a better film, but its still good and fits well into the GB universe so to speak. Partly due to it being written by Aykroyd and Ramis again, and directed by Ivan Reitman, again. I love the fact they go bust due to being sued and reduced to doing kids parties. There are lots of key memorable scenes in it too. "Its a river of slime!" I do wish GB III happened. I think the premises was they go to Hell. If they made it in the early 90's, it wouldn't of been a CGI ****fest.

 

[Alice]

The two main reasons people hate GB2 is because it's a carbon copy of the original (in a similar way that T2 is a carbon copy of T1), and because they made it more kid friendly to pull in the Real Ghostbusters crowd (less crude humour, less foul language, more slime and, aside from Ray chomping on a cigar, no smoking.)

 

[drfeelgood]

I never really spotted the kid friendly aspect. Severed Heads on pikes and stealing children seamed more sinister. I did notice GB has quite a bit of swearing in it though. Don't think there is anything in GBII.

 

[Alice]

Yeah. Oddly enough, there are scenes like the ones you mentioned that actually creeped me out more in the second movie than in the first, which is one of the reasons I like it.

 

[Ted Knight's Ghost]

I love Ghostbusters 2. Not as good as original but better than a lot of sequels.

 

[Alice]

I think Dan Aykroyd said it best. "I don't think Ghostbusters II is better than Ghostbusters, but it definitely holds up as a companion piece."

 

[drfeelgood]

He summed it up perfectly!

 

[Snake Plissken]

I think Dan Aykroyd said it best. "I don't think Ghostbusters II is better than Ghostbusters, but it definitely holds up as a companion piece."

I saw that interview recently. He's correct.

 

[RiggsMcClane]

I always thought it was a decent sequel. I never understood why people hated it so much. I only wish we'd gotten a mid nineties sequel that rivaled it and ended the franchise.

 

[Snake Plissken]

Play the game. It did that.

 

[sj2106]

The two main reasons people hate GB2 is because it's a carbon copy of the original (in a similar way that T2 is a carbon copy of T1), and because they made it more kid friendly to pull in the Real Ghostbusters crowd (less crude humour, less foul language, more slime and, aside from Ray chomping on a cigar, no smoking.)

People don't hate T2 surely? I can't think of a better sequel than T2, it's a masterpiece.

I enjoy GB2 and would add my name to the list of those that found it creepier than the first. The quality overall doesn't match the first movie of course but still very enjoyable.

Another movie would have been nice but at least they didn't ruin the legacy with garbage sequels like those god awful Terminator movies after T2.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Did Alice really just compare GB2 to T2...?

 

[karamazov80]

Well, the statement "I don't think Terminator 2 is better than Terminator, but it definitely holds up as a companion piece" is definitely, objectively true. So that comparison is fine.

 

[Wor-Gar]

What about Gremlins 2?

 

[SilverStar17]

I don't understand the hate for GBII, It sits alongside the first film really well. Its not a better film, but its still good and fits well into the GB universe so to speak. Partly due to it being written by Aykroyd and Ramis again, and directed by Ivan Reitman, again. I love the fact they go bust due to being sued and reduced to doing kids parties. There are lots of key memorable scenes in it too. "Its a river of slime!" I do wish GB III happened. I think the premises was they go to Hell. If they made it in the early 90's, it wouldn't of been a CGI ****fest.

I don't know if I would necessarily GB2 gets "hate". For the most part, I haven't seen too many GB fans say that the film is loathsome to where it's utterly unwatchable. The general consensus seems to be that it's definitely not as good as the first film, but it works fine as a sequel.

I never really spotted the kid friendly aspect. Severed Heads on pikes and stealing children seamed more sinister. I did notice GB has quite a bit of swearing in it though. Don't think there is anything in GBII.

Actually that scene was pretty TRG-esque to me. Perhaps not as macabre as severed heads as you mentioned, but I recall a few times in TRG episodes where the lights would be off and the guys would gulp in fear, and then when the lights came back on, they would be surrounded by spooks. In fact, one of these times I vividly recall them actually being in the subway tunnels.

I think Dan Aykroyd said it best. "I don't think Ghostbusters II is better than Ghostbusters, but it definitely holds up as a companion piece."

Ghostbusters is a good film, while GB2 is simply a good GB film. Works fine as a sequel and I thought picked up fine from where the first left off. Humorous as well because you would have thought by that time their business would be burgeoning and they would still be the heroes of NYC, but the exact opposite happened.

 

[gold]

Received the Venkman standalone over the weekend.

It's a good figure but in my view it was not worth the hype.

The figure is too lean compared to '84 Bill Murray but thats an easy fix with some cotton on the belly inside the jump suit.

Apart from that the proton pack is a little disappointing, it's barely any better than the Mattel 1/6th version of a few years back. It's plasticy and flimsy, light. I wonder how the "metal" 1/6th proton pack on the 1/6th soldier story figures will be.

It's also relatively sloppy, the front section of the wand isn't 100% straight (as I've seen with a number of the figures), the decals on the gunbox don't match up with the plastic, notaby the yellow bargraph decal doesn't lie on the actual bar graph screen causing the stream power output decals to be moved over aswell. All produced versions of the proton pack I've seen in pictures have this decal placement error.

