Wow, I sure hated Ghostbusters: Afterlife! I really didn’t hold back. I had my original review in mind while watching Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, a movie that also cannot justify its existence. Why did I bother? I really wanted to see what the “Ghost Corps” team could come up with when they can’t just do Gozer again. And what they decided to do is basically meander along while throwing a bunch of half-formed mythology and ghost terminology in our faces. As happy as I am to see that Slimer is still a puppet, that’s really the best I can offer here.
Two years after the events of Afterlife, the Spengler family has taken up residence in the Ghostbusters firehouse, busting ghosts through the streets of New York City. When Mayor Peck (William Atherton) gives the team a stern warning, Callie (Carrie Coon) is forced to bench 15-year-old Phoebe (Mckenna Grace). Jealous of her brother Trevor (Finn Wolfhard, who doesn’t want to be here) and sort-of stepdad Gary (Paul Rudd, trying), Phoebe goes rogue and ends up spending time with a teenage ghost named Melody (Emily Alyn Lind) in a subplot that could be read as gay, but only if you like setting yourself up for disappointment.
Meanwhile, a slacker named Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani) has brought a mysterious orb to Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) that has a chilling effect on everything it touches. Ray and Podcast (Logan Kim) bring the orb to Winston’s (Ernie Hudson) ghost research facility to find out what’s going on. Dr. Venkman (Bill Murray) and Janine Melnetz (Annie Potts) show up for some exposition and jokes too, don’t worry. As you can already tell, this is a lot of business for a Ghostbusters movie. And a lot of Kumail. While there are some fun ideas and fun ghosts, the film gets lost in mythology and general weirdness. It seems to think we care about how this process of capturing ghosts actually works. Don’t make me think about how those proton packs are basically mini nukes! At a certain point it seems to be heading towards ‘trapping ghosts is bad’ but pulls back, presumably so there’s enough plot for another sequel.
The issue is not that Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire feels half-assed. This film sincerely feels like the best they can do, and it’s still terrible. The supernatural beliefs of Dan Aykroyd can only sustain so many films, and we’re far beyond the expiration point. It just leaves me with the feeling of “What are we doing here?”
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
2024
dir. Gil Kenan
115 min
In theaters Friday, 3/22
