The original Ghostbusters was considered a comedy classic even when it arrived on the scene back in 1984, but its 1989 sequel received a lukewarm reception. Then there was the 2016 female-lead reboot which disappointed a lot of critics and fans.
Now it seems the franchise has come full circle Ghostbusters: Afterlife which intends to serve as a proper three-quel to its ’80s counterparts. I say it intends to serve, but ultimately, most of it winds up as a rehash both of the superior original and less satisfying sequel.
This third entry takes place over 30 years after the original and it centers around single mom Callie (Carrie Coon) moving into a small Oklahoma town with her two kids Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (McKenna Grace).
They inherit an old house that belonged to Carrie’s father, Egon Spangler (Harold Ramis) and of course it comes complete with all the trappings from his ghostbusting days such as the trap, the accelerator packs and especially the Ectomobile.
Paul Rudd costars as a teacher at their school and he also has an interest in the paranormal. Once the kids show him all the paraphernalia, he shows them on a map a series of earthquakes that are occurring despite not sitting on a epicenter. He thinks they’re a connection between the resurgence of Egon’s gizmos and the quakes.
It isn’t long before the ghosts start popping up and it’s at this point the movie starts becoming more of a greatest hits than a new album as the movie loves waxing nostalgic left, right and center. There’s the Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man who is minimized and multiplied. We also get the re-emergence of the gigantic dog possessing two main characters which will allow original baddie Gozer to also return and wreak havoc.
Director Jason Reitman who also cowrote the script takes over the series from his father, Ivan and certainly has the touch of staying true to the spirit of the world of the Ghostbusters, but the story seems mostly bankrupt as it cares much more about the aforementioned nostalgia than trying anything new.
Afterlife is much more interested in catering to the rabid fans and while there’s nothing wrong with that, the movie hits too many familiar beats and refuses to exist as its own separate chapter.
Even today’s moviegoers will still be calling the 1984 original 10 years from now.
Grade: C+
(Rated PG-13 for supernatural action and some suggestive references.)
