Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Review | Busting still feels good

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire doesn’t quite reach the Amblin-like heights of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. However, Mckenna Grace’s incredible performance as Phoebe Spengler is reason enough to check it out. Add the right amount of nostalgia and have a good Ghostbusters film.

Despite coming from the same storytellers from Afterlife in Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman, passing the directing baton from Reitman to Kenan feels slightly off. Afterlife’s greatest strength was making the film small and focusing on the Spengler family. While the Spenglers are still the driving force, the expansive world-building and introduction of several new characters come at the expense of the family unit. Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon and Finn Wolfhard are less of a focal point than in Afterlife. Although Rudd still makes the most out of Gary trying to find his place within the Spengler family.

Frozen Empire centers around the Spengler family and Gary (Rudd), who take on the role of Ghostbusting throughout the streets of New York City. After a chase results in damage to New York, an underage Phoebe is banned from being a Ghostbuster until she becomes an adult which is years away. Phoebe struggles to find her sense of place after her role as a ghostbuster is taken away. She ends up making a dangerous new friend.

Meanwhile, the story revolves around an ancient artifact in Ray Stantz’s (Dan Aykroyd) shop. The artifact contains a ghost that can control other ghosts and is essentially a god of the ghosts. Kumail Nanjiani delivers a fun performance as Nadeem, a swindler looking to sell the ancient artifact that belonged to his grandmother. The artifact allows Frozen Empire to expand the world of Ghostbusters to a lab where ghosts are studied.

Celeste O’Conner and Logan Kim reprise their roles as Penny and Podcast from Afterlife. Unfortunately, they aren’t given much to do in the film. Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Annie Potts, and Ernie Hudson each get their moments to shine, with Aykroyd and Hudson getting the most screentime. Murray’s comedic timing is impeccable. Unfortunately, the sprawling cast is one of Frozen Empire’s issues.

There are too many characters for a story that only needs the Spengler family and the older Ghostbusters sprinkled in. However, the additions of Nanjjiani and Patton Oswalt diminish the strong family dynamic. While scary, the villain doesn’t have a personality at all. However, watching old and new Ghostbusters stand shoulder-to-shoulder against a terrifying ghost is fun.

Overall, Frozen Empire is a good continuation of the franchise. As long as the series focuses on Phoebe Spangler, busting will continue to feel good.

With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into the coming-of-age moments, nostalgia elements, and world-building of Frozen Empire so far.

The Spanglers

The theme of carving out your place in the world continues in Frozen Empire. After Phoebe’s Mom grounds her from being a Ghostbuster, Phoebe tries to find a purpose. She is the most committed to fighting ghosts, but without a purpose, she feels listless. Ray and Podcast lend a hand, but it’s a ghost who establishes a real connection with Phoebe.

Gary’s also trying to find his place within the Spangler family unit. He’s not sure what authority he has to discipline Phoebe. The relationship between Phoebe and Gary is still great to watch. Unfortunately, so much is happening in Frozen Empire that it gets lost in the shuffle.

Trevor’s only role in Frozen Empire is to try to trap Slimer. Coon’s terrific, but her role as Callie has little to do in the film as well.

Phoebe’s search for purpose provides the film’s heart; in Grace’s hands, it’s enough to pull at the heartstrings.

Ghostbusting in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

The use of nostalgia, especially in the firehouse, is well done. Kenan and Reitman do an excellent job of making the firehouse feel like a lived-in building. Whether it’s Callie doing the laundry right next to The Containment Unit or one of the Spenglers sliding down the firepole, it all works well.

Outside of the firehouse, the world of ghostbusting is expanding. In addition to new gadgets, there’s a lab focused on studying ghosts.

The lab comes in handy for the villain. After Nadeem drops off the ancient artifact at Ray’s shop, Ray takes it to the lab for research. Ray, Phoebe, and Podcast head to the library to find out more about the entity inside the artifact. It turns out it’s a god of ghosts of sorts. If it gets out of the artifact, it can possess other ghosts. The ghost manipulates Phoebe’s friend for his evil plan.

One of the holes in the story is that the Spenglers have been ghostbusting for some time yet are only now finding out about the lab. It seems like a weird oversight for Winston not to tell them about the lab.

Friendship across planes

Phoebe’s demotion from Ghostbuster to regular teenager results in her walking around the streets of New York. After stopping at a public chess board, she starts some fun, slightly awkward banter with a ghost. Melody’s (Emily Alyn Lind) direct, dry personality resonates with Phoebe.

The setup of Melody striking up a conversation telegraphs her secret agenda, which Phoebe falls into. However, the performances between Lind and Grace are so incredible that it makes you want to root for their relationship anyway.

One of the improvements over Afterlife is Phoebe does feel a little more like a teenager, albeit one on the spectrum. While still smart she makes several mistakes that a lonely, young, inquisitive person would make. Phoebe makes mistakes in Frozen Empire but overcomes them, which makes her a great protagonist.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire final thoughts

Overall, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a Ghostbusters adventure featuring another stirring performance by Grace and wonderful nostalgic elements. If the franchise can reduce the number of characters and increase the amount of Murray, there’s a lot of promise to look forward to with Spanglers and co.

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