7/10
This film was a good follow-up to the first two Ghostbusters films (it has no relation to the 2016 film). Jason Reitman - son of the co-writer & director of the original film - fills the same role for this film that his father did with the first one. You can tell they spent a lot of time working and reworking this script before production began. It pays homage to the original film but is it’s own story rather than a re-tread of the original.
The main audience POV character is Phoebe (played very well by McKenna Grace). She’s the granddaughter of Egon Spengler (the late Harold Ramis) who was one of the original Ghostbusters. Phoebe is exceptionally smart and very socially awkward. It is not an overstatement to say that McKenna carries this movie. That’s not to say that the other actors aren’t carrying their weight - Paul Rudd (the science teacher Mr. Grooberson), Finn Wolfhard (Phoebe’s older brother Trevor), Carrie Coon (Phoebe & Trevor’s mother), & Logan Kim (Phoebe’s only friend who the writers decided to name Podcast I can only assume because he has a podcast) all preform admirably in their roles.
The movie has some really great story beats that show just how polished the screenplay really is. If you were a fan of the original film there are a few that may seem like a repeat, but they work in the context of the story. It even manages to work in a few cameos without feeling too forced (some are better than others). The music mimics the original at key moments, but isn’t overbearing about it.
One final thing to note: There is a mid-credits scene & a scene at the very end that elude to another film. I sincerely hope they put as much effort into that film’s screenplay as they did on this one.
Ultimately, if you liked the original Ghostbusters movie you’ll probably like this one too.
