GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE – A Review by John Strange
In 1984, Ghostbusters hit the nation’s movie screens. Its success spawned a sequel in 1989. Ghostbusters II was good and did about as well at the box office. But the team, writers Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis with director Ivan Reitman, didn’t make more.
Years go by with talk about another movie, but no one can get all parties together on a script. Then Harold Ramis passes away. Eventually, the owners of the franchise decided to try to relaunch the franchise using a female cast which came out in 2016. Mixed reviews and so-so profit seal the coffin on the relaunch.
Then Jason Reitman, son of the original director Ivan Reitman, pens a script with Gil Kenan that the cast of the first two films can get behind. Set in the town of Summerville, Oklahoma, a fictional town built for the movie, we face danger once again.
To this town, comes Callie (Carrie Coon) and her two children, Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace). They have come because Carrie’s estranged father has died and left them a farm.
Callie is bitter about how she was abandoned by her father. She arrives to find that the farm is in deep debt and looks more like a horror movie set than a working farm. Partially because it ISN’T a working farm.
Trevor is a normal hormonal fifteen-year-old. Phoebe is a loner who lives and breathes science, to her mother’s dismay. The two are in turn dismayed by the conditions at the farm and their mother’s decision to stay at the farm, sending the kids to the local school.
Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle come to light. The kids figure out that the man who died here was Dr. Egon Spengler, their grandfather and one of the original Ghostbusters from New York City from the 1980s!
Why Egon abandoned not only his family but his colleagues comes to light even as events come to a head. The final battle with the bad demon/god (won’t give away who) is pure vintage Ghostbusters.
The way the film works in the original cast is well thought out and heart-warming. I loved this film for the humor and the message it sends us about love and the pressure to protect the ones you love. I especially loved the attention the filmmakers gave to including Dr. Egon Spengler/Harold Ramis in this film.
Director: Jason Reitman
Producer: Ivan Reitman
Executive Producers: Dan Aykroyd, Michael Beugg, Jason Blumenfeld, Jason Cloth, Aaron L. Gilbert, Amie Karp, Gil Kenan, Joe Medjuck, Tom Pollock
Cast: Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Carrie Coon, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Logan Kim, Celeste O’Connor, Annie Potts, Oliver Cooper, Sydney Mae Diaz, Marlon Kazadi, Bokeem Woodbine
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for supernatural action and some suggestive references)
Selig Rating: 5 Stars
Runtime: 124 Min.
Release Date: 11/19/2021
Release Locations: Wide
Movie Site: GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE Official Site
Trailer: GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE Trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie, well worth the price.
4 Stars – Good movie
3 Stars – OK movie
2 Stars – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
1 Star – Good that I saw it on the big screen but wish I hadn’t paid for it.
