Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

​“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” stars Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Celeste O’Connor, Logan Kim, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and William Atherton. Released on March 22, 2024, the film has the Ghostbusters team confronting a spirit capable of bringing a second Ice Age.

The film is directed by Gil Kenan, who also directed films such as “Monster House”, “City of Ember”, and “A Boy Called Christmas”. He’s also responsible for co-writing the screenplay for “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”. It is the fifth film in the Ghostbusters franchise. We all discover spooky stuff that makes us feel like we’re frozen in fear, especially the spectral phantoms roaming around when we aren’t looking. However, one specific ghost takes the phrase “frozen in fear” a bit too literally. Luckily, this job is made specifically for the world’s favorite spirit-catching team, but they won’t be alone. Three years ago, the “Ghostbusters” franchise revitalized from the dead with “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”, a legacy sequel to “Ghostbusters II” that introduced us to Egon Spengler’s grandkids becoming the new Ghostbusters and reunited the original team…at the last minute, of course. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, “Afterlife” managed to cater to the original’s fans through its refreshing tone and nostalgia, resulting in it becoming a mild box office success. So now we have a new ghost-busting adventure that continues the legacy and goes back to the formula that made the 1984 original a comedy classic: catching ghosts in New York City. Does it further prove that busting ghosts makes us feel good, or is it time for the franchise to hang up its proton pack? Let’s find out.

The story once again centers on the Spengler family consisting of mother Callie (Coon) and her two kids, Trevor (Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Grace). Along with the children's teacher, Gary Grooberson (Rudd), they left their lives in Summerville and moved to New York City. There, they volunteer to help the original Ghostbusters team, Peter Venkman (Murry), Raymond Stantz (Aykroyd), and Winston Zeddemore (Hudson), restart the business they left behind years ago. Their ghost-hunting shenanigans were then interrupted by the discovery of an ancient artifact that houses a deadly death-chilling spirit capable of freezing the entire world. When the ghost threatens to bring about a second Ice Age, the Ghostbusters, new and old, join forces to save the world and regain people’s faith in the team.

While I’ve been an admirable fan of the franchise for a long time, my experience with its recent installments has been pretty complicated since the 2016 reboot. I considered “Afterlife” a breath of fresh air for the IP regarding its Amblim-inspired tone and young cast. However, its attempt at nostalgia baiting and underwhelming humor made it clear to me that they’re desperately catering to the toxic fans who despised Paul Feig’s all-female Ghostbusters team. Maybe I’m still sore at what these disgusting “fans” did to the actresses when the reboot came out. Regardless, I was okay with what it’s supposed to be and how it would carry over to its potential follow-ups, which brings us to “Frozen Empire”.

“Frozen Empire” certainly has promise regarding its plot and marketing. The film seemed to be returning to the basics of the franchise’s formula by having the action occur in New York City. The movie also introduced us to a brand new ghostly villain that would’ve given Queen Elsa a run for its money instead of bringing back the antagonists from the first two installments, which plagued “Afterlife” for its lack of creativity. So, it’s clear that the filmmakers are trying to regain the franchise’s spiritual essence while keeping it relevant enough to impress the new generation of fans. But the actual test is whether these nostalgic factors equate to a fun ghost-hunting experience. After watching it myself, it’s hard to say that the franchise might need another new set of ghost-busting gear.

One thing I can credit “Frozen Empire” for is that it felt more like a “Ghostbusters” movie compared to “Afterlife”, especially in its first few minutes. Considering that it drew inspiration from “The Real Ghostbusters”, this isn’t that surprising. One of the major elements that made “Ghostbusters” what it was is the charm and fun of catching ghosts in New York City and the cast cracking jokes while performing their job. With an entertaining beginning that’s suitably handled by director Gil Kenan, “Frozen Empire” had the opportunity to be a solid installment that rivals the first two movies. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie struggled to maintain its spirit with its proton pack long enough to reach that height. I also remembered it’s a follow-up to “Afterlife”, so it had to retain its predecessor’s serious tone amid its humor. While I still admire “Afterlife” for making itself unique in its quality, it came with the cost of its humor becoming dry and charmless, spoiling the fun of busting ghosts.

Luckily, “Frozen Empire” proved to be a more enjoyable experience compared to “Afterlife” despite carrying over what was lacking in its predecessor. Of course, the reasons are that it follows a similar world-saving plot from the first two films, for better or worse, and a shorter runtime. However, it still felt like it ran a bit too long regarding the pacing. Another reason was the ideas it introduced for the Ghostbusters lore, mainly the new ghost-catching tech, the new ghostly antagonist, and Phoebe’s arc. The movie continues Phoebe’s journey by having her prove her worth as a Ghostbuster despite her young age, but she eventually winds up way over her head after befriending a ghost named Melody (Emily Alyn Lind). This direction proved promising regarding the messages it hoped to provide, such as the importance of family and learning from one’s mistakes. However, its screenplay lacked a few sparks in its system to make these ideas rewarding because it had familiar and predictable elements seen in other movies. It also doesn’t help that most of its jokes fail to make much of an impression on me, although I did laugh at one scene involving Bill Murray, so I’m counting that as a win.

While the narrative might not function as well as a ghost trapper, “Frozen Empire” managed to find ways of making itself feel good enough to withstand its chill. One of them is the cast, specifically the new and classic Ghostbusters, who made an acceptable effort to carry the film’s flawed script with their performances. Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon offer some suitable moments as Gary and Callie, respectively, despite not being as memorable as the original cast like Murray and Aykroyd. Mckenna Grace continues to shine as Phoebe, emphasizing her irresistible presence as a young actor. Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt were the only members who seemed to put in more effort to provide levity regarding their performances as Nadeem Razmaadi and Hubert Wartzki, respectively. Another thing worth mentioning is Gil Kenan, who, as stated before, did a decent job making the beginning section entertaining while maintaining the tone from “Afterlife”. Kenan is no stranger to supernatural horror since he’s done “Monster House” and the 2015 remake of “Poltergeist”. Plus, he co-wrote “Afterlife” with Jason Reitman, so it makes sense why he’s chosen to direct “Frozen Empire”. However, despite his good intentions, he doesn’t hold a candle to what Ivan Reitman did with the first two movies regarding the balance of humor and seriousness. The movie also did pretty well with its visual effects, mainly for the ghosts. With its combination of CGI and some practical effects, “Frozen Empire” continues the franchise’s legacy of delivering ghostly designs that are both fun and scary, including its death-chilling adversary and Slimer.

Overall, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” shows that busting ghosts makes us feel good, but its middling plot and execution of its tone prove that the franchise is losing its spiritual spark. Regarding its formula, I would consider the film a bit more entertaining than “Afterlife” because it felt more like a “Ghostbusters” movie. Its new ghostly antagonist also helped seal the deal to prevent its derivativeness. However, I also find it a bit frustrating that the charm and lighthearted humor the franchise is known for were still stuck underneath its newfound tone despite its attempts at providing some. The cast, Kenan’s direction, and visual effects made it a bit more enjoyable than it had any right to be. Sadly, its average script, predictable elements, and dull humor couldn’t prevent it from freezing in fear. If they want to continue this ghostly series, I’m afraid they will have to change things up to make this ghost-hunting business fun again. Until then, it might be best for it to hang up their proton packs for now. If you like the previous “Ghostbusters” movies, you might enjoy this chilling entry, although not as much as the first two installments.

C