A Reel Review: GHOSTBUSTERS - FROZEN EMPIRE

GHOSTBUSTERS has had a very up-and-down life on the big screen. After the classic 1984 film, there was a 1989 sequel that deservingly flopped which led to a long hiatus. Then came the 2016 glob-of-slime remake, and in 2021 we got the magnificent and emotional AFTERLIFE. Here in 2024, nearly 40 years since the original film changed pop culture, comes FROZEN EMPIRE. 

 

After the events of AFTERLIFE, fifteen-year-old Phoebe Spengler (McKenna Grace), is a full-fledged Ghostbuster with her family (Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard), in a new restart of the company now led by Winston (Ernie Hudson). Meanwhile, semi-retired original Ghostbuster Ray (Dan Aykroyd), comes into possession of a spirit-infested orb, which contains a ghost ready to send the world into a second ice age. 

 

Directed by Gil Kenan and co-written/produced by Jason Reitman (son of Ivan, director of the ’84 film), FROZEN EMPIRE has the bare bones of what all GHOSTBUSTERS films should be doing: duking it out with a pesty poltergeist. What should be simple becomes cluttered in a hurry, all due to some clunky and drawn-out exposition, way too many characters, and overcomplicated plotting. Information dumps come in word salads, the many, many, many characters take up too much time (Phoebe makes friends with a ghost, the original owner of the orb gets too much time, and the city’s Mayor makes trouble for the team), and the battle to contain the orb goes through too many turns. On top of that, the many characters are either shortchanged or off on side-quests that go nowhere (Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon are in neutral, and Finn Wolfhard is extra baggage). 

 

FROZEN EMPIRE still has its moments of fun. Some of the ghost battles and chases are a blast, and the banter between characters is very funny. The original squad of Ghostbusters get more screentime than AFTERLIFE, but still feel under-utilized. FROZEN EMPIRE is not afraid of nostalgia, most of it works, while other elements don’t do much. 

 

Acting is very good. McKenna Grace is once again a delight and owns every scene she’s in. Ernie Hudson gets some justice for his character, and Dan Aykroyd steps back into the jumpsuit of Ray very well. Bill Murray returns as Venkman and earns the best laughs. Annie Potts lights up the screen, as always. 

 

FROZEN EMPIRE is far from a disaster, but coming off the emotional punch of AFTERLIFE, lands as a weak follow-up. A good aggressive session in the editing room could solve half the problems by trimming the fat, but for now…it’s not an up or a down…but a step sideways. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it