Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire directed by Gil Kenan; starring Mckenna Grace, Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard, Dan Aykroyd, Carrie Coon, Kumail Nanjiani, James Acaster, Ernie Hudson, Emily Alyn Lind and Logan Kim; written by Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman
As a new generation of Ghostbusters is clearing up New York, Ray comes into possession of a cursed artifact that could threaten the world.
The film’s Achille’s heel is clearly its numerous cast which brings back too many characters from the previous installment on top of those it needs to add for this one’s story to work. While it’s certainly cool to see Aykroyd return as a major protagonist, this plethora of characters means that not all of them have enough room for their arcs to register. The way they are spread throughout the movie often seems random, with characters being in or out of specific sequences for very unclear motives, a flaw exacerbated by the lack of focus of Gil Kenan’s direction.
Beyond that, the movie captures the tone of the franchise well (though it leans heavily into its nostalgic angle), the production design is of the highest caliber and the cast does its best with the material.
Once again the result is an acceptable, if not stellar, entry to a franchise that has never really lived up to its first installment.
Rating: C
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