A few other decals aren't 100% straight on the pack with some sloppy paint.

I got lucky with the jumpsuit name patch being relatively straight but I've seen numerous online pics where the name tag is stitched on really skewed.

The paper accessories like the newspaper and ckers are really thin, like tissuepaper, barely thicker than toilet paper.

Also Venkman doesn't come with any equipment accessories apart from folded gloves and two cigarettes.

The proton wand hose that attaches to the pack is way too thick and too short. Also the N filter is missing the red line that goes around it on the real prop.

All in all, yeah it's a worthwhile figure the headsculpt is amazing, 0 comparison to the Mattel version. The rest of the figure is better than the Mattel figure but not by an insane amount just a little bit better if you ask me.

If I'd paid the $225 asking price I would have been satisfied. Having paid $320 (being in Europe and all, but hey atleast I got free shipping and avoided the import tax) I'm still happy but not really screaming with joy.

 

[gold]

Gb2 for an ultra fan like myself is great. Not Gb1 level, but still fun.

For everone else I can completely understand why they hate it. Gb1 could be considered a weird scifi art comedy, a stand alone gem. Gb2 could be considered just a dumb kids movie. With the baby and the kids party and the slime fight with the slime being exactly the same color and consistency as the purple toy slime you could buy in stores in '90, the NES advantage controller and above everything else the "walking" statue of liberty.

The Stay Puft was so weird it was kind of scary, this surreal 112ft creature suddenly appearing on Colombus Circle on lower west Central Park.

The Statue of Lib. is a steel framework covered in copper plate segments (that's why it's turqoise today), it has no skeletal structure to begin with so seeing it walking was kind of stupid (in my opinion).

Like if it would have just mysteriously hovered above the streets that would have been more eerie if you ask me.

I know it's pointless to argue the dynamics of posession of a 110ft metal statue but still, that was my opinion.

The vibe at the end with the "higher and higher song" was nice though. And Janosz going "yes, yes, yes I've heard this, give me something new" when Vigo is rattling off his "I am the scourge of", "the sorrow of" titles and then suddenly going COMMAND ME LORD was comedy gold

 

[Alice]

People don't hate T2 surely? I can't think of a better sequel than T2, it's a masterpiece.

Not saying I'm one of them, but, yes, there are definitely people who hate on T2 now. Same with Aliens. It seems to be the hip thing to do now to hate on those two specifically.

Did Alice really just compare GB2 to T2...?

I'm not comparing quality. Just the fact that Ghostbusters 2 follows the exact same formula as Ghostbusters. T2 follows the same formula as Terminator, but people overlook it, partly because the repeated formula was intentional and had a spin on the first movie and partly because it's one of the best movies of all time.

Overall GB2 follows the same beats as Ghostbusters.

GB = The guys are in financial trouble and start a business. GB2 = Same, but just restarting a business.
GB = Pete trying to win over Dana. GB2 = Pete trying to re-win over Dana.
GB = Annoying, weird guy obsessed with Dana (Louis). GB2 = Annoying, weird guy obsessed with Dana (Janosz)
GB = The guys prove themselves in the Sedgewick. GB2 = The guys prove themselves in the courtroom.
GB = Business booms with a montage. GB2 = Business booms with a montage.
GB = Winston is absent for the first third or so of the film. GB2 = Winston is pretty much absent for the first third or so of the film.
GB = Government weasel harasses the guys (Walter Peck.) GB2 = Government weasel harasses the guys (Jack Hardemeyer.)
GB = The guys are arrested. GB2 = The guys are committed.
GB = Supernatural cataclysm/ghost montage. GB2 = Supernatural cataclysm/ghost montage.
GB = Mayor releases the guys and asks them to help. GB2 = Mayor releases the guys and asks them to help.
GB = Oversized thing walking through the city (Stay-Puft.) GB2 = Oversized thing walking through the city (Lady Liberty.)
GB = Gozer finally physically manifests in the final act. GB2 = Vigo finally physically manifests in the final act.
GB = Guys shoot the portal and defeat Gozer/Portal explodes. GB2 = Guys shoot the painting and defeat Vigo/Painting explodes.
GB = Guys walk out of Dana's apartment building as credits roll. GB2 = Guys walk out of museum as credits roll.

Those are just the ones off the top of my head. The pacing and brevity of the original Ghostbusters script is widely regarded as an example of a perfect script in film schools. I think Ramis and Aykroyd knew this, so they didn't want to stray too far from what worked. They basically took the original script and mad-libbed it. It has enough new stuff to make you not really realize it's basically the same movie, but when you really look at it it's undeniable.

What about Gremlins 2?

 

[Wor-Gar]

They teach Ghostbusters in film school? Now you're pulling my leg.

 

[Alice]

They just use the script itself in screenwriting classes as an example of how to properly write a script in terms of formatting, pacing, etc. Has nothing to do with the subject matter. Just how well the script itself was crafted over the three revisions it went through to boil it down to just the bare essentials of what a script should be. It's a perfect example of a no-nonsense, barebones script. It's can be viewed as a frame work that can then be decorated with the details of your choosing. Which is why GB2 is quite literally the same frame work with different decoration.