The first sequel of the revived/rebooted Ghostbusters franchise, Gil Keenan’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a follow up to 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Moving the location from a small town in Oklahoma back to New York City, we’re treated to heavy hits of nostalgia via a few familiar haunts. Frozen Empire follows the Spengler family as they come together as Ghostbusters in the big city to battle with an ancient evil that is hellbent on freeing every ghost the Ghostbusters have ever caught.
As the fifth (yes, Paul Fieg’s 2016 Ghostbusters counts in my book) entry in the Ghostbusters film series, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has plenty of history to call upon. Most of the original crew is back, alongside the fresh-faced Ghostbusters introduced in Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, along with a new character or two. Of course, there’s also a brand new big bad to bust.
This large cast is a blast to see on screen. Mckenna Grace once again steals the show as Phoebe Spengler, though her awkward humor takes a backseat to teenage angst born from feeling excluded from her family’s ghost-busting dynamic. As for the rest of the Spengler family (plus one Grooberson), Finn Wolfhard’s Trevor is, for the most part, just kind of there, but he gets a few moments as an awkward teenager on the cusp of adulthood that had me chuckling. Paul Rudd’s chemistry with Carrie Coon’s Callie is another highlight, as they balance sincerity and humor while also working out how involved Rudd’s Gary even should be when parenting Phoebe and Trevor.
Elsewhere in the movie, Dan Akroyd and Ernie Hudson really come to life as Ray Stantz and Winston Zeddemore. Seeing Akroyd so obviously psyched to be back into the world of Ghostbusting and watching that enthusiasm carry over into his performance may have been my favorite part of the film. Ernie Hudson’s charisma is also on full display in Frozen Empire, bringing a gravitas and authority that befits Winston’s new position as the Ghostbuster’s benefactor and de-facto CEO. Podcast (Logan Kim) and Lucky (Celeste O’Connor) are both back from Afterlife, with Podcast getting a fairly important role as Ray Stantz’s assistant/intern, while Lucky’s interning at Ghostbusters HQ with Winston.
Adding fresh new faces to the franchise with Kumail Nanjiani’s Nadeem and James Acaster’s Lars alongside a brief appearance by Annie Potts’ dryly hilarious Janine and an even briefer appearance by Bill Murray’s irreverent Peter Venkman, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has an absolutely massive cast all vying for screen time. With a main cast of over a dozen characters and only two hours to showcase them all, it feels like any problems that Frozen Empire does have stem from having to bounce between each of their stories without giving them enough time to breathe. Some characters and stories show up without feeling like they have a good reason to be there, while others never really see their emotional arcs resolve. It’s fun seeing so many Ghostbusters on screen, but it does detract from the movie’s ability to tell a story.
The movie’s story is decent, but not great, mostly thanks to the previously mentioned large cast. There are great emotional beats, mostly involving Phoebe, with her trying to reconcile the fact that she is often the smartest person in the room while also feeling dismissed as the youngest person in the room. Gary and Phoebe also have a great emotional connection while Gary tries to navigate the line between friend and father-figure, though I would have liked to see just a more fleshed-out resolution with that particular thread. Both Ray and Winston spend the film figuring out their own methods and meanings of what it means to still be Ghostbusters without being on the front lines. Other than that though, no one character really gets their chance to shine.
The humor, however, feels right on target. It’s never overdone or over-explained like so many modern comedies are, with a few jokes and gags that got genuine out-loud laughs from me in the theater. Like the original Ghostbusters, Frozen Empire is goofy and fresh with its humor, though certainly less irreverent. Of course, the jokes-per-minute ratio probably doesn’t hold a candle to Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II, or even 2016’s Ghostbusters, but it still feels like a Ghostbusters movie, with a bunch of funny misfits doing weird science to take care of ghosts and eventually save the world.
Visually, Frozen Empire doesn’t really live up to the standard set by Afterlife, which is odd, since Eric Steelburg is still around for cinematography, though perhaps it has something to do with Jason Reitman not returning as director. With the move back to New York City, the gritty and striking visual language of a small town and open fields is gone, replaced by several establishing shots of Manhattan from countless different angles at seemingly every time of day. Also present is an overabundance of special effects that almost never feel quite as punchy or weighty as previous entries in the franchise. Afterlife is a very beautifully shot movie, whose cinematography you can notice and appreciate, meanwhile Frozen Empire’s visuals often look like just another blockbuster.
Frozen Empire, like Afterlife before it, feels informed by its legacy without becoming overpowered by it. Being set in New York City means the film can rely pretty heavily on nostalgia throughout its runtime, though thankfully it was much better than two hours of character’s you loved decades ago pointing at something saying “remember this?” and banking on that being enough to satisfy an audience.. With the Spenglers (and Gary) living in the old firestation, and a few old ghosts popping up here and there, I didn’t find the nostalgia too intrusive. Instead, the references are just that, references that remind you that this is a Ghostbusters movie.
In the end, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was a lot of fun despite some of its flaws, and I think audiences are going to eat it up. Does that boil down to the fact that it’s simply more Ghostbusters? Probably, but hey, more Ghostbusters is more Ghostbusters, and I love the Ghostbusters.
Score: 7.5/10
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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Release Date: March 22nd
Written By: Gil Kenan & Jason Reitman
Directed By: Gil Kenan
Starring: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Celeste O’Connor, Logan Kim, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts
Synopsis:
In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an army of ghosts that casts a death chill upon the city, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.
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