Film Review - Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Images courtesy of Sony Pictures Publicity.
The title of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire ultimately represents the current state of the franchise: frozen in time.
The Spengler family (Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace) are the new Ghostbusters, busting ghosts left, right and centre in New York City. But a forgotten demon is demanding to be released from its ancient artefact prison, threatening to use fear itself as a weapon. To stop this threat, the Spenglers join forces with the OG Ghostbusters (Dan Akroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and Bill Murray) to prevent New York from becoming a second ice age.
Though some are interesting, there are just too many ideas in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Writers Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan (Kenan also directing), are doing their best to move the franchise forward respectfully. However, their script has too many subplots that ultimately become disconnected. Ghostbusters has always been an ensemble. But when you have the original 80s cast returning, as well as all of the cast from Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and introduce even more brand-new supporting characters in this film, it's not an ensemble anymore. It’s a company and there’s not enough for everyone to do.
The film does allow some performances to stand out. Grace and Akroyd are the heart of the film with their storylines on connection and life beyond being a Ghostbuster. Meanwhile, Murray and newcomers Kumail Nanjiani and James Acaster all have genuinely funny moments sprinkled throughout the film that remind the audience that Ghostbusters is supposed to be a comedy. But other than that, the rest of the cast is wasted. In particular, Coon and Wolfhard look super bored throughout the whole movie.
All this isn’t to say that Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is without merit. The mythology behind Garraka, the main villain, and how the film sets up that plotline is so intriguing that it feels threatening for at least a minute. The worldbuilding doesn’t feel forced, with the addition of lots of new ghosts and Ghostbusters gear, which should be fun for longtime fans. The mixture of practical and CGI effects is also seriously impressive, especially with the return of Slimer, a classic ghost from the first film and cartoon. Speaking of Slimer, like Ghostbusters: Afterlife, there are A LOT of references to the original two 80s films in the form of callbacks, locations and even returning characters. Most of them feel forced and corny, but others are likely to draw a chuckle from even the most cynical fan.
This is a fun movie. Longtime fans will probably love Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire the most, but at the end of the day, it won’t grab the imagination of any new audiences.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is screening in cinemas now. For tickets and more info, click here.