Movie Review: Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Ghostbusters came out in a decade where I wasn't even alive and growing up I never had as much of a relationship with the franchise as other people. Saying that though, I have great respect for the fact that this film franchise was able to create such a passionate audience and fanbase that has spanned all these decades later.  I think the reason Ghostbusters (2016) was received so poorly was because the franchise has a real devoted audience which knows what they want and what they did in that film didn't feel respectful to everything the franchise stood for. In light of that fact, I think Ghostbusters: Afterlife does an amazing job of paying homage to the original films and resonating with those fans while also doing just enough to be approachable for a brand new audience. There's so much packed in this film and none of it never feels wasted, it's really well rounded experience from beginning to end.

The story of Ghostbusters: Afterlife follows the Spengler family who after being evicted from their current house are forced to move out to the house of their deceased grandfather; the renowned Egon Spengler. The new Spengler family consists of Phoebe Spengler (Played by Mckenna Grace), her brother Trevor (Played by Finn Wolfhard) and their mother Callie (Played by Carrie Coon) who is the daughter of Egon. After his passing Callie and her children move into his house out in Somerville, Oklahoma in which they soon discover relics and reminders of Egon's life as a Ghostbuster in New York. As the Spengler family acclimatise to their new surroundings they meet and develop relationships with some of Somerville's residents. These residents include the quirky summer school teacher Gary Grooberson (Played by Paul Rudd), a mystery podcaster calling himself Podcast (Played by Logan Kim) and Lucky Domingo a worker at the local diner and potential love interest for Trevor (Played by Celeste O'Connor). As they try to get adjusted to their life in Sommerville they uncover a deep mystery linked to the town's local mines and the mysterious project their grandfather was working on before he passed. Through this mystery, new paranormal events begin occurring and it's down to a new generation of Ghostbusters to take up the call to save Sommerville and maybe even the entire world from imminent destruction.

The narrative structure of the film feels so smart in the fashion it's woven. I can imagine as someone who hasn't ever seen a Ghostbusters film before, there is a very easy and comfortable avenue to get into this film. With the main characters of this film being a younger generation who too haven't really been a part of the world Egon and the original Ghostbusters came from, the way they learn and approach the history and technology of this group feels both incredibly respectful yet super simple to follow. It gives new fans a relatable anchor to attach to and through their perspective it's made so much easier to follow everything occurring. Yet on the flipside, if you have been a devoted fan of the franchise there's so much love on display here for everything that long time fans have cherished about this film franchise over the years. There's plenty of references and the events of the prior films are relevant to a considerable extent here and are given some core focus as the film progresses. I just think it's an noteworthy feat that deserves recognition that the creative minds behind this film were able to do both of these things really well. There's always a risk of losing potential new viewers when you focus too much on what came before but then if you don't give some reference you risk shadowing those fans like the way 2016 did it. The balance they achieve here is as close to perfect as I could have hoped and top credit is deserved for it. One thing I want to note as well is there actually a very strong sense of emotion layered into the heart of this film. I for one, didn't expect to get teary eyed at a Ghostbusters film but low and behold they managed to pull on my heart strings a lot in this movie. The way the film pulls on it's emotional core is very respectful too and again it plays to both new fans and old quite well to accomplish this.

It's not just the narrative structure that makes the film for me either. I really enjoyed the performances on display here from all the main cast. McKenna Grace's portrayal of Phoebe in particular stands out as the MVP of the film. She is a very gifted young actress and the way she played Phoebe is so noteworthy. She was very compelling and was capable of expressing such a wide array of emotions. Paul Rudd is incapable of not being charming or  funny in anything he's in so his performance as Gary Grooberson was very appreciated too. Carrie Coon was also a standout as Callie too, she had a wonderful balance of being both funny and relatable yet also commanding and emotional. I think to cover a negative though I do feel Finn Wolfhard as Trevor doesn't get much room to make an impression when compared to his sibling. His subplot of seeking a romantic relationship seems to be his only canvas to express any form of character and it's a bit disappointing to see him kind of get drowned out in comparison to the McKenna's performance. Same kind of goes for Podcast and Lucky, I appreciate they're side characters but it's hard not to feel they could have been fleshed out a lot more. These are only minor negatives though, they all do a great job with what they're given but I'm just trying to point out they could have been fleshed out a bit more. 

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a wonderful surprise for me personally. I remember being notably dismissive of it after seeing some of the initial trailers. I considered it to just be Ghostbusters meets Stranger Things and that initial observation isn't completely wrong; but I think on reflection that really isn't a bad thing. I like both Ghostbusters and Stranger Things so having these two concepts and ideas mix was never going to be a negative. What I did get though was a truly fun, engaging and surprisingly emotional experience which deserves way more credit than I was initially willing to give.