‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ review: Mckenna Grace is a stand-out in Jason Reitman’s rapturously fun homage

Jason Reitman pays tribute to his father’s iconic 1984 film, and its subsequent sequel, with Ghostbusters: Afterlife, a loving and fond continuation of the Ghostbusters legacy. A brand-new set of ghostbusting protégés are introduced in Reitman’s new film, which begins with the mysterious, ghost-related death of an isolated farmer. This is where the film’s central, death-defying mystery begins and quickly ropes in its younger cast to spot the clues of a rising malevolent threat that somehow has links to the original Ghostbusters from the 80s. Reitman’s sequel is buzzing with plentiful amounts of joyous, child-like energy and heart that will surely sweep audiences away on release.

When Callie (The Leftovers‘ Carrie Coon), a single mother, finds about her father’s sudden and seemingly natural death she moves to his rickety, old house on the edge of Summerville, Oklahoma, a small town in the middle of nowhere. It couldn’t come at a better time as Callie hasn’t got a penny to her name and was just evicted from her apartment. Callie and her two teenage children, Trevor (Stranger Things‘ Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Emmy nominee Mckenna Grace, The Handmaid’s Tale), show up in Summerville and attempt to settle into their new life, but strange occurrences rattle their attempts at normality. Strange, daily seismic activity is commonplace to the town’s residents, but science-genius Phoebe and her new teacher (Paul Rudd) take note and begin investigating the anomalies.

Reitman’s choice to rope in a young ensemble to continue on from the older generation of ghostbusters is a grand, exciting idea that breathes new, youthful energy into the franchise. It’s a film about passing-on-the-torch, both in a fictional and real sense, when boiled down to its core themes. The focal children quite literally stumble upon a dusty barn full to the brim with old ghostbusting equipment and their iconic car, Ecto-1. Like Reitman, Phoebe and her brother inherit what was once their relative’s. Ghostbusters: Afterlife marks the younger Reitman’s first venture into the world of blockbuster filmmaking which reportedly came as a shock to Ivan Reitman, his father, due to his son’s indie-driven roots. It makes complete sense that his first big-budget film is Ghostbusters, it would feel unequivocally wrong if he were to never give it a shot. Likewise, the inclusion of a new cast of teenage ghostbusters feels like the perfect passing of the mantle, especially given the potential for many future sequels. While they are not the original ghostbusters, they unquestionably embody what it means to be a ghostbuster.

The film is openly affectionate towards its source material while deviating in places mainly thanks to Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan’s sharp, and sometimes cringey, humorous sensibilities. Paul Rudd’s character is where most of the aforementioned comic edge is seen. Rudd is hilarious in, pretty much, every scene he’s in. Namely, the shopping mall sequence where, seemingly, thousands of cute, but annoying marshmallows come to life. Rudd’s reaction is priceless at this moment and in the following chase sequence too as a dog-like creature races after him. He slides into the front windscreen of his car and attempts to drive away from the magic-infused dog. As the ghostbusting-filled adventure draws near to a close, Reitman embraces the ridiculous nature of the big bad’s sacrificial plan and goes all out as Rudd and Coon, quite literally, shed their clothes and skin. It’s absolute farcical gold. Mckenna Grace has become reliably one of Hollywood’s finest child-turned-teenage actors and she proves it once again here, leading the ensemble with some absolutely stand-out work. One of McKenna’s character’s traits is the inability to be funny, so naturally, she comes up with knock-knock-type jokes to try and prove her social progression to her mother. The terrible jokes that she tells will leave audiences howling in cringe, all thanks to McKenna’s excellent delivery. As it goes with any teenage ensemble, Finn Wolfhard is, predictably, a new ghostbuster in Reitman’s new quirk-filled roster of ghoul curious teens. Going the Stranger Things route could’ve been the easy style of avenue here, however, the film steers away from being anywhere near to a carbon copy of the hit Netflix show. Its focus lies elsewhere with its mysterious, ghostly links to the abnormal happenings of Summerville rather than looking like a Spielberg-inspired homage and being all about the formation of the new teenage group, which only happens closer to the film’s end.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a handsomely shot film. It boasts a rather beautiful color grade and some top-notch location scouting that massively benefits the expansive, yet isolated feel of Summerville. As Callie and her children pull into Summerville’s local go-to spot, an American Graffiti-style drive-in diner where they serve food on roller-skates, they are met with a wash of neon red light paired with The Shirelles’ “Baby It’s You” humming in the background, it’s nostalgia at its purest form. One can’t help but hum along and get excited for the mysterious story ahead. Nevertheless, in spite of its great qualities, the back-third of the film is weighed down by dodgy CGI. A couple of big character moments fall short of being profoundly effective due to this. It ends with a big CGI-infested spectacle that has its surprises but is decidedly less invigorating than the more down-to-earth action scenes prior with the children recklessly trapping Summerville’s ghosts using their newfound devices.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a bucket load of adventurous fun and Jason Reitman has his heart in the right place, utilizing his father’s creations to expand and form a new legacy of youthful ghostbusters. They are a constant joy to watch, spectators will find themselves cracking up in bursts of, mainly awkward, laughter while cheering for their discoveries about the greater picture of the vengeful and wicked plot that is simmering beneath Summerville.

Grade: B+

Sony will release Ghostbusters: Afterlife in the U.S. only in theaters on Nov 19, 2021.