Ghostbusters: Afterlife

I waited like 2 years plus almost a whole week after it dropped in theaters to see this movie!

Ghostbusters: Afterlife completes the trilogy for the original Ghostbusters while opening the door for a new generation of Ghostbusters films. 

Egon Spangler has died in seclusion on his small dirt farm in Oklahoma. Inheriting the family plot is Egon's estranged daughter and two grandchildren. While rummaging around the house, granddaughter Phoebe uncovers one of Egon's old ghost traps. Not knowing what it was, Phoebe brings the trap to school in which her new science teacher accidentally unleashes something menacing.

Now after nearly 30 years without a ghost sighting, strange things are afoot in the small Midwestern town. It's up to Phoebe, her brother and their new friends to take up the mantle of Ghostbusters and save not only their new hometown but the entire world from a threat long forgotten- Gozer the Gozerian!

I loved this movie. Jason Reitman, son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, co-wrote and directed what could only be the perfect Ghostbusters film without the late Harold Ramis. Afterlife did a fantastic job addressing the loss of Egon with just a fair bit of movie magic. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough of the original surviving Ghostbusters for my taste. But mark my words- despite the lack of Ray, Winston and Peter being on screen, this is a Ghostbusters movie!

Aside from getting to see the actors who we all wanted to see from the first two films,  Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a great balance of classic and modern franchise.  (And yes- I realize that this is really 'Ghostbusters 4', but the all-girl team is not even a blip on the radar in this movie.)

I'm not sure how the movie is doing in theaters. Basically, with  COVID, it's a crap shoot based on spikes and mandates. But I feel like if things worked out how they should, a 4th original franchise based film should be on the horizon. Which if we're talking Ghostbusters movies could be anywhere from another 5-30 years away. If Columbia Pictures and the powers that be were smart, they'd make a new animated series to continue the narrative because I really think there's a ton more of story left wanting to be told.

Oh and be sure to stay through the entire run of credits. There's an extra scene that only my wife and I got to see because everyone else left wayyyyyyy too soon!

Worth Consuming! 

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.