Only in attendance because my employers provided me, my family, and girlfriend with free tickets as part of an event to bring the company together outside of the workplace, I was unsure of what to expect going into this. All of the pre-release buzz made it clear even to somebody like me who didn't really follow it that this was made in an effort to restore the franchise to its former glory in the eyes of the fans who were angered by Paul Feig's admittedly mediocre 2016 reboot and provide a worthy continuation/successor to the original film they loved. An original film that at the time of this writing I still haven't seen yet. Because of my lack of prior exposure to the iconic '80s continuity I'm sure I missed a very big portion of what this movie was doing. I was also largely lost when it came to the plot and villain as the narrative is constantly referencing and forming connections to events I never witnessed. Perhaps this should have been called Ghostbusters: New Life though as despite my unaffiliated perspective its standalone content proved enough to thoroughly entertain me. I would gladly return for a sequel to spend more time with these characters portrayed by the likes of two of the biggest child stars currently working, the always charming Paul Rudd, and the extremely underrated actress Carrie Coon. That's because Jason Reitman manges to avoid pulling a J.J. Abrams by never leaning so hard into nostalgia pandering that the past outshines Afterlife's present or potential future. Things play out exactly as you would expect them to with the cast stumbling onto the relics left behind by the old heroes before eventually taking up their fight against a returning force of evil. It works though because even in the face of all the homages and callbacks it's still THEIR story. The young protagonists carry the action entirely on their own. Yes, we do get appearances from Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson, but it occurs at the tail end of the running time to ensure that their presence never overshadows that of their successors. So all of the laughs, heartwarming moments, and exhilarating thrills come directly from the next generation of 'busters as opposed to the previous. Of course, nailing the torch passing element wouldn't have mattered if the adventure built around it wasn't any good. There are certainly some questionable aspects like the irritating loud shrieking noise that plays whenever the film tries to scare you or how nobody seems the slightest bit surprised when supernatural stuff starts occuring. Other than that though it's a hilarious blockbuster with a strong horror side (which I loved) that stars an instantly endearing group of eclectic oddballs that I can't wait to see again should this get the follow-up it deserves. I may not have been the target audience here due to coming in almost completely uninformed on the franchise outside of its lowest point, but that didn't stop me from having some of the most unexpected fun I've had all year. So while it was unable to charm me with its faithfulness to the tone, nature, and style of its predecessors the way it would a longtime member of the series' fanbase, it did manage to turn me into a new devotee.