Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Directed by Gil Kenan
Written by Gil Kenan Jason Reitman
Based on Ghostbusters by Dan Aykroyd Harold Ramis
Produced by Ivan Reitman[a] Jason Reitman Jason Blumenfeld
Starring
Paul Rudd
Carrie Coon
Finn Wolfhard
Mckenna Grace
Kumail Nanjiani
Patton Oswalt
Celeste O’Connor
Logan Kim
Bill Murray
Dan Aykroyd
Ernie Hudson
Annie Potts
William Atherton
Cinematography Eric Steelberg
Edited by Nathan Orloff & Shane Reid
Music by Dario Marianelli
Production companies: Columbia Pictures Ghost Corps Bron Creative Right of Way Films
Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
Taken at face value, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire isn’t a bad movie. The CGI special effects are a great deal of fun, there’s some decent action sequences, and the characters, if not profound, are at least engaging. The acting, for the most part, is decent. There is a plot, with a resolution, and if you’ve seen any of the previous Ghostbusters movies, then you already know what it is.
And therein lies the problem. The first Ghostbusters movie, with Ramis, Murray and Aykroyd, all at the peak of their comedic powers, was a fresh, vital sensation. It came out only a couple of years after Werewolves of London and the idea that a horror movie could also be funny as hell was still a novel notion. Everyone was humming the unforgettable theme music (Ray Parker Jr. wrote it, and it became a #1 hit on Billboard) and everything about it from the Ectomobile, a souped-up Caddy ambulance, to the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man was new and original.
But that was 40 years ago.
When Ghostbusters II came out five years later, the flaw in the franchise became evident. The plot was thin, with the Ghostbusters simultaneously fighting paranormal manifestations and hostile authorities, with only one resolution possible: trap the ectoplasm using loud flashy flamethrower things in bear proof dumpsters whilst making the authorities look silly.
And that’s pretty much the plot of the three other Ghostbusters movies that have come out since. The plot is about as one-dimensional and predictable as the old Popeye cartoons. Even the one they made with three female Ghostbusters experienced that same limitation. Same basic plots, over-reliance on gadgets and special effects overwhelming the thin character development and interrelationships.
A surprising number of the original cast are on hand, including Akroyd and Murray. Anyone familiar with Murray’s movies but not with Murray’s present medical condition might have thought he was phoning it in, but in reality, the half dozen lines he gives in an uncharacteristically subdued manner are probably the full extent of his thespian abilities these days. It was a bit painful to watch, really, even as I admired his courage in trying.
The younger generation actors are all very talented and have bright futures, and the special effects really are a great deal of fun. Kids who see this as their first Ghostbusters movie are going to enjoy it.
But for the rest of us, Ghostbusters is a very tired old franchise that should have shuffled off to the ecto-containment unit thirty years ago.