The Stream: Unoriginal and spotty comedic parts

The Big Screen: Nice coming of age and family flick

The Final Bill: Good continuation of the Ghostbuster franchise for the family but doesn’t rival the first two

– S2S: Movie Review
Director: Jason Reitman
Writers: Gil Kenan, Jason Reitman, Dan Aykroyd (based on the 1984 film “Ghostbusters” an Ivan Reitman film written by)
Stars: Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Carrie Coon
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour 59 minutes
Production Companies: Columbia Pictures, BRON Studios, Ghostcorps
Platform: Released in theaters November 19, 2021

WHO YOU GONNA CALL?? STREAM TO BIG SCREEN! Yes, yes for all of your movie review needs. That’s correct but in all paranormal scenarios please call the Ghostbusters. However, you’re currently in the right place to get a review of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. A film connected to the Ghostbusters films from the 80s, Ghostbusters: Afterlife follows a single mother and her two kids who are forced to follow their family legacy to a small town. In this town, they discover their connection to the famous Ghostbusters and that their grandfather and estranged father left behind an untold story for them. Simple right? Well, let’s get to it

THE BIGGEST KNOCK ON THIS MOVIE IS THE LACK OF ORIGINALITY. That’s the most I can say without giving away the movie. While the general premise as I explained above is the overarching narrative of the film, the ghastly main plot is just straight stolen from the other movies. It was so much so that I’d rather just watch the original two that I already love. And, yes. I’m a Ghostbusters 2 person over the first one. The next knock is while this is a family film, there’s no hair to this movie. I mean take People’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2021, Paul Rudd, for instance. They made him go full Rain Man in this flick and we all know you never go full Simple Jack. He was quirky and semi-funny, but this wasn’t his best work. I feel like they either told him take it up a notch and he went full blast, or he saw comedic legends on set and said, “I have to make this film memorable.” He’s wasn’t bad but it was a bit too much. It feels like they did that with each character, particularly in comedic instances. They went dad joke crazy and corny kid wild at each moment. Don’t get me wrong, some of the jokes hit but others were just annoying. Either way, it didn’t truly detract from the overall family flick. We laugh, we cry, we eat some marshmallow ghost pie. The film looks pretty good and the nostalgic moments in the film generally work. Again, I’m looking for a new movie and not just a movie that says “hey, remember we’re associated with those two great movies from 30 years ago.” Ultimately, I feel they held on to the past a bit too much, that actually has double meaning.

I love the Ghostbusters’ general story and want the story to continue. I think Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a good addition to the series but more as a family-friendly viewing experience than the comedy horror trip like the originals. You’ll enjoy the callbacks to the originals and the few good one liner/dad jokes throughout. This film gets the safe bowl of popcorn treatment, especially families, pre-teens, and teens.