Addendum to My Fairly Short and Hopefully Spoiler-Free (Partial) Review -- Ghostbusters: Afterlife

WARNING: THIS ONE CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS

DON'T READ BELOW THIS LINE IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS

LAST CHANCE TO AVOID SPOILERS

So, about a week ago, I went to see Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and was thoroughly enjoying it when the power went out in the theater (and in the rest of the shopping center where the theater is located). You can read my Fairly Short and Hopefully Spoiler-Free (Partial) Review here.

Today, I biked down to the theater intending to try and catch the movie beginning roughly where I left off. Somehow, even though I made a point of arriving late, and even though I ended up waiting for 15 minutes for a drink at the concession stand before going in, the trailers, etc. were just finishing up and the movie starting when I walked it.

Let's make that a negative side note: The theater lists a starting time. The theater also lists a running time. So why not start the movie at the starting time, so that it's possible, using the running time, to calculate when the movie will end? I mean, I tried to be late. And in addition to trying to be late, I was delayed ... and ended up being almost exactly on time. Run the trailers and ads and "turn off your phone" bits before the starting time, and start the movie at the starting time, pretty please with sugar on top.

OK, I guess I've included enough filler to keep people who don't want spoilers from being accidentally exposed to them.

Here's the big spoiler:

They get the band back together. For real. Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, even Annie Potts (in the main body) and Sigourney Weaver (in a mid-credits breakout). Yes, using CGI, even Harold Ramis. The only really major cast member missing from the first Ghostbusters flick is Rick Moranis, who's been pretty much retired for what, 20 years or something?

For the most part, I don't like CGI-ing dead people into movies, but Ramis is a special case. He was one of the original Ghostbusters writer and had been working toward a new Ghostbusters film when he died.

This film is in many ways a tribute to him. He's the main character, even though he dies at the beginning and is invisible (but present) for most of the plot. McKenna Grace (a great young actor) plays his grand-daughter, and is wholly convincing as a chip off the old grand-dad block. There's a scene where she finds grandpop's old glasses, holds them up in front of her own, and they're an exact match. Which sounds trite when writing it, but when watching it it's very effective.

Now that I've finished watching Ghostbusters: Afterlife, I still have no complaints. It was just plain fun, in the way that a Ghostbusters film is supposed to be.

Side note: Paul Rudd, in his turn as a summer school teacher / mom's love interest (another spoiler: That works out much the same way as the Rick Moranis / Sigourney Weaver combo in the original), reminds me of comedian Andrew Heaton (you can catch him in a bunch of fun Reason magazine videos), and in a good way. If the casting director had wanted to save some money, he could have cast Heaton in the role with similar results. Just sayin' ...