Dany Aykroyd and Harold Ramis once had an outlandish idea for a new ghostly comedy caper. The idea was so outlandish that studios didn’t have much confidence in getting it made. Both comedians had made names for themselves on the comedy circuit, and they promised early stars like John Belushi and Eddie Murphy as headliners. But the film was drastically altered over time. It’s a miracle that the film turned out as well as it did, being strengthened by its cast and their naturalistic improving skills.
What was ultimately a miraculous accomplishment was regurgitated into a franchise of less-than-stellar sequels and spinoffs. But when 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which reimagined the dynamic as something of a smaller, family-led affair about the grandchildren of Raimis’s Egon Spengler, was released, many found it to be a nice breath of fresh air. Connecting itself to the original two films, ignoring the 2016 reboot, fans applauded it for being more unique…until the final act, wherein the movie completely replicated the finale the original film. A big part of the success was director Jason Reitman, son of Ivan Reitman, who directed the first two films.
Now we have the follow up; a sequel that brings us back to the roots of the Ghostbusters’ inception. With a new director at the helm, it was difficult to know how well this could turn out. Would Egon’s family from the first film be able to hold this one together? Or would we see the original ‘busters hijack the film for the sake of that oh-so-easy nostalgia-pandering? Whatever the case, this is Gil Kenan’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.
The Ghostbusters are back in New York! Well, not the original team exactly. Following the family of the deceased Egon again, the once rural family have set up base in the original city the team started. Egon’s daughter Callie (Carrie Coon) is now in full gear alongside her kids, Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), as well as her new partner Gary (Paul Rudd). The family is bursting through New York, catching spirits and taking residence in the old firehouse. But after an incident that endangers the city, the teenage Phoebe is pushed into taking a backseat- appropriate considering she’s underage.
While the gang continues to catch spectres, original Ghostbuster Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) is given a mysterious sphere by a man named Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani), whom claims to have inherited it from his grandmother. Though Nadeem only wants to pawn it off, Ray realises that there is a ghostly force inside of it that may contain a powerful spirit. That of a frozen force that could freeze over the entire Earth. Ray decides to help out Phoebe and the returning ‘Podcast’ (Logan Kim), in discovering the origins of this ghostly villain.
While all this is going on, Phoebe finds a newfound and strange romance in Melody (Emily Alyn Lind), a ghost girl who is desperate to reunite with her deceased family. Her budding relationship with Phoebe seems to have some sort of sinister intent behind it, but the hormone-driven Phoebe seems too infatuated to notice. Meanwhile, Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) has created a research lab to further explore malignant spirts, with the help of Lucky (Celeste O’Connor), returning from the previous adventure, and Lars (James Acaster). Researching the spirt, they begin to realise just how powerful it may be.
It would be foolish to pretend that the entire film isn’t riddled with too many subplots and characters. In a bizarre and stark contrast to the previous film, Frozen Empire opts to up the ante by shoving in as much as they can as to capture the ludicrous nature of the original film-I didn’t even mention the little subplot about Gary trying to be a father figure to the kids or Trevor’s little dynamic with the returning Slimer or even Nadeem’s journey of self-discovery. You would think with such a convoluted mess of events that I would simply hate everything about this, but…it’s surprisingly fun.
Afterlife left me feeling this sense of hollowness. While ambitious in its approach, focusing on a smaller-stakes story in the countryside, it just didn’t feel like a Ghostbusters film-until the end, where it felt too much like the original film. This one finds a fairer balance, reminding us of what appealed to us in the first place. Yes, it’s messy and goes in too many directions, but there’s fun to be found within all of those subplots.
It is surprising to see Paul Rudd pushed to the forefront in this one-literally being top-billed. As he usually is, he’s one of the most enjoyable parts of the film. I did enjoy his little arc of trying to connect with the kids, especially Phoebe. It doesn’t go down too many clichĂ© routes of having the kids absolutely despise him, and keeps him relatively jovial. Most of the best content in the film is just Rudd reacting to iconic Ghostbusters items and events. Even Carrie Coon, whose character I disliked in the previous film, is very enjoyable in this one, having the right amount of sass as to not be too unlikeable.
