In 2021 Ghostbusters fans, including myself, were treated to a legacy sequel that brought both the spirit of the original and the ever charming Paul Rudd to the screen. While Ghostbuster's: Afterlife didn't win everyone over, I was a pretty big fan of it. It was a lot of fun thanks to the cast headlined by the previously mentioned Paul Rudd, and Jason Reitman (son of the original director Ivan Reitman) behind the camera. What I loved about it so much though was how effectively it acted as a nostalgia filled legacy sequel while simultaneously delivering a touching tribute to the late Harold Ramis. Now we have Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, another film forced with paying tribute, this time to Ivan Reitman himself, and while it doesn't reach the highs of the franchise I still had a good time.
The film follows the cast of the previous film about two years later, as they all work as full time Ghostbusters in New York City. When a man sells a strange metal ball to original Ghostbuster Ray Stantz, it winds up unleashing an ancient evil upon the city, one that threatens to doom everyone to an icy grave.
What works best about this film is without question the cast. McKenna Grace despite being so young has been acting for ages, and she shines here. Her dorky awkwardness from the previous film is still there, but the character has an interesting arc as those around her try to force her to be a normal kid rather than a Ghostbuster. There are a lot of subplots in this that don't work but the way Grace expertly plays the frustration of knowing what she needs to do but constantly being stopped from doing it. Paul Rudd similarly takes on a more interesting role here, balancing his typical fun with a new angle of figuring out where his character belongs in the framework of both the Ghostbusters and the family he has kind of wedged his way into. The original cast is really fun, with Ernie Hudson being my personal favourite, but the new additions kind of fall flat. James Acaster is actually quite funny but Patton Oswalt and Kumail Nanjiani let me down a little bit despite some fun moments.
Where the film loses a lot of points is in the story. This is one of those cases where it feels like forever until we actually get into the main story, as a bunch of subplots that aren't necessarily bad but aren't overly interesting take up most of the early runtime. There is a plot point involving McKenna Grace's character and a ghost she strikes up a bond with, and while it could have been really effective it doesn't get enough time to breath and is instead tied pretty clunkily to the main story. The villain looks pretty cool, but is sadly underdeveloped and there is a lot of random mythology brought in that didn't really work for me.
On the positive side though, it's a good looking movie. There's a good blend of digital effects and the more practical stuff from the original, and the production design is pretty great throughout. While the script struggles from a structure standpoint, the dialogue is well written with a lot of hilarious scenes and moments despite the film's other shortcomings. And as I said before, aside from some underwhelming newcomers the cast is really fun, making this a good time at the movies even if it isn't perfect.
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