GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE – Review

Suit up! Even though spring has finally sprung it doesn’t mean that all the spooks and specters are hiding out or in hibernation until the Fall and their holiday Halloween. And you know who you’re “gonna’ call”. Yes, it’s the return of a much-beloved film franchise, opting for an “earlier than Summer” release. Well, they are celebrating a rather big anniversary. Mind you, it’s just a few months short of three years since the last installment/revival/spin-off. No, I’m talking about the original, still-revered comedy/horror hybrid classic which will soon be forty years “young” (well, compared to the evil entities that cross their paths…and “streams”). So, let’s fire up Ecto-1 and see what the new teams and the OGs are up to in GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE.

After a wild prologue involving a certain NYC fire station answering the call to the ritzy Adventures’ Club way back in 1904, the “legacy team” is charging out of that same locale in the 21st century. By legacy, I mean the off-spring of Egon Spengler, daughter Callie (Carrie Coon), and grandkids Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), joined by Callie’s Beau and Phoeb’s former teacher back in Oklahoma, Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd). They’re all back in the Big Apple and out to contain a long slithery sewer serpent ghost. The ensuing damage earns the ire of Mayor Peck (William Atherton) whose threats of litigation cause Phoebe to be “benched” since she a minor of fifteen. Back at HQ, Gary is concerned with the structural damage around the original spectral containment unit. This prompts the kids to visit “Uncle” Ray Stantz (Dan Ackroyd) who operates a supernatural curio shop with another OK transplant, Podcast (Logan Kim). That same day, Ray gets a client, an anxious cash-hungry guy Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani) who wants to sell his late granny’s spooky metal orb. Ray then takes the piece to the new ghostbuster research facility in one of the Burroughs (hidden in an old public aquarium) run by Winston Zedemore (Ernie Hudson) and his “right hand” Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts) with an assist from another OK pal Lucky (Celeste O’Connor). Turns out that the orb is a mini-prison for a centuries-old demonic entity that uses fear and ice to try to enslave the globe. When it gets loose, can the combined ghostbusting crews including Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) save the citizens of Manhatten from becoming frozen encased “people-cicles”?

Sure, it’s great that the 84′ team is more integrated into the story than in AFTERLIFE, but it makes all the characters input severely reduced in order to avoid going over the two-hour mark, Still, most of the roster makes an effort to build on the earlier entry. Although Phoebe is put on the sidelines for the second act, Ms. Grace brings more depth to the standard “teen brainiac” as she hurries into adulthood. This lets us in on a secret friendship she’s forged with a (sorry Casper) friendly ghost, more than a century-old teen Melody (Emily Alyn Lind), a chess partner in the pre-dawn Central Park. Their bond is strong though Phoebe knows that will end soon. Rudd exudes lots of his energetic charm as Gary, though the romance with Coon’s Claire doesn’t have the sparks that flew in Oklahoma. Wolfhard is the surly teen who just wants the keys to Ecto-1 and finds a nemesis in a familiar green glutenous ghost. Ackroyd appears to be having a grand time rattling off paranormal trivia and finds a great new screen partner in the always entertaining Patton Oswalt as a translator of ancient languages. The most laughs in the surprisingly somber flick are generated by Nanjiani as the on-the-make slacker who finds that embracing his heroic heritage is more rewarding than cashing in on his heirlooms. He even holds the comedic focus sharing a scene with Murray, who doesn’t seem to be that invested in his two extended cameos (maybe he’s there in tribute to his late co-star and directing pal…and a chunk o’ change). And Atherton remains a perfect patsy and an irritating “wet blanket” as Peck (now that’s a long trek from the EPA to the mayor’s office). Hudson is still an MVP along with (and welcome back) Ms. Potts.

Taking over the director’s chair is a screenwriter from the last film, Gil Kenan who also co-writes this time with Jason Reitman. Wisely he takes the action out of the “dustbowl” and returns to the zany playground of NYC, making it look as though it’s not that different from the ’80s. Plus that nifty prologue and the first “bust” remind us of the pleasures of the whole franchise. Unfortunately, the flick hits a long lull as the “pieces” are put into place for the big effects finale. The idea of an unlikely friendship between “buster” and ghost is intriguing, but it merely becomes a “plot device” to hasten disaster. Back to those effects, the producers do a fairly decent job of replicating the practical effects of the first two flicks with the new CGI tech and manage to make many of the spirits very scary and gruesome. And it’s all put to use in a finale “throwdown” that feels a touch cramped as it’s all within one building rather the bustling streets or the towering skyline, with one character doing the whole superhero shooting power from the fingertips thingee. Speaking of, comic book films have been accused of indulging in too much “fan service”. This film says, “Hold my beer..er..Ecto Hi-C”. We get a phony news report that not only uses footage from those previous flicks but includes the music video and clips from the merchandising commercials (toys, cereals, etc.). Then throughout the film, the Elmer Bernstein music cues are hit hard and often (the piano, then the the therimen, then both with the horns). And like most current franchises, there’s a mid-credits bonus scene that’s just “meh”. But the hardcore fans will be delighted, though any “newbies” seeing this somewhat lackluster outing won’t be shopping for their own jumpsuits and proton packs after taking in GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE. On your way out, don’t slip on the “slime”…

2.5 out of 4

GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE is now playing in theatres everywhere