Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire in my opinion isn't the best Ghostbusters ever but it's fun nostalgic and has heart enough to warrant a viewing.
The film follows up the Spengler family's story from Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Now,Phoebe, Trevor, Callie and Gary live in the legendary Ghostbusters firehouse in New York and are attempting to determine the meaning of being part of the family business.
I'm a fan of that part of the movie and i still like Phoebe's character because she's intelligent and courageous but she's still young and it's obvious she's trying to know her place. She feels a loneliness in her character; more real than just another teenage superhero.
Then comes the original Ghostbusters of course.
When I saw them (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts) together again, I think I felt it that nostalgic feeling. It's just that it's back time for them to be in the Ghostbusters world! While Ray's still haunted by ghosts, Winston's gone all Hallowe'en on the whole paranormal research thing and Venkman's remains Venkman.
I don't generally like movies that rely too heavily on nostalgia, but I will say, I liked it seeing it again!
There is a lot going on in Frozen Empire and the main issue is that...
There's the ancient supernatural being Garraka, the mysterious artifact, the Spengler family drama, Phoebe's love affair with Melody, Trevor finding his place, Gary and Callie's relationship, Winston's research, Ray's fascination with the paranormal, and the rest of the characters running around.
Sometimes the film seemed to be telling 5 stories at once.
My favorite story line was when Phoebe and Melody got together. I wanted more time to be spent on this connection, it was so heartfelt, it was definitely something that I wanted more of. It made Phoebe more vulnerable, and made her character even more interesting.
Also, Paul Rudd is good as Gary. He's quite funny, too, and a fun addition to the film without trying to make everything a joke. I also enjoyed the interaction he has with the Spengler family. He is someone who cares about them and not just a prop in a story.
Garraka is an interesting idea for a villain. He can turn everything into an ice cold nightmare and he's an old ghost that can freeze. The frozen New York setting is great and the movie has some cool scenes, overall.
It is a fun action as well. As things begin to get out of hand, proton packs, the Ecto-1, ghosts galore and all manner of supernatural chaos. Enjoyable final battle is large and fun, but a little too cartoony for me.
That's my biggest problem with the movie in general.
This weirdly sedate appeal is what Ghostbusters had before. It was as though it was something absurd that ordinary people were experiencing. Frozen Empire is definitely more of a modern franchise blockbuster. There's more characters... More ghosts... More mythology and a much bigger threat.
At times, I wanted the film to take its time to let the characters breathe but i can't claim that I didn't have fun!
I did have moments that really made me smile especially when the old and new Ghostbusters were together... I really like the concept of the older generation passing on the torch to the younger generation and in my opinion that's the essence of this film.
I didn't think I had just seen a masterpiece at the end of the movie but I was entertained and it was fun.
Truthfully.... that's what I was looking for from it..
image Source
Rating: 80/100
