sandlot1992 Review of Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

this Long Waited Sequel truly had a Magic Number

[7/10 · 23 September 2023]

When I first discovered that the long and waited third Ghostbusters sequel was in pre-production for a new generation, I was amazed and wouldn't be released until late 2021 because of the Covid-19 Pandemic despite that this wasn't going to be the Summer Blockbuster of 2020, but Later given a November release the following year and with Ivan Reitman handing down the Torch to his Son as the new director and writer. The third installment takes on new characters in the Ghostbusters Franchise such as Mr. Grooberson (played by Paul Rudd of Ant-Man), Phoebe (played by Mckenna Grace), Trevor (played by Stranger Things fame Finn Wolfhard), and the Easter Eggs from the previous 2 Ghostbusters movie was the perfect touch including the Zombie at the Diner (reference to the Zombie Cab Driver), Ray's Occult Bookstore, Egon's Spore Collection, the Armchair Grab from the first movie, the Symmetrical Stack of Books, Egon's Twinkie along with the Nestle Crunch Bar that Egon earned from Peter Venkman in the First Ghostbusters Movie, and the Ghostbusters commercial featured on Youtube, and who could forget the classic movie homages featured such as the Mountain at the Shandor mining company shares a certain resemblance to Devils Tower in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." The Spengler family encounters several objects moving around the farmhouse, including chess pieces and a lamp. Which is a reference to the Original Poltergeist movie from 1982. Even the Mini Stay-Puft Marshmallow Men probably drew inspiration from Gremlins (1984), which came out the same year as the first "Ghostbusters." even the touching ending is reminiscent of "E. T." when Elliott bids his alien buddy goodbye. Then you have a new ghost in this waited sequel named "Muncher" who feels like a spiritual successor to Slimer, who is based on James Belushi and the film also features an appearance from Academy Award-winning actor J. K. Simmons as Cult of Gozer leader Ivo Shandor. First mentioned in the 1984 film and serving as the antagonist in the 2009 video game, Shandor makes his live-action debut here and no surprise that there's also a deleted scene from the Original Movie gets it due near the end of the movie itself. Overall Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a new instant classic and this long waited for sequel truly has a magic number and still delivers, of course, this 3rd long waiting Installment is worth watching for fans of the Original Ghostbusters as well as new fans of this generation that we all live in.