Ghostbusters: Afterlife seems to be polarizing moviegoers, with critics less than enthused, giving the movie a 62% Tomatometer score while the audience seems to be eating it up with an early 96% positive rating. This is compared to  a certified fresh 97% from critics from the first Ghostbusters movie, released in 1984.

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The reviews indicate an overreliance on nostalgia, while detractors claimed there isn't enough originality in this new movie. However, fans praised the performance from the kids and a lot of people loved seeing the things they loved from the first movie used to great effect in this new outing. However, the argument of whether Ghostbusters: Afterlife matched up to the original isn't likely to stop anytime soon.

The Best: The Family Story

A promo shot of the cast standing around the Ecto-1 in Ghostbusters Afterlife.

One of the biggest changes from Ghostbusters to Ghostbusters: Afterlife is that the two movies have very different heroes. In the first movie, the story is all about three sarcastic scientists setting out to battle ghosts while delivering quips they perfect in the classic Saturday Night Live era.

However, Ghostbusters: Afterlife delivers a very different story. This isn't about four men cracking jokes while fighting ghosts. The new movie is a family story, and its entire focus is on Egon Spengler's family learning why he left them and then proving they are strong enough to follow in his footsteps. In that area, the new movie excels.

The Best: The Movie Is Full Of Heart

The photo of the original Ghostbusters in Afterlife.

The original Ghostbusters was more of a comedy than anything, but its sense of humor was based on sarcasm and biting wit. These were four very unlikeable characters who bonded and helped save New York City from a demonic presence from another dimension. In the end, it was all played for laughs.

There are people who prefer that humor to anything else, but what Ghostbusters: Afterlife offers is something more. There are funny moments in this movie, but it is also one that has more heart than any other movie in the franchise, and while sometimes saccharine, it is a movie that remains touching and memorable in the end.

The Best: The Ghostbusters Finish The Job

The commercial from the first Ghostbusters movie.

The first movie had the Ghostbusters heading out to stop a demonic presence and send all the ghosts back to where they belonged. They stopped the demon, Gozer, and they did it in a massive battle in New York City. However, as the movie showed, it wasn't over with yet. There was a sequel, and more ghosts.

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The new movie might also have another sequel, but there is one thing that fans of the original can appreciate. Gozer was not defeated in that first movie, and this time around, the Ghostbusters returned and helped the kids stop and capture this evil demon once and for all, finishing the job they started over 30 years ago.

The Best: The Kids Bring The Goods

Trevor, Phoebe, and Podcast standing by the Ecto-1 in Ghostbusters Afterlife.

The actors in the first Ghostbusters were great comedy actors in sarcastic and often deadpan ways. That is what made it such a great comedy for so many years, and a movie that still holds up well today. However, the kids in Ghostbusters: Afterlife not only held their own, but they shined brightly, proving to be much more likeable characters than previous Ghostbusters movies.

Mckenna Grace was fantastic in her role as Phoebe Spengler, the 12-year-old social outcast who inherited her grandfather's genius. Finn Wolfhard was more than just that Stranger Things kid and carried his weight and even newcomer Logan Kim was fun as Podcast. These kids carried the movie to great heights.

The Best: It Is A Love Letter To Harold Ramis

Phoebe looking at Egon's uniform in Ghostbusters Afterlife.

The movie was bookended by the story of Egon Spengler who has funny quotes. For any Ghostbusters fan, this was a great moment to remember the actor who brought Egon to life, the late great Harold Ramis. The movie started with him battling ghosts on his own, and tragically failing.

It ended with his ghost returning to help his granddaughter fight and beat Gozer once and for all. It was also touching to see Harold, brought to life digitally, interact with his three fellow original Ghostbusters actors again. It would take a cold heart not to tear up a little at the ending with Egon finally saying goodbye.

Doesn't Match Up: Too Much Nostalgia

Janine greets Callie in Ghostbusters Afterlife.

The biggest complaints about Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a legitimate one. This is a movie made with the fans in mind and it is loaded with Easter eggs and scenes that scream nostalgia. Some of the best references from the previous Ghostbusters movies bring a smile to any Ghostbusters fan's face.

However,  there are also moments where it seemed like Jason Reitman was just throwing in everything he could think of to homage the past movies. The nostalgia was fine, but there were moments it overshadowed the new story and just reminded people of how great the first movie was.

Doesn't Match Up: The Original Movie Had More Comedy

Stay Puft making smores in Ghostbusters Afterlife.

While Ghostbusters: Afterlife was full of heart, a movie that could compare well with movies like The Goonies and E.T., it didn't feel like the original Ghostbusters movie. That original movie was, above all else, a horror-comedy.

Fans wanted to see a comedy when they watched Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and that is not what Jason Reitman delivered. There is nothing wrong with delivering something different, but since the Ghostbusters series is a comedy franchise, delivering a movie with few laughs hurt it in comparison to the original.

Doesn't Match Up: Afterlife Is Too Repetitive

The Keymaster chasing the kids in Ghostbusters Afterlife.

There is a good argument that Ghostbusters: Afterlife is to Ghostbusters what Star Wars: The Force Awakens is to the original Star Wars movie. Both movies take the original movie's plotline, adds in different characters, and plays it out like a greatest hits.

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The villain was the same with Gozer. The Keymaster was the same, with Paul Rudd almost morphing into Rick Moranis when the time came. Muncher was an updated version of Slimer. Even the kids shared traits with the original Ghostbusters. The movie felt different, but it was the same story, hitting the same beats as the fantastic original movie.

Doesn't Match Up: The Original's Climax Was More Exciting

Gozer in Ghostbusters.

The ending of Ghostbusters: Afterlife was where the story really changed course. Yes, the original three surviving members showed up to help, but they realized they didn't have the power to beat Gozer anymore. Luckily, the ghost of Egon was there to help his grandchildren.

The problem is that the battle on the dirt farm was far from exciting. It was heartfelt, but it didn't have that moment where a giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was storming down the street for the final battle. The ending of the original Ghostbusters was more exciting in every way.

Doesn't Match Up: Afterlife Misses The Big City

The ghosts flying around New York City.

The biggest change was taking the story from New York City to a town in the middle of nowhere in Oklahoma. This did one thing that really hurt the movie. Yes, the danger to the world was the same, but at the end of the day, there was no visible threat of danger to the world.

In New York City, thousands of people were in immediate danger when the ghosts attacked and the demon Gozer rose. In Oklahoma, there were random people here nad there, standing on street corners or in a diner. It seemed no one was in danger outside of the main characters, and that lack of peril really hurt the scope of the new movie and kept Ghostbusters as the superior effort.

NEXT: 10 Ways The Ghostbusters 2016 Reboot Is Underrated