Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Following the death of her absent father, Callie takes her children Trevor and Phoebe to the small town of Summerville Oklahoma where died, and was known as ‘Dirt Farmer’.
Strange events start occurring, and her children, with their new friends – both have ghostly encounters – and discover that their late granddad ‘might’ have had some experiences of his own in that area.
Direction
Helmed by Jason Reitman (son of GB 1&2 director Ivan) – there are pros and cons. I think it was great that he took over the duties of directing, as he has made a name for himself with his own abilities. He was able to blend the drama/action well – but some narrative arcs from the screenplay let him down.
Cast/Characters
Carrie Coon plays Callie, the adult daughter of Egon Spengler – and mother to Trevor and Phoebe. I found her characterisation to be a bit unlikeable, and considering she was top billed, I found this a little odd. I was unable to really empathise with her character at all, and they way she was written made it hard for me to have any positive opinions about her. I think she was written to be the ‘new Dana’ – but she was no Sigourney Weaver.
Paul Rudd was great as Greg Grooberson, and his likeable energy shines through every moment he is on the screen – especially later in the film as he is given the ‘Tully’ treatment in being the KeyMaster for Gozer. He was more of a supporting cast member, and less is more.
Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things and ‘It’ fame is sound as Trevor, but is McKenna Grace as Phoebe who steals the show. She brings the heart of the whole movie – especially since it is becaus of her character that we get that trio cameo later in the film.
Screenplay/Setting/Themes
I found a few parts of this film to be quite a bit poorer than the previous two entries.
Firstly, I was not a big fan of what they did to Egon, and felt it was out of character for him. While they needed to include him in some regard (due to the death of Harold Ramis), making the entire film about him abandoning his family and never knowing his grandkids just felt… off. Even the former GB have nothing positive to say about him due to his actions between films.
This resulted in family drama – as much of the first two acts were their ‘history’ and Callie’s inability to move on from her dad abandoning her – making her seemingly a poor mother. Figuratively and literally. I found her extremely unlikeable for most of the film.
I did like that there was a ‘new generation’ of Ghostbusters, in the four kids – each seemingly a play on the four adults from the first two films.
I loved the homage to the first two films, especially with Gozer returning and some of the dialogue between ** spoiler ** Ray/Peter and Gozer when she returns (‘always say yes when someone asks if you are a God’). The mini marshmallow men were a fun inclusion too.
The inclusion of ‘ghost Egon’ was nice too, and I’m glad that the filmmakers got the permission from his family to include this – otherwise it might have been in poor taste.
Score/Soundtrack
A fun cinematic and dynamic score, but I missed the original ‘theme’ which is underused in favour of ‘new material.’
Overall
A fun film, which gave a great bit of nostalgia for the first two films, while at the same time passing the baton to a new generation.
A couple of things could have been done a bit better, such as characterisation and pacing – Gozer takes over Callie and Grooberson in the last 30m of the film – but all in all it is a fun ride.
Followed by Frozen Empire in 2023.
3.5/5