Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire — Review

The second sequel set in the same world as the original Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, felt like the postscript longtime fans of the 80s comedy franchise needed. Simultaneously, it felt like the postscript writer-director Jason Reitman needed. Indeed, Afterlife had heart. Even if the film diverged from the screwball comedy of the original, it felt like a love letter to the franchise and those responsible for creating it.

Enter the new addition to the series, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Here, we find most of the heart stripped away and traded for a run-of-the-mill coming-of-age story blended with elements of a sci-fi thriller.

If Frozen Empire were just a genre film starring the same characters but subtracting the bursts of familiarity provided by those returning from original films, it would at least succeed in its cast. Paul Rudd is likable in his role. Mckenna Grace still shines as a highlight. Finn Wolfhard is still not given much to do but is a welcome, if wasted, garnish to an overloaded cast.

It’s the returning cast that feels superfluous. Dan Aykroyd has the most screentime, mainly popping in here and there to explain the film-reliant pseudoscience and to create needlessly complicated lore. Annie Potts and Ernie Hudson are great to see, if not heavily prevalent to the core story. And I’m sad to say if you’ve watched the previews of Frozen Empire, you’ve probably seen most of Bill Murray’s involvement.

When it comes down to brass tacks, Frozen Empire isn’t especially funny, which is deadly for a comedy, which the Ghostbusters franchise purports to be. Instead, Frozen Empire feels as if an adaptation of a young adult novel wore “Ghostbusters” as a suit to gain access to an audience jonesing for a nostalgia pop. The film would have been better served stripping the franchise elements away and serving an original YA movie. Instead, we get a story with plenty of ghosts but no spirit.

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