I was notably not at all a fan of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. I can appreciate it being Jason Reitman in his own way grappling with his father’s mortality essentially giving Ivan Reitman his flowers before he would eventually pass away, which does give the film some emotional depth in hindsight. However, I could not connect with the tone of the film, it felt very wrong for this franchise, and the lack of humor, while at the same time putting more emphasis on lore and nostalgia, left a really sour taste in my mouth. So, trust me when I tell you I was quite charmed by Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.
Taking place a couple years following Afterlife, we are back in New York City where the Spengler family – along with Gary (Paul Rudd) have brought the Ghostbusters back in business, running operations in the old firehouse, which doubles as their home. However after causing some damage to the city, they are under fire from Mayor Peck (William Atherton), who forces them to stop letting Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) from joining their adventures, she is still a minor after all. Meanwhile, Ray (Dan Aykroyd) acquires an ancient artifact, which contains a potentially powerful spirit that is eager to get out and wreak havoc.
Jason Reitman is still involved with the film, but only as a producer and co-writer, while the other Afterlife writer, Gil Kenan, takes over as director. The shift in directors is certainly felt, Kenan seems to be leaning more heavily on a more broad, borderline cartoon-y aesthetic than the tactile and grounded approach that Reitman utilized in Afterlife. The villain that does eventually show up here does feel like something you would have seen in the old animated Ghostbusters show. I also think the lack of direct connection that Reitman has to the original film does make this one feel a bit less precious when it comes to references.
Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of nods and lines and beats taken from previous Ghostbusters movies – in some cases, they’ll even replay them for you as like a recap, but for the most part, it doesn’t have that weird sense of reverence and awe that I found so off-putting about Afterlife. Aside from one moment, none of these references broke the rhythm of the story or felt like something that would pull you out of the experience if you had not seen the other movies.
The characters, which I did find engaging enough in Afterlife, are still pretty endearing here. I do think Carrie Coon gets the short end of the stick as Callie, I feel she doesn’t get much to do aside from being a generic concerned mom. Paul Rudd as Gary is Paul Rudd at his most Rudd-est; I would almost consider it phoning it in if his general vibe wasn’t so entertaining to watch, and also fairly in line with his character. Other returning players like Finn Wolfhard, Celeste O’Connor, and Logan Kim do a solid job as well, and the same goes to newcomers like Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt. The inclusion of Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts feels more natural than it did in Afterlife, and aside from Potts, their presence has relevancy to the plot.
Once again, Mckenna Grace shines as Phoebe Spengler. Not only is the character endearing, her performance is genuinely terrific, overcoming the hurdle of the stereotypical “awkward nerd with vaguely on-the-spectrum quirks” type that she’s been given. I think this story pushes her character into some interesting places, some of which I wish got more room to explore. However, she does have a bond that she builds with a ghost named Melody (Emily Alyn Lind), which is legitimately some of the best stuff I’ve seen in any Ghostbusters movie period. I was really moved by their relationship.
That’s not to say I didn’t have any issues with Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. One big problem I had is the pacing and overall structure. I felt like the film spent so much time building up to its climax, and by the time we get to it, it’s over within minutes because the story has to wrap up. It’s strange because given the stakes and scope of the threat, I wish the film sat with it longer to really get a sense of the danger as our characters assess their strategy to defeat it. Then it’s mostly just little things, a few jokes that didn’t land, seeing characters ask people if they believe in spirits – which I feel shouldn’t be a thing in this universe at this point, and a few missed opportunities to further develop the characters and their relationships. It did feel like the filmmakers committed more to the plot than they did with the actual story. It’s not great, but overall, I did have a much better time with the film than I anticipated. It’s pretty funny, and there are some cool ideas. I don’t think there’s much gas left in this franchise, but if they continue to explore new adventures instead of rehashing and refurbishing old beats, then I wouldn’t mind seeing more of these characters.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is now out in theaters.