Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) Columbia/Comedy-Horror RT: 115 minutes Rated PG-13 (supernatural action/violence, language, suggestive references) Director: Gil Kenan Screenplay: Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman Music: Dario Marianelli Cinematography: Eric Steelberg Release date: March 22, 2024 (US) Cast: 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, William Atherton, James Acaster, Emily Alyn Lind.
Rating: ** ½
It’s hard to believe the original Ghostbusters came out 40 years ago. That’s more than half a lifetime ago for me, but I can still remember how excited I was to finally see it after months of anticipation. I couldn’t muster up the same enthusiasm for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. I felt only lukewarm indifference as I waited for the fifth installment of the series to get underway. I didn’t see the point in getting my hopes up for another entry in a series that passed its expiration date shortly after the second movie in 1989. I was right to follow my instincts. It left me cold.
My biggest problem with Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is the same as the previous film Afterlife. It isn’t funny. The big laughs just aren’t there. At best, it’s sporadically amusing. This is a far, far cry from the OG movie starring the power trio of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis (RIP). The comic energy was absolutely palpable. The awesome supporting cast- Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts- helped greatly. I wasn’t feeling it in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. If I had to put a label on it, it’s more of a family drama with elements of comedy and horror mixed in. Sadly, it’s a mixture that ultimately falls flat.
The main plot concerns a mysterious bronze orb containing an angry ancient spirit looking to wreak supernatural havoc on the world. The who, what and why doesn’t really matter. Like the team’s other cases, it’s a bunch of numinous nonsense.
The heart and soul of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is Mckenna Grace (Young Sheldon) reprising her role as Phoebe, the genius granddaughter of founding Ghostbuster Egon Spengler (the late Ramis). Now 15, the smart but socially awkward teen is upset about being suspended from her ghost busting duties due to her age. It seems the mayor isn’t happy about their latest spectral escapade, a wild chase through the crowded streets of the city that endangered lives and caused a lot of property damage. He’s out to get them anyway. He has a grudge dating back 40 years. Somehow, former EPA investigator Walter Peck (Atherton, Die Hard) got himself elected mayor of New York City. He’s still a complete bureaucratic bastard.
Head g-buster and mom Callie (Coon, The White Lotus) is the one that decides to bench Phoebe until she’s of legal age. Understandably angry and hurt, she sneaks off by herself one night to play chess in the park. She finds an opponent in Melody (Lind, Gossip Girl), a teenage ghost who plays a pretty mean game herself. Never mind that she’s had lots of time to practice. A friendship grows between the two teens from different planes of existence. Could it be Phoebe has found her soulmate? We’ll never know because director Gil Kenan (Monster House) decides not to go there.
In any event, Phoebe’s story arc is the best part of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. The rest is mostly meh, especially and most disappointingly the cast, new and old alike. While it’s good to see the old gang back in action, the magic is all but gone. Murray comes off as indifferent, showing up to deliver a few quips and fight alongside his comrades one more time. Aykroyd shows a little more life as Ray Stantz, now the host of an occult-themed podcast. He has a good scene at the New York Public Library where he encounters a familiar apparition. Potts more or less does her thing. So does Hudson. Atherton, your go-to actor for smug, bastardly characters in the 80s, hasn’t lost a step. In one of the best callbacks to the OG, somebody in a crowd shouts a certain term that begins with d and ends with less.
I’m not impressed with the new-ish cast members. I get that it’s time to pass the torch to the next generation with the OG g-busters well past retirement age. I accept that it would be impossible to find a group of comic actors as awesome as Bill, Dan and Harold. That kind of chemistry is rare. I don’t see any of it among the newbies in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) is rather bland as the boyfriend trying to step into the stepdad role. Coon is underused as the no-BS mother trying to hold everything together and having a hard time of it. Wolfhard (Stranger Things), back as older brother Trevor, gets little to do outside a few icky encounters with Slimer. Nanjiani (The Big Sick) is little more than a less-annoying replacement for Moranis.
Never mind all that. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire absolutely belongs to Grace. Her deadpan delivery of her dialogue is spot-on. She also perfectly captures the angst that goes with being at an age where nobody sees you as an adult yet. She might not be on the job per se, but that doesn’t mean she’s not working. This kid has spunk, spirit and smarts. Grace makes it work! It helps that her character closely resembles her grandfather.
The effects in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire are surprisingly good. Sure, it’s CGI, but the film never resembles a video game. That’s a plus. The little Stay-Puft marshmallow guys are cool. Maybe they should get their own Minions-like spin-off flick. It’s a shame the rest of it is such a letdown although I don’t think that’s the right word since I wasn’t expecting much to begin with. That’s not to say Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is awful. It’s not, not really. It’s watchable at times, but it mostly falls flat. The mid-credits scene isn’t even that interesting. In the end, it’s just another legacy sequel that concerns itself too much with providing fan service and not enough with finding a consistent comic rhythm. If only we could go back 40 years.
