Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Who Ya Gonna Call?
2021 Review Number 2
Ghostbusters: Afterlife: (Fantasy/Comedy): 70 out of 100: It's been 37 years since the original iconic "Ghostbusters" film followed by an inferior sequel in 1989, then a reboot of the franchise with a female ghostbusting team in 2016. The latest instalment will please fans of the original and attract a new generation of followers, although if you're only in it for the ghosts, you have to wait at least 30 minutes for the ghastly ghouls to materialise on screen.
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Single mother, Callie (Carrie Coon) and her two children, Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (McKenna Grace), have been evicted from their home in the city and end up moving to a small town where Callie has inherited her father's dilapidated farmhouse. Here, Phoebe discovers that her grandfather, Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis' ghost created by CGI!), was a Ghostbuster from the 1980s. All the equipment she needs to fight the demons are stored in the basement. She is joined by a new Ghostbuster team comprising her brother, his love interest, Lucky (Celeste O'Connor), and her new friend Podcast (Logan Kim). While the kids are on their ghostbusting mission, Callie and Phoebe's teacher, Grooberson (Paul Rudd), become united in more ways than one...
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Off to a slow start with setting up the characters and plot, this long-awaited sequel has direct links to the original Ghostbusters with cameos by Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and Sigourney Weaver reprising their roles. It does help if you have seen the 1984 version because there are scenes which allow you to reminisce such as the Gatekeeper and Keymaster, the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man and the Ectomobile or Ecto-1. Even behind the scenes features a major link with Jason Reitman taking over the directing reins from his father, Ivan, who directed the first two instalments.
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Although there are many direct links to the original film, this sequel seemed more like a film for teenagers as it reminded me of the adventures of The Goonies from the 1980s. The adults are not the major players and act more as support to the cast of talented children/young adults. This is not such a bad thing if you don't mind the spotlight on different characters but if you want to see this mainly for the original actors, you will be disappointed because you have to wait until the second half of the film to see them. It was a delight to see the original team when they finally made an appearance because they have left a legacy for fans of Ghostbusters.
Jason Reitman has done a competent job with directing from a script he co-wrote. Missing are the one-liners from the original script which helped elevate it to its iconic status. The action scenes are well-choreographed to satisfy action buffs, while there's plenty of CGI and sound effects which contribute well to the overall look and feel of the film. The music score by Rob Simonsen also adds effect to the scenes.
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With Jason Reitman at the helm and his obvious love of the original Ghostbusters team shown in full display here, it would not surprise to see more sequels. Now that the new characters have been developed, there's definitely more adventures in store for old and new fans alike. The long post credits scene certainly drops this hint...
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Starring Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace
(124 mins)
Parental Advice: Violence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahZFCF--uRY (Movie trailer)
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(Reviewed on Saturday 11th December, 2021)
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