“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire”

As someone who has been a fan of almost all things “Ghostbusters” since I was a kid, I had a lot of anticipatory excitement for “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.” As with every franchise there have been some massive hits and horrible misses along the way (I won’t name names, because you know the movies I’m talking about), and this latest installment unfortunately leans towards the “rotten” end of the spectrum. It’s not that the film isn’t entertaining, it just feels pointless.

When the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters old and new join forces to protect their home and save the world from another destructive Ice Age. The Spengler family, Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), Callie (Carrie Coon), and Gary (Paul Rudd) are now living in the iconic New York City firehouse where their predecessors busted ghosts back in the 1980s. With the help of Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), who is running a top secret research lab that has invented a high tech way of disposing of pesky ghosts, and Podcast (Logan Kim) and Lucky (Celeste O’Connor), they team up to fight the powerful specter. Things get real when Ray (Dan Aykroyd) and Venkman (Bill Murray) are inspired to suit up once again, delivering a huge helping of ‘memberberries that will have those over 40 cheering in the aisles.

I don’t have a lot to say about this movie, because most folks are going to see it regardless. It’s a blockbuster with a certain familiarity that’s mostly entertaining, although there isn’t a lot of actual ghost busting going on. The tone is more serious than lighthearted, and the lack of action may disappoint some. The narrative, which is already overly complicated, is further weighed down by a cast of characters that’s just too large. The story features characters from both the original and rebooted films, and it’s not easy to keep track of them all (there are dozens). At least one of the new characters, fire master Nadeem, is interesting thanks to a fun performance from Kumail Nanjiani. But because there are so many different things going on at once, none of the characters get a satisfying story arc.

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” isn’t a total disaster, but it’s something I can’t excitedly recommend. With each movie that’s churned out, it’s becoming more and more obvious that there’s only so much you can do with this world. Of course, that’s never stopped a studio from milking the I.P. to death now, has it?

By: Louisa Moore