Don’t hold your breath, folks; the newest outing of the famed Ghostbusters is still not up to snuff with the original film.
The movie has grossed about $160 million at the box office, on a $100 million budget. Starring the same cast as Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the first film in the reboot series, the film manages to improve a bit upon its predecessor, but still doesn’t quite hit the mark.
One improvement that was made was the setting: instead of rural Oklahoma, we are finally taken back to the firehouse in the Big Apple. The setting choice makes the film feel more like a part of the franchise.
The actors portraying the Spenglers perform very well in their roles, and nothing feels unnatural about the casting. Kumail Ali Nanjiani, who portrays the new character of Nadeem Razmaadi, has a very funny and exciting performance as a member of a lineage of ghost-fighting warriors.
Other than that, though, the film is hurt by a few blunders.
For one, it feels like it relies too much on the presence of the original team, or at least Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson). While a nostalgia trip or two is nice, Afterlife probably made the better appearance of the original group. In Frozen Empire, their presence only feels like an attempt to capture viewers with nostalgia for the original films, and nothing more.
The pacing of the story feels very off, too. Characters seemingly have a treasure trove of information at their disposal from the very start, and nothing feels like it was really discovered. Instead, just ask the older Ghostbusters and you’ll get an exact answer, despite the narrative being driven around a new enemy.
The film also teases the idea of a friendship between a human and a ghost, between Phoebe Spengler (Mckenna Grace) and one of the ghosts of New York (Emily Alyn Lind), but proceeds to toss it out of the window with a betrayal and never returns to the concept, even after a bit of redemption for Lind’s character in the climax.
I personally enjoy the premise of the franchise, but when the newest movies are just mediocre, it’s hard to stay interested. In fact, it just feels like the nostalgia is getting milked dry, which is just terrible.
Frozen Empire is a flawed film in a flawed franchise, and it hurts to see a valiant effort go down so unceremoniously. But, I suppose that’s just the film industry.
Ultimately, I would still recommend at least giving the movie a watch. But don’t go into it expecting the greatest blockbuster you’ve ever seen.
