"No - I'm 12!"
Following Paul Feig's only moderately-successful female-led reboot attempt, this direct sequel to the original 1980s films takes the bold but very effective step away from familiar New York to a remote rural town to which a penniless single mother and her two children relocate following the death of her estranged father...who happens to be Egon Spengler, one of the original Ghostbusters, and with strange events hitting the town of Summerville, the new generation discover and take on their grandfather's ghostbusting legacy. With Jason Reitman at the helm of the project (son of the original films' director), this new take is clearly made with true warmth, real affection and the best intentions to create a genuine and reverent sequel, in which it really succeeds. The narrative reveals of connections to the past are well-paced, dialogue is effective and the film treads a very successful path between respect to the originals and creating something fresh. The new family is quickly engaging, Paul Rudd is cast reliably as the wryly anarchic science teacher (he keeps his classes occupied watching inappropriate horror films) who becomes the adult ally of the gang, and it is the passing of the ghostbusting torch to a younger generation that makes the film work so well. The film has a surprisingly leisurely feel at times, punctuated by well-staged action/effects set pieces, together with a lazy hazy Summer vibe that again marks it out from its predecessors and fits well with the change of location from which the film truly benefits. It all builds to a contained but spectacular finale that manages to have big emotional impact and is a fitting finale to this warm, entertaining and very enjoyable movie. Do stay watching for the short scenes that appear in the middle and at the end of the credits.
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