Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, 2024.
Directed by Gil Kenan.
Starring Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and William Atherton.
SYNOPSIS:
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire feels like it freezes the franchise in place, with so many call-backs to the original movie and very little character development, but if you’re a fan, you’ll want this Blu-ray. This edition also includes the movie on DVD, as well as a code for a digital copy.
Does every successful genre film need to become a franchise? That was a question running through my mind while watching the latest Ghostbusters installment, sub-titled Frozen Empire.
I enjoyed the last one, Afterlife, which, as I said in my 2022 review of the Blu-ray, “build[s] on the legacy of the original while staying true to itself as a modern movie,” but Frozen Empire feels like a retread of the first film. And the only character arc is more of a straight line with a few bumps along the way.
As the film opens, the Spengler clan has taken up residence in that famous Manhattan firehouse, where they answer the call to bust some ghosts when it comes in. Walter Peck (William Atherton), who was an environmental inspector in the original 1984 movie, returns as the mayor of New York City.
Walter still deeply dislikes the Ghostbusters, so, of course, he wants to once again shut them down. He begins his crusade by declaring that Phoebe Spengler (McKenna Grace) can’t work as an underage Ghostbuster, and her mother Callie (Carrie Coon) and stepfather Gary (Paul Rudd) go along with the decision.
A dejected Phoebe encounters a friendly ghost named Melody (Emily Alyn Lind), who has an ulterior motive for befriending her. Meanwhile, Ray Stantz (Dan Akroyd) has resumed his paranormal investigations, and he buys a possessed artifact from Nadeem Razmaadi (Kumail Nanjiani).
The artifact houses an ancient god, Garraka, who, of course, gets free to wreak havoc on New York City with help from all the ghosts that have been imprisoned in the firehouse repository since 1984. Patton Oswalt has a fun cameo as a research librarian who explains the back story.
You can probably guess how the story goes from there. Annie Potts returns as Janine Melnitz, who is now a full-fledged Ghostbuster, Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) is revealed as the Ghostbusters’ rich benefactor, and Bill Murray reprises his role as Peter Venkman, although he only has a brief appearance before popping back in for the grand finale.
The infamous ghost known as Slimer returns, as does the old lady ghost from the beginning of the first movie. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is back as many mini versions of himself, which feels a bit like an attempt to turn them into something like the Minions from the Despicable Me franchise.
Which brings me back to my original point. I cam grudgingly accept the existence of Ghostbusters as a franchise, but I’d like to see future installments in the series take it in new directions. In particular, Melody’s desire to be with her family again and stop haunting lower Manhattan is interesting, since it makes one of the ghosts something more than just a scary or funny creature. Let’s explore that kind of thing more.
This Blu-ray release of the movie comes with a code for a digital copy as well as a smattering of bonus features
• Audio commentary: Director and co-writer Gil Kenan serves up an informative discussion of the making of the film.
• Return to the Firehouse: Making Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (21:40): As Kenan notes at the beginning of this making-of, the firehouse is a Ghostbusters character in its own right, and the desire this time was to make it central to the film. That’s why it’s the focal point of this featurette, and the viewer is treated, of course, to plenty of nostalgic images and videos from the two 80s Ghostbusters movies.
• Busted: Capturing the Ghosts of Frozen Empire (11:28): While the focus here is on the filmmakers’ opportunity to create a diverse set of ghosts, I feel the need to be “that guy” and say that I think they could have really pushed the envelope here. In a way, ghosts enable time travel in stories, and New York City is very old, so let’s see some spirits from throughout its history in the next movie.
• Easter Eggs Unleashed (6:34): Many of the call-backs to the original movies are pretty obvious in Frozen Empire, but this featurette sheds light on some not-so-obvious ones too. It’s a fun watch.
• Manifesting Garraka (3:55): How the main bad guy came to be.
• New York, New Gear (7:05): I’ll admit I do appreciate the way this movie and its predecessor gave the Ghostbusters even more ways to do their jobs, such as a drone that carries a ghost trap and new and improved proton packs.
• Welcome to the Paranormal Discovery Center (4:44): The Paranormal Research Center is the name of Ray’s new venture, which Winston also bankrolls, and this featurette takes us on a tour through it.
• Knowing the Score (6:33): Some thoughts on what went into composing the score for this one.
• Deleted and extended scenes: There are six of these running a bit over seven minutes total. None of it made me wish it was included in the movie, but I still find it fun to watch excised footage and think about whether I would have made the same edits.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
