Film review: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Starting over isn't always easy, but when done correctly it can breathe new life into a franchise. The Scream movies have managed to find a winning formula by ditching the complicated storylines and returning to a more traditional slasher format. Christopher Nolan's interpretation of Batman created its own unique universe filled with iconic characters. Even though some were hesitant about it, the recent remake of Stephen King's IT turned out to be a huge success.
Each of them received the initial idea and stayed true to it. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire struggles to find its footing, much like attempting to play baseball with a pool cue. Its purpose is unclear. Though there are moments of potential and flashes of brilliance, they are short-lived and never fully realized.
After the events of the Afterlife reboot in 2021, the Spengler family have moved to the Ghostbusters firehouse in New York, which was given to them by Winston Zeddemore. However, their attempts to catch a sewer dragon cause trouble, resulting in a warning from Mayor Peck. Phoebe Spengler, a natural at ghostbusting, is told she is too young to take on the role. Feeling low, she finds comfort in Melody, a ghost of a girl who died in a fire with her family. Phoebe confides in Melody about her family struggles.
In the meantime, Ray Stantz, who used to be a member of the Ghostbusters team, acquires a strange sphere from a client who is selling his grandmother's belongings at his store for paranormal objects. The sphere contains a powerful deity that has been trapped inside and has the ability to freeze the entire planet. The Ghostbusters are faced with the task of stopping this unstoppable deity, which proves to be quite difficult, as it can freeze and shatter the proton beams from their equipment.
The beginning of the blog is positive, as it describes the start of a story involving firefighters on horseback responding to a call from an explorer's group. However, upon arriving at the scene, they discover that the inhabitants in the room have been frozen. The plot thickens when a demon is unleashed, creating a tense atmosphere. But despite the intriguing set-up, the story fails to engage the reader with a lack of momentum, excitement, and tension. The author struggles to develop the premise further and create a cohesive narrative.
Instead, the movie includes a lot of references to the original but doesn't use them in a meaningful or clever way. For example, there are miniature Stay-Puft Marshmallow Men in the firehouse, but they don't serve a real purpose except to be cute. Ray sees the ghost in the library again, but it doesn't connect to anything else in the story. Slimer is in the attic and he keeps getting Finn Wolfhard messy. Bill Murray appears as Peter Venkman, but it seems like he's not really trying and is only there for a paycheck. Annie Potts reprises her role as Janine Melnitz, which could have been great, but unfortunately isn't utilized effectively.
The entire situation has a problem. Almost every great idea is given a chance, but then dismissed as the focus shifts elsewhere, without allowing things to develop and grow. The potential of being in New York again is not fully emphasized. Venkman confronting Peck, the slimy EPA employee from the original 1984 movie who he famously called "dickless," now the mayor, should have been a perfect opportunity for Venkman to unleash his wit on him. However, it feels like the writers only learned about their previous history later and quickly added a few lines to mention it.
Even the powerful demon, who was finally unleashed and started freezing everything, was defeated surprisingly easily after only about 10 minutes. Despite the fact that his amazingly crafted icicles had broken the ghost containment unit and released every ghost ever caught, we were hoping for more chaos. Additionally, we hoped that the original group would have a stronger presence in their first reunion in 35 years. However, with the absence of Harold Ramis as Egon Spengler, the gathering felt a bit awkward, with no one quite sure what to say to each other anymore.
The connection between everything in this seems to be very weak that it requires James Acaster's character Lars Pinfield to explain everything to the audience. However, he stands out from the rest of the cast due to his different behavior and unfitting content, and unfortunately, he fails to make the audience laugh. Paul Rudd and the rest of the cast also fall short in delivering humor in the show.
In the blog post, it is mentioned that Phoebe had a unique encounter with Melody at night in Central Park while playing chess. However, Phoebe was taken aback that Melody, who was a ghost, did not trigger any surprise or unease in her. This interaction was meant to showcase Phoebe's association with the supernatural realm and her grandfather Egon's legacy. But, in reality, it highlights the fact that ghosts can also be quite ordinary and uneventful at times.
The latest installment of Ghostbusters, titled Frozen Empire, is now available for viewing.
