Who You Gonna Call? Ghostbusters Ranking: From Worst to Best

With the release of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, I wanted to share my ranking of all five Ghostbusters films. The Ghostbusters franchise has been a mixed bag throughout the years. It went through a remake that was somehow the most controversial event of the year even in an election year but also put out some more standard more universally beloved films. I have enjoyed this franchise in its entirety even with its pretty low lows. With that being said, here are my thoughts and ranking of the five Ghostbusters films.

5. Ghostbusters: Answer The Call

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call was Paul Feig's attempt to reboot the Ghostbuster franchise. However, the film ended up being a pretty generic blockbuster lacking any of the magic of the original. Granted, it is not nearly as bad or deserves all the hate it gets for being an all-female Ghostbusters movie but it definitely isn't good either. While I can see that the movie is trying to be funny, none of the humor really lands. It felt like they overcompensated for having an all-female Ghostbusters movie that offended a bunch of people somehow but used humor that didn't offend anyone but consequently wasn't funny to anyone either. Additionally, none of the Ghostbusters are really all that charming and they lack any sort of chemistry between them. They all try to be the Bill Murray Ghostbuster but someone needs to be the Egon and the Dan Akroyd Ghostbusters too. The main redeeming quality is Chris Hemsworth as he really steals every scene he is in. He is just so awkward and goofy that it makes it fun to see him in a role so different than his usual type. In the end if the movie had ditched the connection to Ghostbusters and just been an original movie about girls fighting ghosts then I think it would have been much better received.

Score: 5/10 Grade: C

4. Ghostbuster II

Ghostbusters II is the weakest of the main Ghostbusters continuity While it does have some of the charm of the original film. There are just too many issues to give it a good rating. The movie essentially takes the premise of the first Ghostbusters movie and just follows it again for this one except with a different villain. It doesn't really bring any new ideas to the franchise and just banks on knowing what worked the first time. The movie does capture a bit of the charm of the original film. It is fun to see the main team together. The movie does have a few iconic moments such as the dancing toaster and the Statue of Liberty sequence. However, the movie fails to capture much of the magic of the original. The villain is also not as memorable nor does he have much of a presence until the last 30 minutes. The thing that irritates me the most about this film is the setup. Somehow the entire city forgets that ghosts invaded NYC and call the Ghostbusters frauds. It makes no sense and completely undermines the success of the first film. I feel like they could have changed the setup a bit and still started the Ghostbusters in a similar situation. Overall, this is a very lackluster movie that while somewhat entertaining fails to capture any of the charm of the original.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

3. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

This movie is a bit of a mixed bag for me but I think it has more good than bad which is why it gets a positive rating. I thought this was a fun Ghostbusters adventure that expanded the lore and built out more of the world. Since the Ghostbusters are already formed, the movie doesn't need to spend any time getting the band back together and just dives right into the adventure. It was also a lot of fun to see the story set back in NYC and include the original cast. I like how both Ray and Winston are given something to do and have supporting roles in the story. Paul Rudd and McKenna Grace and easily the standouts of this movie. Paul Rudd has just so much charm and is just so fun in every scene he is in. McKenna Grace is just great in the lead and is a great emotional center to the story. The main issue with this movie is that there are too many characters and subplots. The movie just has too much going on. It gives every character something to do and the result is an overstuff story. Because of this, I felt the movie took a bit too long to really get going. In the end, while it does feel overstuff, the charm and fun of seeing ghostbusting in NYC is there which makes for, while not a great film, a fun spooky adventure.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

2. Ghostbuster: Afterlife

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a movie I find really special. It is a great sequel to the original Ghostbusters film. It has some great new characters. Podcast and the Paul Rudd character are both a lot of fun but Phoebe is really the star of the movie. McKenna Grace does a great job of playing a tiny Egon and really carries this movie from beginning to end, The plot is also really well done. It is somewhat derivative of the original film, but the way it is done, it feels more like a love letter to the original than just a remake. They also handled paying tribute to the original team really nicely. They gave them their moment to shine but didn't allow them to overpower the movie. The movie also is just a really nice tribute to Harold Ramis. It gives him and Egon the proper respect in this film and sends him off in a way that is both tasteful and emotional. Finally, the last 15 minutes of the movie are just fantastic. It has some great fan service a fantastic final battle and just a really emotional and well-done ending. This is an example of how to do a legacy sequel perfectly. 

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-

1. Ghostbusters

Without a doubt, the original Ghostbusters is still the best in the franchise. This is such a great movie. It has so many strong characters and an entertaining story. The original team (Egon, Ray, Peter, and Winston) have such great chemistry together. Each character is funny in their own way and manages to deliver laughs throughout the film. The story is just so iconic too. The action is very entertaining and the special effects hold up reasonably well. The movie runs at a solid pace with all the right twists and turns. There are just so many iconic scenes that everyone remembers, from the Stay Puff marshmallow man to the intro with Muncher. There is just not much of anything wrong with this film and it is just so enjoyable to watch. I also like how the movie manages to include scary elements without being overly scary. It is just the perfect kind of scary to be considered a spooky comedy. Not only is it the best of the franchise but it is also just one of my favorite movies of all time. The film is such an icon and everybody should see it at least once.

Score:9.5/10 Grade: A

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire