Forty years later, they are still ready to believe you. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, directed by Gil Kenan, rolls out the next chapter of the supernatural ghost-hunting squad. Screenwriters Kenan and Jason Reitman teamed up on this film’s predecessor, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and pick shortly after that one ended. The younger generation of Ghostbusters — Phoebe Spengler (Mckenna Grace), brother Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), and friends Podcast (Logan Kim) and Lucky (Celeste O’Connor) — leave Summerville, Oklahoma (the setting of Afterlife) for the Big Apple. Specifically, Phoebe and her cohorts, her mother, Callie (Carrie Coon), and her teacher/mom’s significant other, Mr. Grooberson (Paul Rudd), move into the iconic but abandoned warehouse.
With the financial support of now mega-rich former Ghostbuster Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), they have new equipment and have fixed up the place to some extent. Of course, the reliable but rickety old Ectomobile takes them through surprisingly light Manhattan traffic in style. Their upgraded ghost trap tech includes RC cars and quad-copter drones. While tearing a*s through Manhattan chasing ghosts, they arguably cause more damage than the ghosts. This leads to these Ghostbusters being sanctioned by Mayor Walter Peck (Willam Atherton; “Dickless” back in ’84). Phoebe is sidelined, under threat of arrest, because she’s a minor.
Sewer Dragon Ghost being chased through New York in Columbia Pictures’ GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE.
“…inside the orb is an ancient demon god who can kill with fear, literally freezing objects and people.”
Things really get cooking when the grifter scion of an ancient family of “fire masters,” Nadeem Razmaadi (Kumail Nanjiani), wishes to sell an orb to Ray Stantz (Dan Akroyd). Nadeem’s family has protected the artifact for generations. Imprisoned inside the orb is an ancient demon god who can kill with fear, literally freezing objects and people. If released, this angry god would freeze the world. The backstory exposition for this orb is provided by supernatural nerd Dr. Hubert Wartzki (Patton Oswalt). The stand-up comic is essentially just being himself, but it works, and he’s perfect in the role.
After the success of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Kenan and Reitman return with a bigger budget and a lot more going on than the pastoral farmhouse in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Bringing it back to NYC was crucial, and better weaves in the supernatural spook shop of Ray’s, which was a weird blip last time. However, from the summary, you can tell that this film is far too busy for its own good. It is overwhelming between Phoebe’s teen angst, Nadeem’s reluctant anti-hero, Winston’s urban “Avengers” style headquarters, and trying to find something for the classic characters to do. Not enough time is spent with any plot thread or character to give any emotional stakes. What we get, then, is primarily fan service. This is likely going to result in a film that’s more popular with fans than critics, as often happens with nostalgic revisits to a much-loved old story.
"…carried by the fun cast and design work."
