Touching nostalgia raises fans’ spirits
New and old faces mix terrifically well
I was actually a fan of the 2016 all-female Ghostbusters reboot – but it didn’t play well with the masses so it was time to try and raise fans’ spirits.
What better way, then, than to lure the classic original movie’s director Ivan Reitman’s son Jason to helm a direct sequel to the first two flicks – and bring back the surviving original Busters in the roles that made them famous?
But the main protagonists are newbies to the series, with Mckenna Grace’s Phoebe discovering her connection to the spectre-zappers after she moves to a small town with her mum Callie (Carrie Coon) and brother Trevor (Finn Wolfhard).
There’s a lot of nostalgia at play here but Reitman and co-writer Gil Kenan (Monster House) wisely don’t pile it on with too big a shovel as the fresh characters are given their own time to shine and earn our admiration.
Grace is amazing and while Wolfhard essentially plays the same part he does in Stranger Things, it’s a turn he’s mastered.
Coon delivers real pathos when reflecting on her past and Paul Rudd (Mr Grooberson) is as delightful as ever.
One thing the 2016 reboot didn’t do very well was utilise the original cast members; there’s no such problem here.
I won’t spoil how and when the familiar faces make their appearances but rest assured it’s crowd-pleasing cinema at its best.
Kenan treats us to several memorable new ghosts, with a couple of old classics thrown in for good measure, and despite the action moving from New York to rural Oklahoma, the stakes remain high as jeopardy looms large.
Like the first film, though, humour plays an important part too; audiences young and old will get a kick out of many of the lines and the new incarnation of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
I wasn’t prepared for just how emotional Afterlife becomes. The climax is terrifically touching and acts as both a perfect end to the original franchise’s journey and inviting jumping off point for further adventures.
What are your thoughts on Ghostbusters: Afterlife? How would you rank it in terms of the series as a whole? Pop me an email at ian.bunting@reachplc. com and I will pass on your comments to your fellow readers.
Heather Ferguson contacted us to say: “Give the movie Army of Thieves on Netflix a watch. It’s really fun and ties in well with Army of the Dead.”