Ghostbusters: Afterlife

UK Release Date: 18 November 2021

Certification: 12A

Director: Jason Reitman

Cast: Carrie Coon, McKenna Grace, Logan Kim, Celeste O'Connor, Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard

Rating: 80%

"I ain't afraid of no ghost"

Review: 

For a point of reference, I'm not the hugest fan of Ghostbusters (1984) but after the buzz around Ghostbusters: Afterlife I was excited to see a third try at a sequel. And in all honesty I preferred this movie to the original outing. 

Firstly, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is an intimate film that is treated delicately and with care. The movie is directed by Jason Reitman, son of Ivan Reitman - who directed Ghostbusters - and you can tell. He cherishes his father's source material choosing to honour it in almost every turn without the fan service feeling tacked on. And of course, the movie is dedicated to the late Harold Ramis who played ghostbuster, Egon Spengler. It's a touching tribute that is done brilliantly by never making Egon speak a line of dialogue. 

There's a stellar cast assembled by Jason Reitman. Carrie Coon gives an in depth performance as a struggling mother who feels slighted by her father. And Paul Rudd is likeable as he always is on screen although he could have been used better as he kind of just does his usual schtick. Although he did have my favourite gag in the whole movie as he buys Baskin-Robbins, an obvious nod to Ant-Man. But it's the child actors who really shine. I've liked Finn Wolfhard since Stranger Things and IT and he's fine, but similarly to Paul Rudd, I wanted to see more of him. However, these limited amounts of screen time allow for the main star, McKenna Grace as Phoebe. She's a very smart child which usually comes off as annoying in a movie but she's fantastic with a dry sense of humour that I don't think was meant to be funny but it was. Logan Kim also stands out as Podcast who's hilarious throughout as basically a younger version of Ray Stantz. 

And of course Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Bill Murray turn up as the original ghostbusters which made for an emotional ending. They all get a one liner and a moment to shine without trying to take away from the current cast. 

As I said I'm not the biggest fan of Ghostbusters (1984) so the movie never felt like a nostalgia ride. Saying that, I still loved the majority of the references to previous movies and there were moments in Ghostbusters: Afterlife that gave me goosebumps rivalling Spider-Man: No Way Home displaying how invested I was in the story. The chase sequence is brilliant and the sound design is perfect. It's one of the best sounding movies I've ever heard with a distinct, authentic sound. 

Overall, there are a couple of tonal problems with the movie but aside from that Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a fun, feel-god movie that is exactly what was needed when it was released.