Ghostbusters: Afterlife – A Successful Reboot

There is perhaps no more sentimental franchise than the Ghostbusters series. Countless audiences have grown up with it over the years and thus have become so connected with the stories and characters. So much so that attempts to reboot the franchise have been mostly been met unfavorably by some audiences with the most recent example being the widely-panned 2016 female reboot entitled Ghostbusters (though this reviewer was in the minority). That being said, the franchise still has plenty of potential if in the right hands. Who better than Jason Reitman, the son of the director of Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II Ivan Reitman (who is also back as a producer)? He not only directs but co-writes Ghostbusters Afterlife, the latest film in the franchise set in current times, following the events of Ghostbusters II. Though this film carves a new path for itself in this world, it certainly does not forget what came before it while still standing on its own for the most part. Though its overdependence on the original films is debatable, the film still does a decent job at navigating that fine line, delivering enough moments of nostalgia and enough new thrills that are perhaps at the expense of that nostalgia. It’s a throwback that feels current sometimes for better or worse.

Ghostbusters Afterlife follows a single mother named Callie (Coon) who is forced to relocate her son Trevor (Wolfhard) and daughter Phoebe (Grace) to a farmhouse in a rural Oklahoma town given to her after the death of her estranged father, Egon Spengler, following their unceremonious eviction. While it didn’t seem that there was much to their new ramshackle home, this was clearly not the case much to the surprise of no one. Little did they know, Spengler had since become a recluse and earning a not so favorable reputation amongst the people of their new town based on his unusual behavior but all of it would soon become clear to his family and the town (they did not know that he was an OG ghostbuster) which also happened to be suffering from unusual earthquakes. In the end, the film was essentially a coming-of-age story as the story saw the nerdy misunderstood outcast that was Phoebe and her awkwardly hilarious jokes truly come into her own as she connected with her grandfather and his past as she got to the bottom of what was happening with the town.

As far as the other characters in the film were concerned, they were nowhere near as interesting individually until the inevitable moment when they all came together as it was time to address the issues with the town. This didn’t necessarily mean that there wasn’t any fun moments along the way. Phoebe and her new best friend Podcast (Logan Kim) are the epitome of wholesome and the addition of Trevor made for a compelling dynamic that lifts the film once things admittedly get ridiculous on its way to its big climax that awkwardly blends both past and future, also setting up a redemption arc for Spengler whose relationship with the original ghostbusters was fractured along with his family and a tribute to Harold Ramis who played him and co-wrote Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II along with original ghostbuster Dan Akroyd who of course played Ray Stantz. Ultimately, it’s about extending the franchise past this film but whether or not that will happen remains to be seen.

Technically speaking, Ghostbusters Afterlife is a beautiful film, boasting some great cinematography and a score harkening back to the nostalgia of the original films. The special effects, on the other hand, fully harken back to the original films for better or worse based on how they looked. At the end of the day, the best part of the film was Grace’s spectacular performance as Phoebe. As the heart of the film, she carries the film with her youthful energy and enthusiasm which was perfect for a character like Phoebe. She was likable and relatable which are both essential as the film would not have worked if that connection was not there. Meanwhile, Coon had her moments as a character whose arc was seemingly pushed aside while Wolfhard brought his same schtick as Trevor which still worked here. Last but certainly not least, Rudd also brought his same schtick though still stole scenes as a teacher named Gary Grooberson.

For once, while it may not all work, Ghostbusters Afterlife is a reboot that does it right.

still courtesy of Sony Pictures

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.