I wanted to root for Ghostbusters Frozen Empire. I honestly really enjoyed Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and thought that, while these types of movies would be different, they would be a fun way of keeping the Ghostbusters legacy alive. But this is just not how you go about it.
Related – Road House (2024) Review: A Fun Watch!
Mckenna Grace is killing it yet again. She’s absolutely the star of the show and for the first hour or so was why I was so invested. She had a subplot that I was pretty drawn into solely because of how well she sells it. Ghostbusters Frozen Empire also really knows how to use Dan Aykroyd and Annie Potts, they feel just like they do in the 80s. The movie’s got some classic Ghostbuster special effects and some decent hijinks, the first chase particularly was really fun and a great way to start the movie.
But the movie doesn’t keep that pace. Its biggest issue is just how absolutely clunky and all over the place it is. There are too many characters. Most of the new characters from the last film feel so underutilized and frankly useless. Why is Finn Wolfhard in this franchise? His character does nothing. Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon have an interesting subplot in theory, but because the movie has to introduce Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt and their half baked plotlines, we miss out on the actual meat of the film.
On top of that, there just doesn’t feel like a real sense of consequence. Example, the Ghostbusters get suspended like the first film and lose their equipment for a bit. But instead of fighting for their stuff back like the OG, it just kinda falls in their lap for the third act. It’s lazy and comes out of nowhere because of how all over the place it all is. And I’m not someone who minds nostalgia-shit if it services the movie well.
If it’s earned and used sparingly, then it can be effective. But when the core of the film doesn’t work, it can just be an annoying cherry on top. With a sprawling and messy plot and too many characters to care about (seriously, why is Podcast even in this), it’s hard to care about the old, the new, AND the newer. Some good jokes and decent busts from here and there with tons of member berries, but unfortunately most of it in Ghostbusters Frozen Empire is not earned.
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