Genre: Supernatural, Drama, Comedy, Adventure Directed by: Jason Reitman Written by: Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman Based on Ghostbusters by Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ivan Reitman Starring: Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd Score by: Rob Simonsen || Cinematography by: Eric Steelburg Critical Reception: RottenTomatoes - 63% from Critics, 95% from Audiences || IMDB Average 7.7 out of 10 || Letterboxd Average 3.4 out of 5
The Movie Summed Up in a Tweet
"Ghostbusters: Afterlife is an undeniably messy course-correction for the Ghostbusters IP that works more often than not thanks to its intrinsic earnestness and endearing performances from Mckenna Grace & Paul Rudd."
What's It About?
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is the fourth entry in the Ghostbusters franchise which continues the story of the core team of Ghostbusters - albeit through the eyes of the following generation. The story centers around Egon Spengler, one of the former members of the now forgotten Ghostbusters. We learn more about him through peripheral details as the main narrative focuses on his estranged daughter, Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon) and her two kids - Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard). After being evicted from their city apartment, the three begrudgingly move out to Spengler's vacant, familial farmhouse in Summerville, Oklahoma. It's there that the family begins to realize the full truth about their family's legacy and Egon's connection to ongoing mysterious happenings.
What Worked
One of the best things about Ghostbusters: Afterlife is its direction from Jason Reitman (director of Juno, Young Adult, Up in the Air), the son of Ivan Reitman (director of the first two Ghostbusters movies). The first half of Ghostbusters: Afterlife wisely shifts up the dynamic - giving the movie a very different feel that helps set it apart within the franchise. The tone in the first half is closer in line to modern indie dramas, a genre Jason Reitman is no stranger to.
With a story centered around nostalgia, the idea to have a new Ghostbusters movie take its inspiration from Stranger Things or Star Wars: The Force Awakens seems only natural. By focusing on the next generation of heroes, specifically a group of younger protagonists, Ghostbusters: Afterlife ends up imbued with this Amblin Entertainment energy - the studio behind beloved 80s hits like Goonies, E.T., Poltergeist, or Gremlins. It's a solid concept for a story which ends up mostly working, thanks again to Reitman's detailed focus on conveying a specific atmosphere and his heartfelt direction.
Additionally, there's an overwhelming amount of emotional plays within Ghostbusters: Afterlife's narrative, something the previous entries never really attempted to do. No, both the original Ghostbusters and the 2016 reboot were all seemingly created with the intention of being nothing more than big-budget, feature-length comedies showcasing key Saturday Night Live players. Though there are some overly saccharine and manipulative moments at work - most notably in the third act - the emotional story and core at the center of Ghostbusters: Afterlife mostly works, providing a heartfelt and solid starting point for future sequels...that is, unless the Sony reboots the franchise once again in five more years when a new trend catches on.
The score from Rob Simonsen also harkens back to the 1984 movie by creating a soundtrack that rides the line between homage/theft of Peter Bernstein's work for the original. Jokes aside, the soundtrack is lively and cheeky in the best possible ways, making heavy use of the ondes Martenot - an electronic instrument with a sound similar to a theremin that has been used in numerous film and television soundtracks, particularly science fiction and horror films. It's a fantastic score that further helps add authenticity and gives Ghostbusters: Afterlife a very distinct mood.
Mckenna Grace and Paul Rudd are two big highlights for Ghostbusters: Afterlife - both are endearing and their presence helps liven the movie up significantly. Phoebe feels like the natural evolution of the Egon Spengler, with Mckenna Grace bringing a sarcastic charm to the character that immediately feels reminiscent of Harold Ramis' performance in the original. Her character might rely on the tried and true "awkward kid" trope, but Grace plays her with a dry wit and clear intelligence that's built up primarily through her performance alone - lesser films would have resorted to shoehorning in dialogue that calls attention to the "genius" of the character.
Likewise, the ever-loveable Paul Rudd is let loose to have fun as seismologist Gary Grooberson. Gary also happens to be Phoebe's lackadaisical summer school teacher, becoming a central character that helps to connect many of the plot threads. Gary's character is barely more than comic relief, essentially filling the role the Rick Moranis role from the original...but it's comic relief and Rudd seems an obvious (and welcome) choice, bringing all of his charismatic energy to the role.
