‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ Movie Review

In this long-awaited follow-up to the 80’s classic, Callie (Carrie Coon) and her two children, Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), move to a secluded farmhouse in Oklahoma that was left to them by Carrie’s estranged father. It turns out that Carrie’s father was none other than former Ghostbuster Egon Spengler, and when a supernatural force is unleashed once again, just as Spengler had predicted before his death, his descendants, along with Phoebe’s summer school teacher Mr. Grooberson (Paul Rudd), must stop this evil once and for all.

I was raised on the original Ghostbusters movies, and the first one is still an endlessly quotable masterpiece (not that there isn’t still some fun to be had in the second movie). Ghostbusters: Afterlife served as a sort of passing of the torch from one generation to the next. Harold Ramis, who played Egon and co-wrote the first two films, passed away in 2014, and thus he was unable to participate. This is why the film proper is about his legacy, and I think this was a wise move. Not only that, but the film was directed by Jason Reitman, son of the original films’ director, Ivan Reitman. It was very clear that the goal was to (dare I say?) revive the series for today’s viewers.

This movie was an absolute delight. I saw it with my dad, who loves the original, and my girlfriend, who has never seen it, and all three of us really enjoyed it. This is a really great cast, first and foremost. Mckenna Grace is, without a doubt, one of the best budding child stars in Hollywood today. She brings a wonderful sense of sweetness and likability to what could easily have been a very one-note “quirky misfit” character. Finn Wolfhard continues his trend of 80’s nostalgia flicks, but it feels surprisingly more natural than I had initially worried. It still doesn’t feel like he’s stuck in a rut yet because all three 80’s-related projects he’s been a part of have been really solid and well-crafted. It also helps that he’s a pretty gifted actor. Carrie Coon really doesn’t get enough credit as an actor, because she is really good. While her role here isn’t nearly as complex as Gone Girl or Widows, her instantly endearing screen presence is still put to work. Who doesn’t love Paul Rudd? He’s just such a lovable, charismatic guy on and off camera, and his turn in Ghostbusters: Afterlife is no exception. His chemistry with Carrie Coon is infectious, and you really enjoy seeing them interact with each other. Obviously there are a plethora of cameos, and not only from original cast members. With an IP as beloved as Ghostbusters, it’s natural that lots of big stars would want to be a part of it, if anything just to say they were in a Ghostbusters movie, so be on the lookout! Some are more elusive than others. And in my opinion, all of the cameos were pretty tasteful.

One of the elements of the original films that made them effective was the fact that they weren’t afraid to actually get a little scary. The supernatural threat(s) was serious, while the characters and their interactions were funny. This is a tradition continued by this latest film, and it works entirely in its favor. The creature effects are really good. It looks like quite a few of them were done practically, which was nice. They did a good job of both recreating classic monsters from the first movie and creating some new ones, and the designs are pretty cool. It isn’t filmed like a straight comedy, despite remaining one (as did the first two), and this helped the tone exponentially.

The films flaws largely come down to nitpicking, but being a critic, I suppose that’s my job. Certain plot beats feel rushed, like Phoebe almost instantly mastering the old ghostbusting tech, and that was a little jarring. It was clearly done to show how much of a genius she was, but it didn’t feel as natural as it should have. One or two of the callbacks are a bit too hokey and on-the-nose, but since a vast majority of them aren’t (and there are quite a few), that didn’t bug me. And of course, there will inevitably be comparisons to “Stranger Things”, especially with Wolfhard in the cast, but these are entirely surface-level.

The last thing I have to mention is the way the film pays tribute to Harold Ramis. I’m not going to spoil anything, but what they do at the end was probably the best possible send-off they could have given him. You could tell that some of the tears on screen were probably real, and they sure as hell were real for the audience, too. It was felt incredibly sincere, and you are given the impression that it was what the cast and filmmakers wanted, rather than pandering to get some nostalgic tears from the viewers. And I think Ramis would have loved it.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a joy, and it succeeds as both supernatural family fun and a slice of nostalgia and homage. The cast is delightful, Grace and Rudd especially, and they transcend the quirky trappings that so many similar films fall victim to. It’s a great passing of the torch, and while some of it feels a little clunky, I’d say it’s a worthy successor.

SCORE: 4.5/5