GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE (2021)

GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE (2021)

Tagline: Discover the Past. Save the Future.

(Adventure, Comedy, Ghostbusting) [PG-13]

There hasn't been a ghost sighting in 30 years. New York in the '80s... it's like The Walking Dead. Your dad never mentioned this to you?

Note - This movie is a direct continuation of the original GHOSTBUSTERS films.

In this one, Callie and her two kids Trevor and Phoebe, end up moving to an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere after being evicted from the current home. Once there Trevor and Phoebe try to fit into their new surroundings (Trevor gets a job and Phoebe attends summer school). The house they now reside in was owned by their grandfather, the famous Ghostbuster Dr. Egon Spengler. It’s pretty beat to hell, but this intrigues Phoebe and she starts to investigate her grandfather’s legacy with the help of her summer school teacher Mr. Grooberson. 

They've done studies you know...Paul Rudd makes every movie he is in amazing, 60% of the time, every time. 

First I am going to start off with what I loved about this thing. The cast is pretty freakin fantastic. I actually don’t really like Finn Wolfhard’s character in STRANGER THINGS, but he is a great actor and does amazing in this one as Trevor. There is a bit of unspoken chemistry between him and Celeste O'Connor who plays “Lucky” which makes their relationship in the film really work. Not saying it’s romantic, you will just have to watch the movie to find out what I am talking about. Celeste O'Connor is best known for her role as Nyla in FREAKY. The role of the kind of snarky fun extrovert “ Ray” type in the film named “Podcast”,  is played by Logan Kim. He is super new to acting, but definitely was one of the great things about this movie. Paul Rudd (best known for ANT-MAN) plays Mr. Grooberson and kills it, that is all I have to say about that. He reminds me a lot of my 7th-grade science teacher. Mckenna Grace plays Phoebe Spengler in this one and she is pretty mind-blowing. I am not sure how much time she spent studying the original GHOSTBUSTERS, but man, she is amazing in this role and was probably my favorite part of the film. Everything regarding this cast just really works.

For the most part, we get a really cool storyline and I loved the nods to the original movie in this. I am not going to get too much into what we see in this film or the main storyline, but most of it was just very solid. The writing was good for the most part.

The effects were done by the same team that did GHOSTBUSTERS 2016, so they were pretty great. There is one scene however where they missed the boat a bit. 

Where this movie missed the mark for me was in the final half-hour. Unfortunately, they did something in here that was actually one of the main complaints about GHOSTBUSTERS 2016. In that movie, the complaint was actually stupid and unfounded. Anyone complaining about the last 30 minutes in this flick has a legit complaint. That is all I am going to say in that regard. It feels VERY “done before”. The script itself is pretty solid giving some great exposition on the "why's" of certain things, and we do get a lot of comedic moments, but this film feels almost too “safe”.

In the final product, a lot of this movie comes across as too stiff and too melancholy. There are some efforts to kind of give this a little pop and make it fun, and those attempts work, but there could have been more “silliness” and “total nonsense” in this movie and it would have gone a long way. The soundtrack is also a bit disappointing and that might be why I felt during some of the scenes a little of the magic wasn't quite there.

Overall the nostalgia here pays off and I loved the new characters we got. I really want to see them back in action soon. I don’t think this was a better film than GHOSTBUSTER 2016 and I really wish we had seen that version of the GHOSTBUSTERS again. However, I am not crying about what they did decide to do. This movie is a celebration of one of the greatest sci-fi comedies ever made and I will be buying it. I guess in the end, I am a Ghostbuster fan through and through no matter who is wearing the proton packs. This is a solid 6 out of 7 and it’s worth your time. I can’t wait to revisit it on BLU-RAY. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF COLUMBIA PICTURES AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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