There are other characters that I feel are pushed aside too much, or even to the point where you question why they’re there. Kumail Nanjiani was the most enjoyable part of the film, and he gets this arc about being this ‘chosen one’ of sorts. The biggest laughs often came from him, and you can tell he’s invoking that more naturalistic atmosphere of the original. The problem is that he’s not utilised fully until the final act. He would’ve been a welcome Ghostbuster, bouncing off the likes of Rudd incredibly well. But I suppose they have to keep the family dynamic from the previous film.
Mckenna Grace still brings much of the strength to the film. Her role as Phoebe is still as indicative of that Egon-meets-angsty-teenager approach, and her frustration at being side-lined is perfectly understandable. She feels like a genuine teenager, but never pushed to the point where she’s aggravatingly obnoxious. The romance she shares with the ghostly Melody is genuinely sweet as well, even with how ridiculous the concept can seem. But what is Ghostbusters without pure ridiculousness?
What felt most surprising to me is how little the issues the film certainly has bothered me. There’s this little gag-reliant side plot about how Trevor is trying to trap Slimer, who is taking up residence in the firehouse’s attic, and it serves as just a reason to give Wolfhard something to do. It also suffers with that constant issue of nostalgia-pandering that many modern sequels tend to do. But that said, it was quite a lot of fun and felt like something you’d see in one of the original films.
Aykroyd was given a shocking amount to do. While they hardly have him running around wearing the proton pack, he does have this side plot where he helps out Phoebe and Podcast. There is a level of self-awareness there, with Winston encouraging his friend to give up this lifestyle. I usually groan at the idea of these old actors being dragged into doing the same thing they did forty years ago-it tends to be pathetic and a little hard to watch-but they use Ray, and all the returning actors like Bill Murray and Annie Potts, quite effectively…until the final act.
The film is ripe with obvious dialogue simply explaining everything on screen. Acaster and O’Connor are essentially just there to be massive dialogue boxes with nothing of worth to add. Having a stand-up comedian there and not giving him many jokes seems rather strange and pointless. Once you start picking apart the finer points of the story, many, many cracks begin to show.
Much like the last film, the final act is where the film really falls apart. The villain that they spend time building up is effective, sporting a cool design and worrying power, but it does come with an obnoxious scene of heavy exposition. The film is also rampant in nostalgia-bait moments; again, this is an issue many legacy sequels tend to suffer from. There are lines directly quoting iconic ones from the first, we get William Atherton returning as Walter Peck for no other reason than reminding us of his character, the Stay Puft creatures are back in full swing and we get the original characters having their moment to shine, doing very little.
By the end of the film, you will question just how much of it felt comprehensible. While the original film is full of sillier moments, you understand the story and can follow each character, even the side-characters, pretty proficiently. This film doesn’t quite know what to do with everything on its plate and tries to shove in as many characters and side-plots as it can. It takes a Marvel approach, trying to build a team of distinct and recognisable characters, whereas it should’ve just been a further exploration of the family we had in Afterlife.
The hate that this film has received has been quite overblown. Yes, it’s another shameless cash-grab and another cog in the regurgitating machine we call Hollywood. But that’s not to say films like this can’t be fun.
The film does make use of modern advancements. The CGI is impressive to look at and we do get some fun ghosts. I wish there were more dynamic designs, but the demonic looking ghost and the bizarre little light that can possess people and objects were amazing additions. Even the revisited ghosts have nice and appropriate redesigns.
When you place this film up against the other sequels, you end up appreciating it for how closely it captures the spirit of the original. Ghostbusters II, while remembered fondly today, was at once considered a shameless cash-in of the first film’s success. The 2016 reboot was a failed attempt at trying to bring the franchise back to life. And Afterlife, in my personal opinion, suffered with a severe identity crisis where it felt too different and too unconfident in itself to have a proper finale. This one is fun. That’s something that has been lacking from all of these other sequels.
But ultimately, I think this franchise needs to be retired. You can’t replicate the miracle that was the original film. Those who have tried always miss the point, and while this comes close, it still can’t bring to life the magic that consumed the minds of kids around the world. This might make me feel good, but bustin’ has never felt as good as it did in ’84.
Written review by Conor Johnson.