Synopsis: When the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second ice age.
Director: Gil Kenan
Stars: Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, Annie Potts, Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson & Kumail Nanjiani.
Runtime: 1 hour 54 mins
Genre: Comedy Action Adventure, Horror
IMDb : Click Here
Story and Plot
This movie picks up two years after the events of Afterlife and takes place over just a few days of summer in NYC. Having now been purchased by Winston (Hudson) (now a millionaire businessman) the iconic NYC firehouse is home to Callie (Coon), Gary (Rudd) as they co-inhabit along with her two kids Phoebe (Grace) and Trevor (Wolfhard).
They're busy busting neighbourhood ghosts such as Hell's Kitchen Sewer Dragon when Nadeem (Nanjiani) sells OG Ghostbuster & shop owner Ray Stantz (Aykroyd) a mysterious orb that when opened unleashes Garraka the movies main villain. It's main job is to employ a "Death Chill" to threaten New York whilst freeing all the ghosts from the previous NYC based movies. That should be the movie right there but no...there's more...a lot more.
You've got in-family bickering of the Spengler's kids now firmly teenagers who are rebelling galore, Phoebe's friendship with Melody a ghost trapped between the afterlife and earth. Then you've got returning side characters from Afterlife, who added nothing to this movie and should have been left in that one.
Then you've got a whole raft of new characters and then you've got oh who are they again? Oh that's right the original Ghostbusters.
The movie has also caused a bit of stir on the Internet in that there seems to be several scenes in the trailer and promotional stills that did not feature in the movie that leads me to think that there may have been trouble behind the scenes?
This movie was an unevenly-paced overstuffed hot mess.
By the end of the movie it was not only the ghosts who wanted to escape.
Cast
What I liked about Afterlife is the movie featured a small likeable family at it's heart with just a few quirky side characters. This movie has no less than fifteen characters, it is so stuffed with new and returning faces. It's not only the sheer number, it's the way some are used. The actors who take centre stage are Rudd, Grace and Aykroyd, and newcomer to the franchise Kumail Nanjiani. Coon is grossly underserved here considering her central role in Afterlife, Wolfhard is literally a side character. The movie also introduces Patton Oswalt as a librarian (Who I liked actually) and bizarrely cast British comedy actor James Acaster who just doesn't fit into the movie at all.
And what of the original crew? Well Aykroyd gets the biggest bite of the Big Apple with Hudson second. Annie Potts' as Janine Melnitz is basically a recurring cameo and as for Bill Murray's Peter Venkman, arguably the franchises biggest character, it's frankly embarrassing. They should have just handed him a cheque for the three times he came on screen.
One final point on casting how did William Atherton’s disgraced Walter Peck from the original movie get elected Mayor? It’s a lazy way just to re-introduce a familiar face from the 84’ classic.
Sound and Spectacle
Ghostbusters has always been a greenscreen franchise, there is a lot of CGI on display. It was pretty good, but nothing staggering. The problem is, as I was not engaged in the movie it was just noise. There was just something about this movie that made it not feel like a Ghostbusters movie. One that its predecessor did well.
Maybe it's because much of the movie was shot in Reading's Shinfield Studios, UK. The iconic firehouse was painstakingly reconstructed along with an entire NYC city block of the Tribeca street where the original building stands. The original building and locale was scanned from top to bottom.
The use of sound was good but I'm noticing a trend in movies in recent years (The Last Jedi for example) that before a big explosion the screen goes completely silent, maybe it's a new trend?
On screen Action
They might have been bustin' ghosts but I didn't feel particularly good.
It’s more of the same ghost busting action. The set pieces were fine but nothing that kept me very much engaged. There are only so many times you can see a Proton Pack and a trap capture a ghost.
Also the cute mini Stay Puft marshmallow men (Who were inventively used in Afterlife) are reduced to annoying Minion-esque antics, and a cheap ploy to sell toys.
Music and Score
Dario Marianelli did the score, it was okay but nothing memorable. What is memorable is the iconic titular Ray Parker Jr. song which disappointingly only got shoe-horned in at the end.
As Legacy sequels go, Frozen Empire is an over stuffed, unevenly paced hot mess. Too many characters, set pieces and forgettable action. It's time to hang up the Proton Pack for good.
Verdict - It's Fine
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