This review was made possible by an advance screening of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire releases in theaters on March 22, 2024.
Ghostbusters is a franchise that has been going on for 40 strong years, and that’s impressive for a franchise that suffered two critical failures with Ghostbusters 2 and Ghostbusters (2016) financially. Sony Pictures took the initiative to go back to the drawing board and, this time, produce a film that was a direct sequel to Ghostbusters 2. Ghostbusters: Afterlife was received quite well with critics and fans alike, with it also not failing at the box office, which was a plus (it grossed $129 million domestically). Personally, I would’ve been happy knowing that the Spengler family was in New York, continuing Egon and the Ghostbusters’ legacy, but of course, with success comes the need for a sequel. So the question that needs to be asked is: does this film do a good enough job of warranting a sequel?
Nostalgia Strikes Again
Nostalgia is a drug (and a poison) that makes its way into media as an attempt to appease the original fans without bringing anything new to the world. In a sense, you can compare it to jingling keys in front of a cat to get its attention, and that’s exactly what Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire does. With Ghostbusters: Afterlife already having used nostalgia in its film fashionably and respectably, you’d expect it to be toned down in this sequel but, unfortunately, that isn’t the case. I’m all for making little nods to the past, but the inclusion of certain ghosts, like the library ghost from Ghostbusters (1987), who makes a random appearance for no apparent reason, felt unnecessary and didn’t add anything substantial or funny to the film.
Just like in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), Raymond Stantz (Dan Akroyd), and Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) make a return, but this time, I can argue that there wasn’t a need for either Dan Akroyd or Bill Murray to make an appearance in this film. Raymond’s role in this film easily could’ve been replaced with a new and original character that could’ve joined the already lively cast, as his actual character holds no relevance to the story except for reminiscing on the old days and repeating classic lines. In Bill Murray’s case, it’s even worse because neither his role nor appearance has any relevance to the story being told and is simply there for the sake of having all the original Ghostbusters make a return. The only character that feels important to this film and still holds relevance within the world is Winston, an entrepreneur whose company, now titled Zeddemore Industries, funds and makes new contraptions for the Spengler family.
The Lacklustre Villain of ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’
The story for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire isn’t all too bad and is quite interesting with the mystery that revolves around this ancient artifact. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two acts as we learned more about the ancient artifact and watched Phoebe Springer (Mckenna Grace) tackle her relationship with her family, specifically Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), and her role as a Ghostbuster as she’s forced to take a step back during this film due to unforeseen circumstances. A few other characters from Ghostbusters: Afterlife also make their return, such as Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon), Trevor Spengler (Finn Wolfhard), and Lucky Domingo (Celeste O’Connor); unfortunately, a lot of them don’t get enough screen time to shine, and I noticed that some scenes featuring Celeste O’Connor ultimately got cut.
The relationship between Phoebe and Gary is one that’s focused on in this film and one that I enjoyed. Their journeys in the film almost mirror each other, as she’s trying to find her role as a ghostbuster and he’s trying to discover his role in this new family. It’s a parallel that works so well, as they both end up being the answers to each other’s problems. It’s a story that gets a satisfying ending.
On the topic of the ending, let’s talk about the final act and its overall villain. Kumail Nanjiani is introduced in this film as Nadeem Razmaadi, a character who at first seems like he has no importance to the greater story being told, but soon enough, you discover that he’s the most important character in this film and will be the decision between whether the world ends or not. Nadeem barely shows up during the first two acts but comes in full force during the third act to help take down the big threat of this villain, which is where my main issue of this film derives from. Ghostbusters: Afterlife had a perfect third act with a threatening villain and grounded action. My expectations for the third act of this film were high, but I was left disappointed as Garraka, the villain of the film, didn’t seem as threatening as he was made out to be.
There’s a wonderful scene in this film where Patton Oswalt, who plays Dr. Hubert Wartzki, goes in-depth on the background of Garraka. It’s at this point that the film gets you excited for the upcoming fight that the Ghostbusters are going to have to face. The lead-up is engaging and is used to introduce all these new characters, such as Melody (Emily Alyn Lind), a ghost who befriends Phoebe, but the climax is disappointing and isn’t almost as grand as its predecessor. It was nice to finally return to New York, but compared to being in Oklahoma, it just seems that it was either limited to what they could do or they were too afraid to go above and beyond what they achieved in the last film.
Final Thoughts
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is unfortunately let down by its reliance on nostalgia and anti-climactic third act which presents us with a disappointing villain who isn’t the threat he was made out to be. That doesn’t change this film from still being pretty fun with outstanding performances, especially from Mckenna Grace who ends up being the star of this film, which allows it to stand on its own two feet and keep it interesting.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire releases in theatres on March 22. Check out the trailer below.
