Though I’m a proud kid from the 1980s, would it surprise you to know that I have no real affection for “Ghostbusters”? No deep love for the characters. No vested interest in their story. No warm and fuzzy feeling at the thought of a new film. I thought the 1984 original was fine and I don’t remember anything about its 1989 sequel. I thoroughly disliked the 2016 reboot and not because I agreed with shallow-minded meatheads who hated the idea of an all female cast (frankly, it just wasn’t very good).
So it should go without saying that “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” wasn’t one I was dying to see. I was more curious than excited and for a number of reasons. First, it’s considered a sequel to the original two films (sorry Paul Feig). Second, it’s directed by Jason Reitman, the son of Ivan Reitman who directed “Ghostbusters” 1 and 2. Third, I was curious to see how well the new film connected with its predecessors considering the 30+ year gap? And fourth, would they bring back that killer Ray Parker Jr. theme song (happily, the answer to that one is YES).
Basically, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” is a well-made movie. It’s mostly well written (more on that in a second) and it’s the kind of entertainment that will probably appeal most to the already established fan base. Reitman clearly has an affection for the material and often that affection dictates much of what we get. The list of callbacks is long and some things seem stuck in solely for nostalgia. Again, that should excite the franchise faithful. Personally, “Afterlife” isn’t a movie that will stick with me past the weekend, despite the moderately fun time I had with it.
The way Reitman (who also co-writes with Gil Kenan) connects this film with the previous movies is pretty crafty. We learn that Egon Spengler (previously played by the late Harold Ramis), a founding member of the Ghostbusters, left New York and relocated to the dried-up town of Summerville, Oklahoma. He severed ties with his three parapsychological partners and his family to move out on an isolated dirt farm where he recently died. Why Summerville? What was he doing there? Both are questions the movie answers later with varying degrees of success.
Meanwhile back in the city, Egon’s estranged daughter Callie (Carrie Coon) is a single mother to two kids, the energetic Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and the nerdy science-loving Phoebe (a show-stealing Mckenna Grace). Callie gets word that her father has died around the same time she gets evicted from her apartment. Out of options, the three move to the farm Egon left her in Summerville. While there, Phoebe and Trevor begin learning the truth about their grandfather and what he was really up to. And as you’ve probably guessed, it has something to do with ghosts.
While Reitman eventually gets around to doing some ghostbusting, a big chunk of the movie plays like a mystery. In truth, the movie is at its best when Phoebe, Trevor, and their collection of disposable Summerville friends are following a trail of clues linking Egon to a series of mysterious tremors that has been shaking the town. These scenes give us time to get to know the main characters especially Phoebe. Mckenna Grace is hands-down the star of the movie while Coon gets some good scenes as the embittered mom and daughter. Wolfhard gets stuck with your run-of-the-mill teen boy character while Paul Rudd brings some name recognition to an otherwise throwaway role.
But then the movie gets into the considerably less interesting supernatural stuff – ancient temples, gatekeepers, keymasters, etc. It’s all pretty silly and haphazardly thrown together in a way that gets away from all the things the movie did so well early on. It does end on a predictable yet undeniably warm note and a couple of end credits scenes hint at more Ghostbusters to come. That’s more good news for fans. But I’m not sure “Afterlife” did enough to excite the rest of us for what’s to come. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” is now showing in theaters.
VERDICT – 3 STARS
keithandthemovies.com 
Ghostbusters: Afterlife was definitely a movie for the fans. I know, I’m one of them. I grew up with the first two Ghostbusters movies and the animated series, so there’s definitely a connection there. After the 2016 movie, I went into this one with pretty low expectations. Thankfully, the movie blew my expectations out of the water, and I ended up with the best Ghostbusters movie since the original. As a fan, it was everything I wanted and more. While I left the theater with a huge grin on my face, I was curious to see how non-fans would react to this movie. I knew it wouldn’t be with the same enthusiasm that a lot of fans might have. Your reaction is kind of what I expected. It’s not a bad thing. Obviously you found some good things about the movie, but it didn’t hit you the same way it hit me. But everybody seems to be in agreement about one thing: It’s better than the 2016 reboot. I didn’t hate the reboot, but it obviously a reboot for the sake of being a reboot, and it didn’t respect the source material. Afterlife does.
Oh yes, this movie is head and shoulders better than the 2016 mess. That movie seemed so intent on rewriting Ghostbusters rather than honoring it.
I did enjoy the first one but never bothered with any of the rest, I mean, Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Sigourney Weaver! Who the heck can better that?
I liked the 1984 film, but it was never anything I was hungry to watch over and over. This one definitely honors the original movie. It’s just a little messy especially during the second half.
That is at least a little surprising. The original is one of my favorite comedies, it was very clever about what it was doing. But succeeding movies are still judged on their own merits.
I like the first movie well enough. But for some reason it’s not one that really made an impression on me. I do remember watching that first animated series as a kid with my little brother. We had a good time with it.
Really??? No love for the Ghostbusters?? Wow! That’s okay though we can still be friends 🙂 🙂 Although I’ve heard from many sources that this reboot is by no means an oscar-worthy classic, I do still plan on seeing it, given my absolute love of the two movies from the 80s. A rare case where I actually liked the sequel better than the first one too! 🙂 I didn’t see the 2016 movie. While I applauded the all-female cast, I just couldn’t drum up interest in a new take on the story that would have nothing to do with the original. Perhaps I just didn’t want to mess with my childhood nostalgia hahaha! I’ll be looking forward to seeing this one though.
LOL. Let me clarify by saying I also have no hate towards the original film. Just for some reason I never really got pulled in by it, even when I was a kid. That being said, if you like those first two movies you definitely need to see this one. It has a lot of parts custom made for fans.
Yeah I suppose that makes sense 🙂 Like I said, nothing we need to end the friendship over! 🙂 My husband and I are going to try and see it this weekend!
Tell me what you think. To give you an idea of the varied reactions to it, my little brother loved it!😁
Frankly the theme tune is for me the best thing about Ghostbusters. I re-watched the original recently and was surprised at how underwhelmed I was. I can imagine that this film would be very exciting for the fans and maybe brings a new generation of fans.
Exactly. I’m very lukewarm on the first movie. Don’t love it and certainly don’t hate it. This one plays very much to its fan base.
I am someone who loved and grew up on Ghostbusters as those first 2 movies rocked for me. I didn’t think the 2016 version was that bad as I liked it but it was severely flawed in its presentation.
In that case I think you’ll like this one.
I absolutely love the original Ghostbusters – and I liked the two subsequent films as well (albeit not quite as much) – so I’m super excited for this. It starts showing in my town mid-January.
Be sure to let me know what you think about it.
I watched this last night. I liked the band of kids, but I absolutely don’t like how they used the adults. Carrie Coon’s tired a sarcastic role turned me off here as much as it did in the movie she recently did with Jude Law. They woefully underused Woodbine and Rudd. I liked how they handled the cameos of the ghostbusters at the end, especial Ramis. It does have a feeling of being slapped together which gives little investment in what happens. Very shabby editing, imo.
I can see all of those criticisms. I was left pretty blah on it. Was anything I’ll ever rush to see again.