Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) | REVIEW

Directed by Jason Reitman (Tully) — Screenplay by Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman.

If we’re being honest has there ever really been an outright good Ghostbusters sequel? Die-hard fans went up in arms with outrage when Paul Feig’s 2016 reboot came out. That film isn’t very cinematic in its visuals, the original stars’ cameos are really bad, and the comedy is hit-or-miss throughout, but the four female stars are all solid in it (and Chris Hemsworth almost runs away with it through his laugh-out-loud dumb-male-blonde portrayal). It’s not as bad as the outrage would make you think it is, but it also isn’t anywhere close to being recommendable. The original Ghosbusters sequel — appropriately titled Ghostbusters 2 — features the original cast and the original director, but, while it has its moments, it’s not nearly as good as the iconic 1984 comedy. In 2016, Jason Reitman — son of the original films’ director, Ivan Reitman — had his own legacy sequel released that tried to honor the original film and make something that fans would enjoy. It wants to appeal to all kinds of Ghostbusters fans but, in an attempt to do that, it does feel quite generic and safe. But, even for all its issues, I kind of enjoy it.

Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife takes place several decades after the last public ghost sighting — back when the titular team was still in business — and now the four men have grown apart. One of them, Egon Spengler (originally played by the late great Harold Ramis), lives in solitude on a farm in Summerville, Oklahoma where he is trying to trap a ghost. However, during the attempt, Egon suffers a heart attack and dies. The farm is inherited by his daughter, Callie (played by Carrie Coon), who is struggling financially and only goes to the farm with her two children — Trevor (played by Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (played by Mckenna Grace) — because she has no other option. Callie feels that she was abandoned by her father and she resents him for it. Now, the Spengler trio has to try to build a life in this small town. Trevor takes up a job at a fastfood restaurant to get closer to a girl he takes a liking to, while Phoebe, a brainy child whose mannerisms resemble those that her grandfather was known by, finds a friend in the podcaster nicknamed Podcast (played by Logan Kim). When Phoebe finds some of Egon’s old gear and takes it to school, her teacher Gary Grooberson (played by Paul Rudd) excitedly tells her everything about the Ghostbusters. 

This film is an interesting beast. Obviously, it is a legacy sequel that hopes to restore interest in the franchise, launch new main characters, and make us emotional and excited by nostalgia. I think it mostly succeeds on all of those levels. The movie did make me nostalgic. It did put a smile on my face because I had missed seeing this thing, that thing, that tune, or that character. Character-wise, though, I was a little bit disappointed because most of them are really one-note or poorly written. This is true of most of the ‘new Ghostbusters,’ including Finn Wolfhard’s character and the character called Podcast (again, because he has a podcast). The most interesting character is the one played by Mckenna Grace, and she really takes on this role with a lot of confidence, in effect owning this reboot. Grace is the most memorable performer in the film along with Paul Rudd, who is just so delightfully, effortlessly charming. 

The thing that, however, is a little bit strange about this film is that it feels tonally confused. It doesn’t quite match the humorous tone of the original, except for select scenes most of which involve Paul Rudd. In my mind, even though the franchise was extremely popular with children (it even launched animated series and video games), that original film is still this Saturday Night Live-comedy with adult tendencies, and I think this film is trying to make something that is more of a blend of modern legacy sequels (opting for the formula popularised by The Force Awakens), Stranger Things, and even something like the Goosebumps films. It’s a difficult tonal balancing act that also calls into question who this franchise is for. It’s certainly something that was hotly contested with Paul Feig’s reboot. I don’t know the answer to the question, but it’ll be interesting to see going forward how the films will continue to be framed. 

Jason Reitman has obviously followed in his father’s footsteps, but sometimes it feels more like a Jason Reitman coming-of-age family drama than a Ghostbusters sequel, while it, at other times, echoes Steven Spielberg and J. J. Abrams more. And yet, I think it mostly works. It is sweet and nostalgic and charming, and, even though it does a lot of the tired rehashing that legacy sequels are known for, I thought it was nice to see a new generation of Ghostbusters experiencing the adventure. Now, there is a somewhat controversial moment near the end of the film, which is difficult to discuss, that I refer to as the ‘extra hand on the trigger’ sequence. There is no getting around the fact that it is doing something that isn’t always in good taste. In spite of the controversy (using people who are no longer with us like that is something that I doubt will ever be fully accepted), I’m sure the creative decision-makers would insist that it was intended to be loving, and, for what it is worth, it did make me well up. It felt loving to me. This is in spite of the fact that the film, honestly, treats the Egon Spengler character really poorly in the first hour. I think it was a really unfortunate decision to make him a father who abandoned his family and his friends — it doesn’t feel right and it doesn’t feel like Egon.

In spite of the questionable (and borderline controversial) ways it makes use of its legacy characters and actors, Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife mostly works. There are some leaps in logic (like, of course, everyone in this world would know about the Ghostbusters — they’d teach those events in schools all over the world), the product placement is sometimes quite grating, and it is tonally confused, but Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon do a good job of keeping some of the adult comedy in the series, while Mckenna Grace makes for a solid new star for this franchise to follow. Honestly, in spite of all of its faults, I think this is probably the second best film in the entire series.

6.7 out of 10

– Review Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.