Earlier today, I went to the local AMC theater to watch Ghostbusters: Afterlife...the fourth Ghostbusters flick to hit the big screen (if you count the 2016 reboot directed by Paul Feig) and third installment to continue the exploits of Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) and company.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife started off a bit slow, but began to really pick up steam once Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) entered the picture, and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) stumbled upon the hidden office where her late grandfather Egon Spengler (portrayed by Harold Ramis...who's given the Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia CGI treatment from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) continued his work as a Ghostbuster.
Afterlife finishes what the original 1984 Ghostbusters movie started—with Gozer (this time played by both Olivia Wilde and Emma Portner) and his/her Gatekeeper and Keymaster making a comeback. Whereas Gozer was forced back into his/her dimension before it was sealed off by the Ghostbusters in the 1984 film, his/her fate is more definitive in Afterlife. I obviously won't divulge how Phoebe and her gang defeat the Sumerian demigod.
Professional film critics attacked Afterlife for its excessive fan service...but I dug the appearance of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Men, the return of Gozer, and of course, Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) making their grand entrance in the movie's climax.
Of course, let's not forget that Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts) and Dana Barrett Venkman (Sigourney Weaver) make a fun return in the second Ghostbusters sequel as well! But sadly, Louis Tully (played by Rick Moranis) is nowhere to be found.
Also missing from Afterlife is the lovable and ravenous spirit Slimer, who was aptly replaced by Muncher—a ghost (voiced by Josh Gad) that chews on metal before rapidly spitting fragments of it out like an ectoplasmic AR-15. No, this colorful desciption isn't in the movie itself.
Also missing from the new film is a cool hit song like On Our Own by Bobby Brown, which was featured in 1989's Ghostbusters II.
The second of two end credits scene in Afterlife seems to suggest that we'll be seeing a sequel to the Jason Reitman-directed supernatural comedy. I'm all for it!
It was cool to watch the return of Peter, Ray, Winston, Janine and Dana on the big screen, but I want to see how Grooberson, Phoebe, her brother Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), their mother Callie (Carrie Coon), Lucky (Celeste O'Connor) and Podcast (Logan Kim) expand their mark on the Ghostbusters mythology! That is all.
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