Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Leans Harder Than Ever Before on Nostalgia: Review
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The post Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Leans Harder Than Ever Before on Nostalgia: Review appeared first on Consequence.
The Pitch: Two years after the events of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Egon Spengler’s daughter Callie (Carrie Coon), Callie’s children Trevor and Phoebe (Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace), and Callie’s boyfriend Gary (Paul Rudd) have all moved into the iconic New York firehouse to take on the responsibility of Ghostbusting full-time. (Because yes, it makes them feel good.)
Unfortunately for 15-year-old Phoebe, the city’s mayor (William Atherton, just one of the film’s many “special appearances”) has taken issue with a minor running around the city with a photon pack, and she gets benched. That doesn’t keep her from getting caught up in the spooky action at a distance, as an ancient evil awakens — no, not like the last one, this is a different ancient evil. You can tell, because this time, New York City is literally freezing over, and it’s going to take two generations of Ghostbusters to save the day.
We Came, We Saw, We Kicked Its Ass! While Jason Reitman did not serve as director, the son of Ivan Reitman did co-write this continuation of the Ghostbusters saga, which is at its strongest when it finds ways to blend the original surviving cast (Ernie Hudson, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and even Annie Potts get a significant amount of screen time) with the newcomers.
There’s a lived-in, authentic feeling to a number of the more ghostly sequences, as director Gil Kenan embeds a lot of the ’80s Ghostbusters DNA into Frozen Empire, from a heavy use of practical effects to the aforementioned cast appearances to the New York setting to the soundtrack leaning hard on tracks that invoke Elmer Bernstein’s score for the 1984 original. (Composer Dario Marianelli doesn’t skimp on the jauntiness here.)
Most importantly, Kenan delivers not just some solid moments of comedy, but a couple of authentic scares along the way — you want a Ghostbusters movie to at least be a little scary. None of those scares come from the core villain of the film, though, a CGI creation that fails to make an impact the way the more practically-executed effects manage.
Don’t Cross the Streams: While many of the emotional beats of Frozen Empire hold together reasonably well, what drags the film down the most is primarily Phoebe’s part in it. That’s not Mckenna Grace’s fault, but the script’s — there’s no teeth to her being forced off the team due to her age, especially since she keeps getting involved with the action anyway, and her primary form of rebellion is developing a connection with a ghost girl named Melody (Emily Alyn Lind) who…
Okay, it’s never explicitly stated that Phoebe has a crush on Melody, but the implication is pretty clear, if only because said crush leads to some stupid decisions. Yes, even the most brilliant 15-year-old is prone to screwing up because of their crushes, but it’s still not fun to watch smart characters screw up in ways that feel solely motivated by the needs of the plot. Not only that, but Phoebe’s dumb choices are compounded by a ghost plan that really doesn’t make much sense. (C’mon, evil ghosts! Do better!)
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Sony)
Call the Professionals: With the involvement of the OG ‘Busters, there’s a lot of comedic talent here, with arguably too many characters in the mix — though can it technically be said that Paul Rudd is playing a character? Or is he really just once again bringing Paul Rudd in Nice Guy mode? Gary mentions at least twice that he was once a science teacher, which is legitimately helpful because it’s easy to forget even that amount of his backstory.
Kumail Nanjiani has a similar problem, as he’s clearly having a blast getting to play in this sandbox, to the point of distraction: The frosted tips and board shorts of his slacker persona can’t stop the brain from going, every time he’s on screen, “Hey, it’s Kumail Nanjiani! I bet he’s having a great time getting to improv opposite Bill Murray!” Patton Oswalt feels a little more immersed in the narrative as a librarian with a passion for ancient history, while English comedian James Acaster gets to display a little dry wit as a researcher working on advanced ghost… stuff.
Carrie Coon’s here largely to say and do mom stuff, while Podcast (Logan Kim) is back! Everyone remembers Podcast, right? He and Trevor’s crush Lucky (Celeste O’Connor) are the two other Afterlife cast members to return, with Podcast faring better in terms of getting actual stuff to do and say on camera. (Lucky exists mostly to point the business end of a proton pack at various ghosts. On the cutting room floor, one suspects, an actual storyline for her can be found.)
The Verdict: The offputting ghost of Harold Ramis, thankfully, does not return here. But before the final credits of Frozen Empire roll, the dedication “For Ivan” appears on screen, a thoughtful tribute to the 2022 passing of the original 1984 film’s director (Ivan Reitman is also a credited producer on this film). The dedication, though, is also an unfortunate reminder that there’s every chance the next Ghostbusters movie will also have to pay tribute to a fallen cast member. After all, none of us are getting any younger, most especially anyone who was busting ghosts in the ’80s.
No need to start eulogizing anyone before their time, though. Though the ensemble is too large, Frozen Empire does successfully find a decent balance between the multiple generations featured here, letting the younger cast drive most of the action without leaving the older characters on the sidelines. It’s a formula that would be fun to see evolve in additional films, with also hopefully a closer eye on the script and a slightly streamlined cast. Or… Well, the studio could try greenlighting a movie that’s not another reboot/remake/sequel. Like it did with the original Ghostbusters, 30 years ago.
Where to Watch: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will chill out theaters beginning Friday, March 22nd.
Trailer:
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Leans Harder Than Ever Before on Nostalgia: Review
Liz Shannon Miller
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