Movie Review: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

While it was a box office success, Ghostbusters: Afterlife didn’t wind up being quite as beloved as the 1984 original, though you can count me as a fan. Enough that I was even looking forward to seeing the cast brought together again and was hoping for the best from this latest installment. Like its predecessor it isn’t perfect, but it’s every bit as entertaining as you would hope for a big-budget popcorn movie to be.

This time around, Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon) has moved with partner Gary (Paul Rudd) and her children Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) into the old Ghostbusters firehouse, where the foursome have taken up the family business, because, why not? Catching ghosts can be a messy business, and Mayor Walter Peck (William Atherton, returning from Ghostbusters) is threatening to shut the group down (again). Worse still, it turns out to be that the ghost storage unit in their basement has never been emptied and is getting full. They reach out Winston (Ernie Hudson), who is in charge of an organization that is studying ghosts and developing new technology, and where the kids’ friend Lucky (Celeste O’Connor) happens to be interning, and he promises to have a solution for them.

In the meantime, Ray (Dan Ayrkoyd) is running a supernatural curiosity shop and hosts his own web series in which people bring in objects they believe to be haunted so he can inspect them, assisted by the kids’ other friend Podcast (Logan Kim), who is living there because reasons. A middle-aged slacker named Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani) brings in some artifacts from his deceased grandmother’s apartment, one of which is an ancient orb that appears to be holding a powerful being prisoner. Ray brings it to Winston’s lab, everyone is back together, and we’re off.

I think the whole series still suffers a little for having switched gears to a more kid-and -merchandise-friendly tone, but it still manages to wring a lot of fun out of the material. Everyone is clearly thrilled to be there, even Bill Murray who makes no secret of his desire not to be involved with the franchise any further, and it infuses the movie with an infectious energy. Once again though, it is the “kids” that are the stars of the show, and they continue to impress.

Director and co-writer Gil Kenan, best known for the kiddie-horror romp Monster House, proved to be a smart choice to take the helm, as he capably handles the rapid shifts between comedy, action, family drama, and even a few genuinely creepy moments. Speaking of which, while the villain isn’t given that much to do, it is one of the scarier ghost designs the series has ever seen, as is another haunt that is only glimpsed a few times and clearly meant to anchor its own sequel or spinoff ala the Conjuring universe. It is plain that the producers are really hoping this is enough of a hit to warrant that sort of expansion, and off the strength of this movie, I’m kind of hoping they get that chance. ★★★★