Review: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

There's comfort in nostalgia.  Going back to when things were 'simple' or 'better' - and I use those terms loosely - can make a viewer enjoy something even when it has various faults.  They will gloss over such things.  But what if the nostalgia ends up overpowering the experience?  What if the very nostalgia used to sell a movie to the public is ultimately that film's undoing?

Ghostbusters: Afterlife depends on nostalgia to a fault.  It is so scared to be its own movie - so scared to allow the franchise to grow - that it ultimately fails itself by the climax, resulting in an enjoyable if disappointing experience.

I'll admit that I think the original Ghostbusters is only an above-average high-concept comedy.  It is not an unassailable classic, and I think that perhaps many around my age might be misattributing some of their love for the cartoon based off the movie back to the film.

It's not a bad film.  I want to make that clear.  Of the admittedly small number of movies I've seen from 1984, I'd still rank it in the top 5 easily.  But it is also not without faults, and the deification of it was ultimately what brought this sequel down.

Set in the present day, the film primarily follows the family of Egon Spengler as they go to his farmhouse in Oklahoma shortly after his death.  Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), granddaughter of Egon and a budding scientist herself, soon discovers much of Egon's equipment and, the story pretty much tells itself from there.

And I do mean that it tells itself: Not only was I able to correctly call that the Keymaster and Gatekeeper would be mother Callie (Carrie Coon) and teacher Gary (Paul Rudd), but I also accurately predicted that Lucky (Celeste O'Connor) would also be possessed at some point.  I would be going into even more spoiler-y territory to reveal other predictions that were made, but pretty much the entire ending is telegraphed to an almost absurd degree.

Which isn't to say the film is unwatchable - again, there is comfort in nostalgia.  The child actors do an amazing job of carrying this movie - with a particular shoutout to Logan Kim as Podcast, a love-him-or-hate-him character that I found terribly amusing.  O'Connor also manages some fun moments with an underwritten character, and Grace ably carries the main narrative.

Moving the location from a major city to a small town was a smart choice also - it allows the action to differentiate itself from the previous films.  The main critique I'd have is the weird choice to have a small town in Oklahoma in the year 2021 have the feel of the 1950s.

There are other odd choices scattered throughout the film - the most egregious to which take place at the sheriff's office - but nothing that ultimately hurts the film.  Any and all choices that bring it down lie in the final part of the movie.

Spoilers!  Do not continue reading if you do not want to know how the film ends!

The decision to have the original Ghostbusters appear at the end of the film could have worked.  It could have been a passing-of-the-torch moment where they help the new generation (Phoebe, Lucky, Podcast, and Trevor - played by Finn Wolfhard) subdue the baddie (Gozer, again) before ultimately allowing them to continue the business.  Instead, Phoebe's moment is literally taken away from her as Egon's ghost appears and stands with the original Ghostbusters to defeat Gozer.

Seriously, the final defeat of Gozer literally cuts off Phoebe so that only the original ones can be seen.  It's tacky and undercuts her journey in so many ways that it almost made me hate the movie.

Spoilers end!

While the ending ultimately keeps me from recommending this movie, it is still an enjoyable enough experience.

6 out of 10, maybe 6.5 depending on the day you ask me.