REVIEW: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

The new Ghostbusters chapter is titled "Frozen Empire", but really should have been titled "Frozen In Time", as the whole tale feels at a standstill the entire time, and in the end, comes off as more of a glorified Clip Show to previous GB successes.

Continuing the storyline of Egon's family, they find themselves in the big city this time around, and somehow, property damage seems to be a hotter topic than literal fucking ghosts terrorizing the citizens. Peck has returned as the resident dickhole Mayor, and has benched young Phoebe, as she is a minor. Family melodrama ensues.

Paul Rudd does the best he can playing father figure Groobersen, but even he cannot elevate the poor setups, and gets mostly pity laughs. McKenna Grace is a fantastic young talent, and she carries the family plot as far as she's able. She's also given a great subplot wherein she meets a similarly lost but deceased Melody (Emily Alyn Lind), and form a friendship. 

Poor Finn Wolfhard. He is a great actor, and yet between this and the last season of Stranger Things, seems to get relegated to 'unwanted kid' status, and they clearly struggle to give him something to do.

Overcrowding also seems to be a big issue here. It's enough to have the family and a few classic cameos. This chapter also crams Ernie Hudson and Dan Aykroyd into more major roles, in addition to 4 or 5 other mains to chug the plot along. With the exception of Aykroyd (who helped pen this), many seem outright bored with line delivery, Bill Murray being the most glaring example. I mean really, what was with the over-complimenting Ray thing? Venkman lives to razz Ray, and this was just strange.

As for the Clip Show aspect, this was just poor writing. It's bad enough to have to write story for about 11 main characters, but did we really need to go down memory lane for THIS many callbacks? The lion statue, the library ghost, and Slimer really served no purpose. Additionally, the containment unit breaking plot line (ripped from part 2) shouldn't have been there at all, as it forced the main event to seem less, uh, main.

The biggest crime of all is that this movie just isn't fun. Afterlife was enjoyable as it was a standalone project with fresh character, and just enough peppering of nostalgia. This one is dependent on the nostalgia, and it just doesn't work. The threat is intriguing, but the end result comes way too late and is solved far too quickly. 

Every time a unique idea comes along, it is barely utilized and dismissed as soon as it comes into play. The 'possessor' ghost is a perfect example.

The lack of laughs is pretty tragic. Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt were likely hospitalized for back pain, following their carrying the cast through some few and far between comedic bits, but the rest of the cast fell flat in this regard.

The film isn't without it's charms. The Phoebe and Melody plot alone had a lot of potential for a different kind of movie, and the threat itself is a fun idea, even if the execution could have been way better. And of course, it's always nice to see the O.G cast appear in anything, much less put on the uniform.

I can't help but feel if Reitman had returned to helm this, some landmines would have been side stepped.

Here's hoping this is a momentary stumble en route to another epic Ghostbusters film. I don't think this ghost is ready to bust yet.