What Didn't Work
Reitman's direction is highly reverential and dripping with nostalgia for the original Ghostbusters. As much as I feel that Ghostbusters: Afterlife's filmmaking is mostly genuine and earnest, its obsession with the 1984 original ends up being one of its biggest weaknesses. The storytelling in Ghostbusters: Afterlife is so concerned with playing to the audience's fandom of the original movies, that by the third act the story feels content to merely recreate the original's finale. Though there are some negligible differences between the ending of the two movies - all of the iconography, the plot turns, and the dramatic beats are lifted directly from the original. There is a point in Afterlife where you can feel the filmmakers go into a sort of creative autopilot. Every beat within the last thirty minutes feels like poorly written fanfiction from an obsessed fan. There is a set piece involving Walmart as a backdrop, and from that point forward, Ghostbusters: Afterlife no longer offers anything new or fresh. I simply did not enjoy the final act. The only thrill I got during the climax was fleeting, and it came from the stunt casting, which while surprising, never amounted to anything much more than that - stunt casting.
In fairness to Ghostbusters: Afterlife, this isn't a new trend in Hollywood. The 2018 Halloween reboot, Mad Max: Fury Road, Blade Runner 2049, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One, and Solo: A Star Wars Story (Star Wars loves milking that nostalgia) - all of these movies did what Afterlife does, and each had varying degrees of success. This trend, what I'll call the "legacy reboot", provides an entry point for filmgoers who might be new to the franchise while appealing to the returning older fans by playing to their nostalgia of the property. This legacy style of filmmaking could even be credited in part to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There's nothing inherently wrong with this strategy - it's just not a very fresh or unique route for filmmakers to take any longer. Furthermore, I just wish Ghostbusters: Afterlife offered more fresh ideas, new ghosts, and fun concepts that haven't been explored yet. An example of the limitations of Afterlife's creativity is in their "new" ghost, Muncher (voiced by Josh Gadd - wait, what!?). The look, skillset and personality of Muncher is more or less just an upgraded version of Slimer from the originals. This is as far as the filmmaking team flexed their creative muscles, and honestly, it was disappointing.
Trevor and Lucky, however, are another story altogether, and any time that Ghostbusters: Afterlife cut back to their "B" story, the script and narrative felt completely lost. Their relationship has no drama to it, no build up...nothing really. In fact, Trevor and Lucky are so underwritten that it's as if the writers got to the detail of "teenage boy" and "teenage girl" and called it a day.
If it was just Trevor and Lucky, this might be one thing, but Ghostbusters: Afterlife ends up wasting a lot of it's characters by focusing instead on its nostalgia-fueled narrative. This extends to Carrie Coon, who is given absolutely nothing to work with as Callie - the perpetually struggling mom of Trevor and Phoebe who had a huge falling out with Egon off-screen. This should add all of the necessary drama and pathos to get the audience to care about and root for her, but the film is regrettably more interested in getting the audience to root for Egon's legacy.
Standout Scene
Trevor, Phoebe and Podcast chasing Muncher through Summerville's historic main street is the easily best and most "Ghostbuster" scene in this movie. It's a terrifically paced set piece that provides blockbuster thrills and humor, while showing off the newly formed team's first attempt at busting a ghost. It's an important moment in the narrative for the brand-new, unskilled squad and it's handled perfectly. While there's more action to be had in the final act, at that point it relies so heavily on imagery from the original Ghostbusters, that I found myself wishing for more beats like this Muncher chase from the middle of the movie.
Standout Performance
While Paul Rudd is great in Ghostbusters: Afterlife...let's be honest, he is just playing Paul Rudd. The real standout here is Mckenna Grace who takes what could have been a shoehorned and unlikable character (ala Mutt in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) and brings her to life with a sincere and earnest performance. Phoebe is a fully realized character with a fleshed out personality, distinct goals, and a clearly defined worldview - she is a character we can root for and Afterlife makes a strong argument that Phoebe should be the de facto leader of the team going forward.
Pairs Well With...
Ghostbusters [1984]
Goonies [1985]
Star Wars: The Force Awakens [2015]
Stranger Things [2016-]
Film-FTW Rating || 6 Stars - “Better Than Average / Moderately Successful”
More from the Author
Thank you so much for reading to the very end of this review - I sincerely thank you for taking your time in doing so! If you have any thoughts or comments, please feel free to share them in a respectful manner down below. Consider checking out and following the author on Twitter or Letterboxd.