Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Jason Reitman’s film is a thoroughly lovely sequel that captures the feeling of the originals without simply imitating them. It focuses on appealing new characters with strong chemistry and is always fun, inventive and full of charm.

Jason Reitman pitches it just right in this spooky though never scary reboot full of humour and nods to the originals. The result is a warm, nostalgic reboot that's as touching as it is crowd-pleasing, led by strong turns from Coon and Grace.

Reitman revives the flailing franchise with a fresh female-forward spin and clever evolutions of its hallmarks, but it suffers from an over-reliance on its previous life and callbacks.

This nostalgic sequel is more progressive than the original and benefits from strong chemistry between Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd. It raises more than the ghost of a smile despite some flat moments in the finale.

The film revives the franchise with a fresh jolt of energy, offering fan service alongside a new entry point for younger audiences while honoring its legacy without tarnishing what came before. The critic singles out the practical effects, sight gags like the mini Stay-Puft and the emotional tribute to Harold Ramis.

The film is a feelgood nostalgic remake of the 1980s original that will appeal to fans of a certain age and their children. It succeeds as a Spielbergian family adventure thanks to its score and casting of Finn Wolfhard.

The film is a character-driven franchise update with more heart than slime, delivering engaging performances especially from Mckenna Grace as Phoebe and a mix of comedy, coming-of-age elements, and effects. It hits its marks as an origin story while paying tribute to the original and Harold Ramis.

The film is a spirit-lifting return that hits all the old notes with enough heart to rise above average reboots, though the first hour sags and callbacks feel crowbarred in.

The film is a dispiriting nostalgia exercise that turns the original's loose comedy into a reverent, neo-Spielbergian kid adventure with maximum reverence and minimum comedy, treating the iconography as holy scripture rather than delivering funny dialogue or new energy.

Reitman’s sequel moves the action to rural Oklahoma and focuses on adolescents but is haunted by self-conscious fan service; a winning performance from Mckenna Grace provides appeal but the film feels like a blatant attempt to reinvest audiences in a bygone blockbuster.

The film starts promisingly with witty 80s references and strong early scenes but loses charm once the ghostbusting intensifies. Characterisation suffers amid increasingly self-indulgent tributes to the originals.

The critic finds the film a misjudged nostalgia overload with a bland script and unrelenting callbacks. It complains of emotional manipulation via digital resurrection of Harold Ramis and lack of chemistry or innovation.

The film is a toothless, cuddly play for nostalgia and merch that centers adorable children and cutesy ghosts while delivering easy-watching but frictionless entertainment. The critic singles out the predictable, wide-eyed child performers and cartoonish apparitions engineered for toy shelves.

The sequel is spookily drab and fails to take the Ghostbusters brand seriously. Wish-fulfilment is the only move, resulting in drab action, scarce jokes and a characterless town with nothing at stake.

The film dispiritingly peddles nostalgia for its own sake, focusing on hermetically sealed continuity and callbacks rather than balancing comedy and spectacle, turning young heroes into audience surrogates marveling at predecessors.

The film is a shamefully flat mishmash rehash that relocates the action to small-town Oklahoma and serves up cynically uninspired material from an uninspired director. The kids are unaware of the franchise's history in illogical ways.

The film is overly reliant on callbacks to the original and fails to stand on its own. It wastes strong performances and feels like a cynical cash-in.

The reboot is listless, creatively bankrupt and an ouroboros of nostalgia cannibalizing itself, making it an unenjoyable exercise in fealty to the original. The critic singles out the craven mimicking of predecessors, broad performances and reliance on Easter eggs over new ideas or stakes.

The film is a ghoulish, unengaging Amblin-esque coming-of-age story that obsessively mines the original for props and lines without capturing its spirit, pandering to fans through nostalgia and fan service in a nefarious way.

The critic praises Jason Reitman for delivering a smart and fun reinvention of the franchise as a family affair, centering on young characters especially Phoebe. Special effects, the cast led by McKenna Grace, and Reitman's reinvention of his own family legacy are highlighted as strengths.

The film is a generational hand-off and nostalgia trip that expands what a Ghostbusters story can be, focusing on new young characters finding their place rather than recapturing the original's team dynamic. It succeeds most with its adolescent adventure elements and strong performances from the young cast, especially Mckenna Grace.

The critic finds the film an entertaining sequel-reboot with sharp direction, snappy dialogue and a stellar young cast that carries it, but notes it feels overly familiar and repetitive of the original while serving mainly to set up future entries. The Amblin-esque family adventure elements and McKenna Grace's performance are singled out for praise amid complaints about lack of surprises and heavy nostalgia callbacks.

The critic argues the film misses the original's comedic spirit and irreverence, instead prioritizing fan-service reverence and legacy themes over story or humor. Mckenna Grace's performance as Phoebe stands out as a highlight amid the nostalgia focus.