Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire-Not the Most Epic, But Still Pleasing

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire final poster. Courtesy of Sony Pictures.

Though the Ectomobile looked fresh as it was speeding towards a crazy sewer dragon, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was not as fresh as Afterlife. It wasn’t too much fun for the most of the film with Phoebe Spengler’s (McKenna Grace) dramatic change, but closer to the end, busting still made me feel good.

The new Ghostbusters chase a sewer dragon in New York City in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures.

Frozen Empire takes place 3 years after Afterlife. Walter Peck (William Atherton) is back and determined to put the Ghostbusters, both past and present, in the grave. Peck also gets Phoebe benched because she’s not legally old enough, and Phoebe’s mother Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon) and her former teacher Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) agree because they want her to have a normal teenage life instead of the burden of Ghostbusting. As Phoebe tires to fill her loneliness, some ancient artifact shows up at Ray Stantz’s (Dan Aykroyd) bookstore and unleashes a ghost capable of literally freezing people to death with their own fear. This causes issues to subside so Phoebe and her family, Ray and his veterans (Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts) can zap and trap for another ride.

Lucky Domingo (Celeste O'Connor (they/them), Trevor Spengler (Finn Wolfhard), Dr. Lars Pinfield (James Acaster), Podcast (Logan Kim), and Dr. Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) studying the orb of their latest ghost victim in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures.

I was excited about Frozen Empire for weeks, but upon seeing the film, even with Gary’s enthusiasm and bringing the main men from ’84 back, it wasn’t that exciting. It wasn’t so exciting not just because of the uneasy adolescence of Phoebe, but because Kumail Nanjiani as Nadeem Razmaadi didn’t seem very funny to me at first. It seemed like Frozen Empire didn’t start to lighten up till the film’s climax.

There were some good moments, mind you. For example, Callie made her first non-cynical pun when they trapped the sewer dragon, even though the hunt left a mess reminiscent of Will Smith's Hancock character. Next, Podcast (Logan Kim) was like Ned from the Tom Holland Spider-Man films, with his childlike wonder about the weird things and guy-in-the-chair outlook. Last, the rookie and veteran busters went back to the ‘84 roots at the 5^th avenue section of the New York Public Library, where they confronted a stone lion.

Though I couldn’t dig his whole wooden character at first, Nadeem did come through in the end when he found some mystical power to help attack the ice age ghost. And the final battle reminded me of Raiders of the Lost Ark, just like the original film.

It all comes down to one big proton blast in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Courtesy of Sony Pictures.

While I may not have liked so much drama for Phoebe, that development may be a good thing on the other hand. It shows that she’s not just there to please Ghostbuster fans, but she wants to have a happy life of her own, away from fulfilling her grandfather’s legacy. Some other things that lighten up the tough parts of the film are the goofy Mini Puft Marshmallow men, Gary’s awkward yet well-meaning attempts at bonding with Phoebe, and the returns of Peter Venkman and Slimer. 

When it came to Venkman, this time, his deadpan humor came in handy when the chips were down towards the end. And you’ve truly lived when you’ve gone through Slimer, or as Ray used to call “that ugly little spud.”

The other good parts of the film were the science behind the hunting equipment and strategies to catch the ghost.

I wish there was more fun like in the past, but I guess some of these tough changes are to help the new Ghostbusters establish a different legacy from their predecessors.

As for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire as a whole, I’d give it a 7/10. I'm curious what will be next. And to the memory of original director Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd's partner in creating the franchise, Harold Ramis.