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Film: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Year: 2024
Director: Gil Kenan
Writers: Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman
Starring: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon and Finn Wolfhard
Review:
This is a movie that I’ll be honest, wasn’t a priority to see. I ended up checking this out during the day on a Saturday when I had free time. Don’t get me wrong though, I love the original. The second one I have nostalgia for and Afterlife hit me in the feels. This isn’t one that I was avoiding, but just not rushing to see.
Synopsis: when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home as well as to save the world from a second ice age.
Since the earlier installment, the Spenglers have moved to New York City. Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) is a philanthropist who has preserved the old fire house. The mother, Callie (Carrie Coon), has moved in there with her son Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and daughter Phoebe (Mckenna Grace). They’re also Ghostbusters full time. Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) is dating Callie and stepping in as a father figure. This is a struggle for him though, since he was their teacher and friend first.
Something that I should include here is the back-story. This starts in 1904. There was an adventure club in New York where everyone who was in attendance froze to death in July. There was his iron orb and a person in a bronze outfit. This orb is now in possession of Nadeem Razmaadi (Kumail Nanjiani). He doesn’t have prospects for the future so he sells it to Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd). He runs an occult bookstore and has a YouTube channel with the help of Podcast (Logan Kim).
Things get complicated when the Ghostbusters chase a spectral dragon downtown. Damage is caused and Phoebe, who is underage, was outside of the car while it was in motion. To avoid getting into trouble, the mayor who is Walter Peck (William Atherton) demands that she be sidelined until she is of age. This upsets Phoebe with how smart she is. She then befriends a ghost while playing chess in a nearby park, Melody (Emily Alyn Lind).
There is a bigger issue. The containment unit in the basement of the firehouse is failing. There are too many ghosts inside. Winston has a plan there. The entity inside of the orb though has different plans. It wants out for the reasons in the synopsis. This could also be the most difficult thing that the Ghostbusters, both the original and current, have ever faced.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start then is that this is a fun movie. It is funny that I saw someone say that if Afterlife is the original, then this is part 2. What I took that to mean is that the OG captured lightning in a bottle. It was a great, feel-good movie with effects and just worked. Afterlife has great heart and bounces back from the all-women remake. I don’t even hate that one as a heads up. This one here feels like it is going grander. It just is missing something for it fully work.
Let me go into the positives though. I like that this is built on what we started originally. Callie was struggling, needing to move into her father’s house to figure out her life. She now has a purpose as a Ghostbuster, but that isn’t something that is guaranteed with Peck as mayor. Her life and what she’s providing for her children isn’t free from stress though. I like that she’s with Gary, they make a cute couple. We also focus here on Phoebe and her being too young to be a Ghostbuster due to child labor laws. It makes sense in the grand scheme.
I need to shift to a negative, it was something else that I saw. There are too many characters. That is something that I understand and don’t fully agree with. What it makes an issue for is the Trevor character. He has no arch outside of being 18 years old and wanting to be seen as an adult. They brought back Lucky (Celeste O’Connor). We see there is attraction there, but it goes nowhere. There is more of a focus on Phoebe and potentially exploring her sexuality. She gets close to Melody and could be hinting that this young woman is gay. This takes a backseat though, for obvious reasons.
What I don’t find as an issue though is incorporating in Winston. He’s the money guy behind the team. Ray creates issues by taking Phoebe and Podcast to see a colleague, Dr. Hubert Wartzki (Patton Oswalt). That was good to fill in back-story. It makes sense how Nadeem fits into the story going forward. Even the bit that we get of Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) and Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts) was fine. There are a bunch of side characters that are needed to push things where it ends up.
All that is left then for the story is the new villain. This is where it feels the least like Ghostbusters 2. I don’t find Viggo in that movie to be grander than Gozar. If memory serves, this latter villain makes another appearance in Afterlife as well. This monster is doing what you have to with being on par with the demi-gods. There is mythology that we get about how it could freeze the world and what was done in the past to defeat it. There’s even references that there could be people like the Ghostbuster back then that helped. I dug that parallel.
That should be enough for the story so then over to filmmaking. This is a CGI-fest and it has a good budget for that. The mini-Stay-Puft Marshmallow guys are adorable. The new ghost is terrifying. If they could incorporate more practically done effects would make this better. I get why they don’t so I digress. I thought the action sequences were good so credit the cinematography and framing. No issues there, it does help to hide the seams. Other than that, the soundtrack fit what was needed.
To then end this out would be acting. No one is going to win awards here, but this is a fun movie. Rudd makes me laugh and this is another solid performance for him. This feels like what he does so well in other movies like Ant-Man. Coon is good as this hardened mother of the teens. It feels real and she’s good at what she does. Wolfhard is fine in his role. Grace shows more range with the character since she gets to explore more there. Nanjiani, Oswalt, Acaster and Lind are good additions. I like bringing back O’Connor and Kim. It is also fun to see Murray, Aykroyd, Hudson, Potts and Atherton. The acting here is fine for what was needed. The action and ghosts are what we’re here for though.
In conclusion, this is a fun follow up. I don’t think that it lives up to what the original or even Afterlife did. That’s not to say this is bad. I thought that what they built on was good. Bringing back classic characters while continuing to develop the new ones was solid. There are too many though with not enough runtime. This is still well made. If you didn’t know, this is a CGI-fest, but it has the budget to look good. It is a popcorn film so come with that knowledge. There is a heart underneath it as well. I enjoyed my time and would rewatch for sure.
My Rating: 7 out of 10