Review: “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire”

It’s been just over two years since the surprisingly endearing “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” hit theaters.  Jason Reitman & Gil Kenan have once again teamed up to write the script, but this time Gil Kenan has taken over directing.  Many were caught off guard that Reitman had not returned to direct, given how close this franchise is to his heart.  Fortunately, Gil Kenan has a history of directing creepy movies, including 2006’s “Monster House.”  But does he have what it takes to strap on a proton back and bust ghosts in a way that makes audiences feel good?

The pre-title sequence starts strong with a chilling supernatural event.  It’s 1904 in New York City.  Firefighters from Hook & Ladder 8 are called to respond to panicked screams coming from behind locked doors at a meeting of the Manhattan Adenvture Society. (A fictionalized version of the real The Adventurers’ Club of New York) As the doors are breached, they encounter a ghastly scene with only one survivor and an ancient brass orb that becomes the demonic MacGuffin for the rest of the film.

Jumping forward to modern times, we see that the Speilgler family, including Gary (Paul Rudd) are now living in the iconic firehouse and are official Ghostbusters 24/7.  Well, almost officially. 16-year-old Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) exists somewhere between hobby, child labor, and child endangerment. Something Mayor Peck (William Atherton) is quick to point out.  To avoid being shut down (again) Phoebe is grounded, while Gary, Callie (Carrie Coon), and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) continue bustin’.  The upside is she gets to spend more time with the OG Ghostbusters.  Winston (Ernie Hudson), revealed to be a very successful philanthropist in “Afterlife,”  now has a group of Spectral-Engineers who continue to research the spirit world.   Ray (Dan Aykroyd) spends the bulk of his time in his odd occult shop but misses the excitement of grabbing ghouls.  This leads to one of the best (non-action) sequences in the film, where Ray takes Phoebe to the NY Library to meet an expert on artifacts, (Patton Oswalt).

As a Ghostbusters flick, this movie works well.  It follows a very familiar format, has fun one-liners, almost approaches “scary” occasionally, and is packed with characters we enjoy spending time with.  The fan service is handled with care, although there may be a bit too much of it.  If they expect to make more of these, it would serve them well to spread the nostalgia a bit more thin.  It’s nice they are including more elements from “The Real Ghostbusters,” but it’s pointless to show something the fans will appreciate but then do nothing with it.

On a more critical level, the narrative of any Ghostbusters movie will always suffer from the same problem, although it feels more blatant in “Frozen Empire.”  When battling spirit forces, there are usually only two kinds.  The basic ones that only need to be chased and captured, and the end-of-the-world, apocalyptic demons immune to proton packs.  This has happened in each movie.  If you can’t fight back, you have to outsmart the villain.  If the villain is incapable of killing off any of our heroes, the rest generally have to stand around until one or two characters figure out a solution.  And while this script is generally good, the foreshadowing is laid on so heavily that there’s not a single surprise in the movie.  The great, yet unnecessary, Robert Frost poem at the opening of the movie would have been much better if shown after the climax.

As a whole, “Frozen Empire” is certainly flawed, but it’s fun, enjoyable, and made for fans by lovers of the original movies.  It may not satisfy everyone, but it does leave us wanting more!