Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) Review

 "Bustin' makes me feel good."

-Gary Grooberson

Several years after the events of Afterlife, the Spengler family and Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) have moved to New York City and reopened the Ghostbusters.  The new and old Ghostbusters have to work together when a demonic god arrives to put the Big Apple into a deep freeze.

What Works:

This movie has some problems, but one thing that absolutely isn't a problem is the cast.  While I think the cast is too big, everyone is at least very likable.  I didn't find any of them to be annoying, which is always my worry in a movie like this.  Everyone is trying their best even if they don't have a ton of material to work with.  It's a charismatic bunch which helps get the movie over some bumpier areas.

Paul Rudd is one of the highlights of the film, as he usually is.  His character is just so darn likable.  His role in the movie is about trying to find his place as a step-dad figure to Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), which is one of the stronger storylines of the film.

The other interesting storyline is Phoebe's.  She ends up befriending a ghost named Melody (Emily Alyn Lind).  This is something the movies haven't really done before and it's actually a really interesting storyline.  It isn't as fleshed out as it could have been and really should have been the focal point of the movie, but the characters have good chemistry and I was very invested in watching this play out.

Finally, the tone of the movie really worked for me.  I know not everyone has been a fan of it, but I liked it.  It's definitely the darkest Ghostbusters movie and the movie actually has a body count, but I also found the movie pretty fun and I thought it got the balance between the darkness and the comedy right.  Your millage may vary with that.  I know that I frequently enjoy movies with tonal whiplash a lot more than most people, but this is a more mild example.

What Sucks:

The big problem with this movie is that it's bloated.  It has a huge cast and a lot of them don't have much to do.  You probably could have cut two-thirds of the cast or at least combined some of the characters.  There isn't any reason for Lucky (Celeste O'Connor) or Podcast (Logan Kim) to be here.  Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) has absolutely nothing to do.  Just send his character off to college.  The new characters, played by Kumail Nanjiani, James Acaster, and Patton Oswalt, all could have easily been cut.  Even Bill Murray and Annie Potts don't add anything to the story.  Cut most of the characters and give the ones you don't cut something to contribute.

Ultimately, this is a movie that needed to be more focused.  I think the best move would have been to make this more of a family drama.  Phoebe feels alienated from her family as they try and figure out the new dynamic and forms a connection with a ghost.  That's an interesting plot for a Ghostbusters movie.  How do you bust a ghost that you like?  What are the moral implications of busting ghosts?  Is there a better way to do the job?  Could they help ghosts move on to the afterlife instead of just putting them in a containment unit?  All of that is interesting.  This movie touches on that stuff, but needed to focus more on that.  You could even keep Wolfhard's character in the movie this way.  Maybe he tries to use his status as a Ghostbuster to impress girls.  That's something Venkman would have done.  That way you can keep some of the humor of the original movie while still doing something new.  

Verdict:

While I enjoyed what we got from Frozen Empire, the movie could have been much better.  It has some interesting storylines and likable characters, as well as a enjoyable tone, but the movie is bloated with too many character with not enough to do.  It's much better than the 2nd movie and the remake, but not as good as Afterlife or the original, but it's a decent enough cinematic experience.

 7/10: Good