Ghostbusters: Afterlife
A blast from the past given a twist of the modern, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a worthy, if imperfect, update to the franchise and a fun summer flick to indulge in.
Afterlife follows the family of Egon Spengler, one of the original Ghostbusters (played by Harold Ramis in the 1984 and 1989 films). His daughter Callie (Carrie Coon), estranged from her father after he left home when she was still a child, is informed of his death and travels to Summerville, Oklahoma with her children, Phoebe (McKenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard). There they move into a farm he had been living in and try to settle into life in the rural town. Phoebe is led around the farmhouse by an unseen presence and finds a hidden ghost trap, which her new teacher Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), a Ghostbusters fan, recognises. It soon becomes clear that there is more to Summerville than it first appears, and Egon Spengler had had very good reason to move there.
Directed by Jason Reitman, whose father Ivan directed the original films, Ghostbusters: Afterlife puts itself in something of an odd place within the broader trend of the last decade or so of 1980s/90s remakes and sequels. In one sense, it is an homage almost to the point of copying from the original Ghostbusters (and in that way it could be likened to a film like The Force Awakens). On the other hand, it is a stylistic departure from its predecessors in that it eschews the more direct comic style of the first two movies in favour of something more akin to modern summer blockbusters, with a focus placed more on action and the family drama of the Spenglers than on comedy. This may prove to be off-putting for some Ghostbusters fans, but it must be said that Afterlife is nothing if not reverent of its roots – where the references don’t work it’s not from any lack of respect.
The real question at the end of the day, though, is this: does it work? Thankfully, the answer to that is yes, or mostly anyway. The plot is far from inspired, but Afterlife packs itself full of references to its precursors, admittedly with varying degrees of success, and the humour is still there enough for it to be considered partially a comedy, though not all the jokes land. The good thing is, on both these fronts, the film hits the mark more often than it misses. The cast as well do a generally good job and there are some genuinely endearing moments which the actors carry well.
What is most important, though, is that Ghostbusters: Afterlife is fun. Missteps notwithstanding, it is an enjoyable experience and worth your time if you want to take a couple of hours to relax and be entertained. This is particularly so when it comes to the ghost fighting and capturing, which really benefits from modern CGI and also from the return of some familiar faces. There’s something here for both old fans and newcomers, which is all anyone could really ask for.
