“I think we opened the gates of hell” – Mr. Grooberson

Written by Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan, also directed by Reitman, the supernatural comedy film “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” was one of the film highlights of 2021. Out of all of the films in the franchise, it is the 4^th one to be made.

Set in 2021, after getting evicted from their home, a single mom (Callie) and her two kids – Phoebe and Trevor, move to an inherited farm in middle-of-nowhere Oklahoma. It belonged to Callie’s late father, who was also a part of the original Ghostbusters. His real identity was kept a secret from Phoebe and Trevor. After moving, the family met many new people, who helped them unlock new possibilities for adventures. Starting to feel a connection with the house, the members of the family stumble upon old Ghostbuster technology. With weird things happening in the local neighborhood, – the main characters consider this their mission to save the world from chaos and make things right.

One of the goals is fitting in and living a regular life, but it’s made a challenge after uncovering the truth about the past, future and present. While thinking how everything is going to turn out, the rest of the film is spent within mysterious, fun and risky adventures with the hopes of saving the world.

Characters and actors:

• Phoebe Spengler – Mckenna Grace, who is very well known for her numerous roles in different kinds of films and TV shows.
• Trevor Spengler – Finn Wolfhard, who is most known for his appearance in the TV series “Stranger Things” and the movie “It”.
• Podcast – Logan Kim
• Callie Spengler – Carrie Coon
• Gary Grooberson – Paul Rudd

The movie also features the original team of Ghostbusters.

• Peter Venkman – Bill Murray
• Raymond “Ray” Stantz – Dan Aykroyd
• Winston Zeddemore – Ernie Hudson
• Egon Spengler – Harold Ramis

Plot :

The plot of course is based around the whole franchise, which makes the predictability of it more acceptable, because as intended the idea has to revolve around the core of the central plot. The movie does try to stand out by emphasizing the intense action of ghost hunting, but along that sometimes it fails to balance all of the elements of the film equally. This movie works for many, even for the lesser enthusiasts of it, because of the jokes, characters, actors and the created energy. The rating – 8/10.

Acting :

One of the things that we really liked in this movie was the acting. We wouldn’t consider the acting as the best thing we’ve seen in the entire cinematic history, but it was solid and the actors were perfect for their roles. We rate it a 9/10.

Pacing:

It was really refreshing to see the rate of the movement being done nicely. In our opinion, the pacing wasn’t too slow or too fast, but it depends on the person. There weren’t too many unnecessary shots and the movie was mostly shot with intentionality. The rating – 9,2/10.

Cinematography:

We would say that the cinematography was well-done. Through the low-angle camerawork and hazy moonlight nights, the film created a feeling of a mystery and wonder. It felt like we were a part of the film and we were moving along the characters, seeing their point of view. Overall, we give it a rating of 8,8/10.

Rather than being a head-on sequel, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” honors the legacy of the original Ghostbuster movies with the playful, smart approach to the idea of it all. The film tried to give the audience exactly what they expected by bringing in previous installments and the special atmosphere. Most importantly, the goal was to create a feel-good movie and we think that was achieved.

This was yet another movie, which based itself with the feeling of nostalgia and adventure. In conclusion, we think that this film was very good and it was quite enjoyable. We rate it an 8,3/10.

– Cinema detectives