Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Review: Classic 'Bustin Still Feels Good

Is Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire a step or down for the franchise?

By Kofi Outlaw

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire tries to keep the momentum of the new Ghostbusters movie franchise going after the 2021 "requel" film Ghostbusters: Afterlife. However, where Afterlife was Jason Reitman's multi-layered rumination on the Ghostbusters legacy, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a film that is far less serious, much more irreverent, and arguably the most effective when it comes to getting back on the vibe of the weird, offbeat, and legitimately frightening supernatural comedy films that Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd created with director Ivan Reitman. 

The plot of Frozen Empire sees the Ghostbusters team that was formed in Afterlife – Egon's Spengler's daughter Callie (Carrie Coon), grandson Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), geeky granddaughter Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), and Phoebe's former teacher Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) – working full-time as paranormal investigators in NYC. As usual, "Mayor" Peck (William Atherton) is breathing down the necks of the Ghostbusters and their sponsor Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson): about the public damage they cause, the unsanctioned actions they take, and (most egregious) that they allow Phoebe, a minor, to be put in harm's way. The team has no choice but to bench Phoebe and play things by the book until the heat dies down – but little do they know how much heat they will need.

Meanwhile, a local man-bro named Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani) sells Ray Stantz some strange artifacts owned by his late grandmother – including an orb cased in bronze, which Ray (eventually) deduces is the prison of a god-like evil entity named Garraka, who can freeze things through the power of fear. It becomes a race against time as Garraka coerces other trapped ghosts into helping it escape, promising to free them from the Ghostbusters' prison. Between the rapid uptick in spiritual activity, their containment methods on the brink of failing, and an evil entity on the prowl, it's a bad time for these new Ghostbusters – as well as the classic team – to be fractured and frayed. It also looks bleak when the team's best hope becomes training a "Fire Master" of legend to be the weapon they need against Garraka – only to have the most unlikely candidate for that sacred mantle land in their lap.

Gil Kenan (Monster House) co-wrote Ghostbusters: Afterlife with Jason Reitman, before stepping into the director's chair for Frozen Empire, which he again co-wrote with Reitman. As stated, the tonal focus of this sequel is different: more concerned with recapturing the classic fun of Ghostbusters, and less concerned with mulling over legacy and loss – despite this being the first Ghostbusters film since Jason's father, Ivan Reitman, died in 2022. Ultimately, it's a shift that comes at a cost – but one that's arguably worth paying. 

At this point, Ghostbusters has become so iconic that the context of what made the original film so popular has gotten muddled. The original Ghostbusters blended horror, comedy, and some epic action in a way that hadn't been seen before – but it was also a showcase of comedic talent, with Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, and the rest of the cast getting to riff and get weird with their scenes. In fact, the first Ghostbusters movie has the structure of a comedy film, with sequences full of gags and banter loosely strung together with the frame of "paranormal investigators" looking into the mystery of an all-powerful entity gathering supernatural forces together. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire apes that same comedic framework and offbeat flow, but admittedly feels more disjointed in its narrative. 

The scattered story focus has everything to do with the size of the cast. The Ghostbusters movies (even the infamous 2016 reboot) have always been about three (eventually four) main Ghostbusters coming together and the bond they form while battling the supernatural. Frozen Empire doesn't have a clear thematic narrative guiding it – more a series of sitcom-style character conflicts. Phoebe wants both the team and the world to recognize her talents; Gary and Callie are trying to parent through the troubled waters of teenage angst; Trevor wants to be treated as an adult; Ray and Winston can't agree on how much Ghostbusting old fellas should still be doing. In the midst of all that human drama, there are also supernatural machinations at work, involving both the Spengler family and an entirely different team of new Ghostbusters researchers, including the returning Luky Domingo (Celeste O'Connor) and new additions Lars Pinfield (James Acaster) and the fame-seeking "Podcast" (Logan Kim). There's even a subplot where the ice demon Garraka has multiple ghost characters pulling side schemes for him – plus the plotline about finding and training the Fire Master to unlock the power to defeat Garraka. 

It's a lot to pack into one film, and the result would be a total mess, except that Kenan and his editors wisely seem to realize that all these branching storylines are just great setups for scenes of horror-humor and fun callbacks to the first Ghostbusters films. Kenan and returning cinematographer Eric Steelberg once again create some exciting action sequences and generally make the film look good, with better visual effects this time around – especially all the icing effects for Garraka, and the look of the demonic villain. The classic Ghostbusters framework allows for more clever and fun ghost concepts (like the lively "Possessor" entity), as well as plenty of familiar favorites longtime fans will appreciate seeing again. Best of all, Frozen Empire isn't afraid of going into deeper horror territory, with Garraka being a genuinely scary villain for the Ghostbusters to face. 

The returning cast from Afterlife gets to breathe and flex more comedic chops this time around, save for Mckenna Grace's Phoebe, who gets an angsty teen romance subplot that will certainly be the subject of some discussion. Between the veteran Ghostbusters actors, the returning Afterlife squad, and the new additions, it's an accomplishment in itself that they all seem to gel so well onscreen, with scenes of banter between the cast being the distinction that elevates Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire above other franchise installments. 

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire may be the first Ghostbusters film of the new era to inspire the hope – even the excitement – that this franchise, with these characters, can still run for at least another installment (or two), and will probably only continue to improve with each one. 

Related:

Rating: 3 out of 5 

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will be in theaters on March 22nd.

Trending Now: