Friday 10 December 2021

Film Review: "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" (2021).


"Discover the Past. Save the Future." This is Ghostbusters: Afterlife. This supernatural comedy film directed by Jason Reitman, written by Reitman and Gil Kenan and based on the characters created by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It is the sequel to Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989), and the fourth film in the Ghostbusters franchise. When a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.

In January 2019, it was announced that a new film, connected to the original two films, was in development with Jason Reitman hired to direct and pen the script with Kenan, while Reitman's father would serve as a producer, and with a July 10 2020 release date. By mid July, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Paul Rudd, Logan Kim and Celeste O'Connor were cast, with Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Sigourney Weaver reprising their roles. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in late October. Filming took place in Calgary, Alberta under the working title of Rust City. Sony Pictures Releasing originally scheduled the film for a July 10, 2020 release date, but it was delayed to March 5, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In late October 2020, Sony pushed the film once again to June 11, 2021, then later in January 2021 shifted the release to November 11, 2021. In September 2021, the film was once again delayed to November 19, 2021.


The film stars Coon, Rudd, Wolfhard, Grace, Kim and O'Connor, with Murray, Aykroyd, Hudson, Potts, and Weaver reprising their roles. It's fun thanks to some fantastic performances by a very talented cast, who are the new Ghostbusters.

The Ghostbusters are back, and while they may not look the way some fans would like, Jason Reitman has assembled a terrific new cast with the potential to launch a franchise well worth investing your time and money in. The film isn't as good as the original, but there's no shame in failing to reach the level of a classic. It's still a fun and funny film with plenty going for it particularly a wildly talented cast that is pretty obviously having a ball. Ghostbusters isn't as tight as the original but it does have flourishes of real subversive comedy. The cast and filmmakers really play with audience expectations but unfortunately they do not fully realize the potential of what they can do. Whether on its own fearless terms or as an update of a zeitgeist-charged smash, here's a pop-culture popcorn picture designed to raise spirits in more ways than one. Nostalgia weighs heavily on Jason Reitman's sequel, but the film's talented cast - particularly Grace, Wolfhard and Kim - and clever writing prove more than capable of shouldering the burden. For everything that doesn't work, there's so much more that does. These Ghostbusters are solid, and this film effectively riffs on the original and creates its own thing.

Simon says Ghostbusters: Afterlife receives:



Also, see my review for The Front Runner.

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