Anthony's Film Review - Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

The 2021 Ghostbusters movie mixes the fun of the old and the new...

So far, we've had three theatrically released Ghostbusters movies: the original in 1984, a sequel in 1989, and a gender-swapping remake in 2016. When I heard that there would be a fourth Ghostbusters movie called Ghostbusters: Afterlife, one question naturally came to mind. Will this be a follow-up to the 2016 female Ghostbusters or the 1980s Ghostbusters movies? I would learn from the trailer that this would be a sequel to the first two Ghostbusters movies, so that this 2021 movie is the second Ghostbusters sequel after the first one in 1989. And it would involve a new generation of characters descended from one of the original Ghostbusters.

The main new characters comprise a family of three: a woman named Callie (Carrie Coon) and her two children, 17-year-old Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and 12-year-old Phoebe (McKenna Grace). They live in an apartment that, unfortunately, Callie is struggling to pay the rent for, so much so that they get evicted by their landlord. Their only option for shelter is to go to a rundown farmhouse outside the town of Summerville, Oklahoma, which belonged to Callie's father. That man isn't just any man, though. That man is Egon Spangler, whom we in the audience know was one of the four Ghostbusters played by the now-late Harold Ramis.

At different points in time, each of the three members of this family find themselves unlocking mysteries surrounding this house. Phoebe is the first to do so, and with her knowledge as a science whiz, she can revive old technology that she discovers in a secret underground lab. Besides this family, there are two other characters who have their own mysteries to solve. One is a fellow student named Podcast (Logan Kim), because he is recording his own podcast about unsolved mysteries. The other is a summer school teacher played by Paul Rudd. Through those characters, Phoebe learns that there is something going on at a nearby mountain that a mining company once tried to dig into.

I did enjoy watching Ghostbusters: Afterlife for the most part. That said, let me bring up one minor criticism I have about this movie. The pacing in the beginning feels a little too fast. The story moves along, yes, but it moves at such a speed that we don't get as much time to appreciate the characters as we would like. Still, that's just for the first half hour of the movie or so. From there, things move along at the right pace and the story gets interesting. The climax is pretty good for the most part, too.

You'll definitely enjoy the humor, visual effects, and actions in this movie. If you've seen the original Ghostbusters movie, you may also have fun spotting the references to that 1984 film sprinkled in this one. For example, video clips of the original Ghostbusters appear on YouTube. There's also a new variation of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in this movie, one that is honestly funnier and cuter than what appeared in 1984. Also, you remember the slimy ghost named Slimer? Well, he's not in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, but there is, however, a metal-eating ghost named Muncher here, and it's a rather interesting character.

Things get different during the last half hour of the movie. This is where elements of the 1984 Ghostbusters movie and new elements in this 2021 Ghostbusters movie exist in an almost one-to-one ratio. This may not sound too bad on the surface. But there's a specific point where the audience's attention is diverted to the old 1984 movie and is minimally returned to the new 2021 stuff. While this is another fairly minor criticism, it is my biggest criticism of the movie. That's not to say I hated the ending. I still liked it. It's just not as good as if it were to go the way I had expected.

In fact, if it weren't for this second criticism of mine, I'd rate this movie an 8 out of 10 because it really does get good in the second half. But because of how it ends, I'm dropping it to a 7, which is still a positive rating. Ghostbusters: Afterlife is still a fun sci-fi comedy romp in the spirit of the previous Ghostbusters movies. It's also cool that Jason Reitman directs this one, as he is the son of Ivan Reitman, who directed the 1984 Ghostbusters classic. If the franchise can be handed off to the next generation this successfully, let's see what comes next after Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Ghostbusters: Afterlife, visit the Internet Movie Database.

In addition, check out my reviews of Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, and the 2016 remake Ghostbusters.