GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE: What happens when nostalgia and a new story are balanced properly
Sony Pictures
Directed by Jason Reitman
Stars- McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Logan Kim, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd
There is plenty of fun to be had with Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Which seemingly has found the formula to rejuvenated a classic series for a new audience, while still honouring their original fans. It’s a tricky balance beam that Jason Reitman walks, how to use just the right amount of nostalgia from his fathers classic Ghostbusters, while still pumping in something fresh, and new, and introducing characters worthy of taking up the mantle. In doing so, the younger Reitman was able to introduce a whole new generation to the series with characters that look like them and are their age, while still having plenty to appease the original fanbase.
When a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy that their grandfather left behind.
The movie tries to tackle too many subplots that it becomes too much, many of which aren’t all that interesting or are forgotten about a long the way. The entire Finn Wolfhard subplot is far less interesting than the core of the movie, but it’s there to help establish relationships for further movies. The clear tribute for Harold Ramis and his legacy is the core of the movie, and it’s wonderfully done. We get a beautiful for Ramis and the things that he did for the franchise, and it gets finished off with one of the most emotional endings.
The new characters are fairly interesting, and strong enough to not have to rely on our original Busters’ to be captivating. McKenna Grace and Logan Kim especially steal the spotlight from their peers. The two young stars have such fun working together, and their back and forths carry the comedic side of the story, as well as the heartbeat of this story. Wolfhard fills the older brother role and even if I didn’t like his side stories too much, I think now that the character and his relationships have been established he’ll be even stronger in any follow-ups. Carrie Coon does a wonderful job as a strong mom character. While Paul Rudd doesn’t have a lot to do in this one despite the trailers making it look like he does, it’s probably for the best as he never takes away from our young new leads.
Their are three notes I’ll make on a technical basis is that: One) the muncher ghost is incredibly cute and the VFX team did a superb job with him especially. Secondly, Albertans might spot familiar locations as this was shot in Drumheller- two seperate families in my theatre had that realization and got very excited. Lastly, the editing starts off strong but when we hit the falling action it becomes so messy- and our entire section leading up to that touching ending is extremely hard to follow, and sort of thrown together.
This is a family fun event, and it’s definitely one that could make for a fun night at the theatre for all ages in the family. It’s action packed story, with kids as our leads will resonate with the children of any family- and is bound to make new Ghostbusters fans around the globe.
Stay past all the credits as there are two post credit scenes
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