Ghostbusters: Afterlife joins the recent reboot / sequel trend that simultaneously pays homage to an old franchise while potentially rebooting it for a younger audience.
I’ll be honest. I was never a huge Ghostbusters fan. Oh, I enjoyed the 1984 original starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis well enough. 1989’s sequel, the aptly named Ghostbusters II, was forgettable. And the less said about the 2016 reboot, the better. To some, the original movie is a touchstone of their childhood; a movie remembered fondly despite any flaws it might have. I was probably a little too old to get absorbed into its fandom like I did Star Wars seven years prior. To me, it was just an enjoyable comedy with a paranormal element and some snarky dialogue from Bill Murray.
2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife joins the recent reboot/sequel trend that simultaneously pays homage to an old franchise while rebooting it for a younger audience. Star Wars did it with The Force Awakens. Halloween did it with, um, Halloween. You get the idea.
Callie (Carrie Coon,) her son, Trevor (Finn Wolfhard,) and her daughter, Phoebe (McKenna Grace), find themselves in a Podunk town in Oklahoma after Callie’s estranged father dies. Callie has inherited his ramshackle house and farm. Known as the “Dirt Farmer” to the locals who thought he was crazy, Callie’s father was none other than former Ghostbuster Egon Spengler (played by the late Harold Ramis in the two original movies.) Phoebe shares her grandfather’s love of science. When she finds his old ghost-detecting PKE meter, it opens up a new adventure for her, her brother, and her new summer school teacher, Mr. Grooberson (Paul Rudd.)
Directed by Jason Reitman, son of original director Ivan Reitman, and co-written by Reitman, Dan Aykroyd, and Gil Kenan (Monster House), Ghostbusters: Afterlife feels like it was made in the 1980s. While I’m sure this was entirely by design, it was nevertheless refreshing that it wasn’t overcomplicated under the guise of trying to be clever. Unfortunately, the story — once it gets rolling — is lifted almost entirely from the 1984 original.
Thankfully, the cast makes up for the story’s shortcomings. Paul Rudd provides his usual trustworthy, likeable performance as himself. That’s not a knock. Rudd can act when asked to do so. Here, though, he’s simply Paul Rudd. And it works just fine within the context of the movie. McKenna Grace makes a perfect young version of Egon Spengler. She’s a joy to watch as she discovers her grandfather’s world.
For those that haven’t seen the original, Ghostbusters: Afterlife will probably seem underwhelming. Many of its best moments try to capitalize on nostalgia. Those scenes might misfire without knowing their relevance. There are only a handful of scenes that truly make an impression on their own merit. For die-hard Ghostbusters fans, though, these nostalgic references will probably feel more genuine than the entirely tactless 2016 reboot.
While I didn’t enjoy Ghostbusters: Afterlife as much as I thought I might, it is not a bad movie. It pays proper homage to the original movie while not sullying the franchise name. To be honest, that makes it the best Ghostbusters movie since the original. While that’s not saying much, it is true. We’ll see if it manages to relaunch the franchise to a new generation or if it falls flat on its face at the box office. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised either way.
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
