A Great Return to Form
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Overall8
“Who You Gonna Call?”
It’s one of those catchphrases from pop culture that one doesn’t even have to have ever seen the original “Ghostbusters” film to know the response. That film, for the vast majority of those who have seen it, tends to be remembered with a warm fondness. It had a charm to it that not a lot of films have (ironically, Bill Murray tends to be in a recurring theme in that small number of films). Now, a full 40 years later, after three more films and two animated series, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” manages to come the closest to recapturing the joy and feeling of that original.
While the last installment, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” was a fine sequel, it was more of a two-faceted film. On one side, it tugged heartstrings as a send-off to the too-soon-departed Harold Ramis, (who had played Egon Spengler and co-wrote the original film). And on the other; was striving to introduce a new generation of would-be Ghostbusters. In the midst of it all, it kept the original cast at a distance, while also acknowledging their presence. It felt like two approaches to a film, neither of which really came together as well as it might have. This time around, while there is plenty of fan service, one can also come into it without having watched the earlier installments and still enjoy it perfectly well from start to finish.
This time we’re back in New York, and at the original Firehouse headquarters (complete with those great poles). The Spengler family has come to take up Ghostbusting full time, much to the chagrin of the current mayor, Walter “Dickless” Peck (William Atherton). This film, perhaps more than any of the others since the originals, works as a family outing. Rather than keeping the classic cast and the Spenglers separated, they’re all working together in various ways, and have become the eccentric uncles collection.
And I’m thrilled to say that we at long last get to see Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts) getting some decent scene time.
There’s nothing too scary or violent in the film. Unless having a run-in with Slimer counts- though it is interesting to see his ectoplasmic residue looking far more like modern slime than in the original. (For more on that, check out our friend Adam Savage‘s video all about it.)
“Afterlife” also suffered from feeling too much like a redo of the original film, complete with a familiar antagonist. Not that it was a bad film, but after waiting SO long, with the desperate need for a palate cleanser after the 2016 reboot, it would have been nice to have a new set of story beats. In “Frozen Empire,” it’s a new set of problems, with a new big-bad. There’s also some side-storyline with 15-year old Phoebe Spengler (Mckenna Grace) as she struggles to find her own identity and connections when she’s too old to be a kid and too young to toss into the thick of the battle. It will likely be found by some that the Phoebe storyline isn’t needed, but then recall that the Dana (Sigourney Weaver), Peter (Murray), and Louis (Rick Morranis) side scenes in the original weren’t needed, but they gave a lot of grounding and connection between the characters.
There is one mid-credit scene, which is fun to catch, but isn’t a don’t-miss kinda thing. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” runs just shy of two hours, and is rated PG-13.
I’ll give “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” a 7.5 stars out of 10. It hits theaters everywhere March 22nd, 2024.
