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This review was made possible by an early screening of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire premieres in theaters on Friday, March 22nd.
Following the events of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the new group of paranormal investigators are headed back to where it all began, New York City. Dusting off the cobwebs of the OG headquarters thanks to Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson). The new team consists of the daughter and grandchildren of Egon Spengler (RIP Harold Ramis); Callie (Carrie Coon), Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) respectively with the addition of the lovable Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd).
This new adventure is helmed by Gil Kenan who also helped co-write Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Kenan also co-wrote Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire with Jason Reitman (who directed and co-wrote Ghostbusters: Afterlife). The film continues to usher in a new era of the team to be enjoyed by fans both old and new.
WHO YOU GONNA CALL?
The Big Apple is introduced to the new era of the Ghostbusters made up of the Spengler’s and Gary who fill the boots on the ground protecting the city from supernatural threats. Phoebe, only being fifteen, gets benched because of good ole labor laws. This creates two paths in the movie: Phoebe’s coming of age story filled with FOMO while her family is off fighting ghosts and a mysterious brass orb that has spooky levels off the charts.
The big bad ghost the movie centers around brings the horror vibes back into the franchise, but not enough in my opinion. The horror level could have been turned up a few notches to level out the laugh out loud humor. Not that the film is tonally uneven, but the laugh to scream ratio could have been a lot closer in number.
SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
While the last film in the OG Ghostbusters trilogy called for nostalgic fanfare and an emotional send-off for the late Harold Ramis, the new movie infused them into integral roles in this film. All of them are led by Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) who moved Ray’s Occult Books to the city and lend a helping hand to the new team. Don’t worry, Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) still has a role to play.
As far as new comers; Patton Oswalt is a joy as always, but my MVP of the movie is Kumail Nanjiani’s Nadeem. A straight up scene stealer who played a much bigger role than anticipated. A more than welcomed turn of events. The blend of old and new characters is topped with some obvious and some quick and clever nods for longtime fans of the franchise.
Nearing the conclusion of the film is when the plot freezes up and starts to break apart. The sleek pacing leading to the third act is met with a paint by numbers ending that is a bit cliche. But when thinking back on the franchise, there is no cinema redefining plot structures making this is a solid addition to the lore of the beloved proton pack wielding misfits.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a pure popcorn blockbuster with sprinkles of self-discovery, legacy and realizing when your time is up. A genuine crowd pleaser filled with a lot of laughs, but ultimately is haunted by a predictable plot line and a rushed world ending confrontation. It is still very much worth the price of admission, especially with a packed crowd in a theater. The movie debuts in theaters on Friday, March 22nd, 2024. Check out the trailer below.
