Movie: Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Summary: Awesome.
With cameos from just about every major and minor character from the original film, and without leaning so heavily into the original that it can't be its own movie, Afterlife manages to tell a story which is both a continuation and capstone to the 1984 plot while also being a cute little finding-your-place-in-the-world narrative for the main character, 12-year-old Phoebe (presumably with the last name Spengler, although it's deliberately never mentioned).
Plenty of recognizable props from the franchise make an appearance for fans to swoon over, from the proton packs and traps to Ecto-1 itself, usually looking like they were partially upgraded in the late 80s and then left to gather dust and rust for 30 years. It's an interesting take on zeerust.
And of course, to quote a John Fiorella film, old heroes bring about old villains.
Best callback scene: a YouTube clip of the in-universe 1984 Ghostbusters commercial (the awkward/cringy one) plays on a computer screen. The number to call flashes up, as it did all those decades ago. The heroine, desperate for help and out of options, dials this number, which hasn't been connected to a business for thirty years. Somewhere, in a quiet room across the country, an old desk phone rings, and rings...
...and is answered.
With cameos from just about every major and minor character from the original film, and without leaning so heavily into the original that it can't be its own movie, Afterlife manages to tell a story which is both a continuation and capstone to the 1984 plot while also being a cute little finding-your-place-in-the-world narrative for the main character, 12-year-old Phoebe (presumably with the last name Spengler, although it's deliberately never mentioned).
Plenty of recognizable props from the franchise make an appearance for fans to swoon over, from the proton packs and traps to Ecto-1 itself, usually looking like they were partially upgraded in the late 80s and then left to gather dust and rust for 30 years. It's an interesting take on zeerust.
And of course, to quote a John Fiorella film, old heroes bring about old villains.
Best callback scene: a YouTube clip of the in-universe 1984 Ghostbusters commercial (the awkward/cringy one) plays on a computer screen. The number to call flashes up, as it did all those decades ago. The heroine, desperate for help and out of options, dials this number, which hasn't been connected to a business for thirty years. Somewhere, in a quiet room across the country, an old desk phone rings, and rings...
...and is answered.