I grew up as a huge fan of the Ghostbusters.  I saw the first film when I was 10 years old in 1984. Ever since,  I have loved that film and the characters within it. It was a perfect mix of comedy and action. These characters became iconic to me and many others around the world. Dan Aykroyd has been trying to build a franchise around them ever since. With a few stops and starts he eventually got this franchise moving in the right direction. With the help of Jason Reitman the son of Ivan Reitman, the 5th film in this franchise, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is about to come out. Does it live up to its predecessors? Let’s find out.

Frozen Empire picks up where the last film left off. As the remaining relative of Igor Spengler fight the good fight as Ghostbusters in the famous firehouse in New York City. When they inadvertently come into contact with an ancient artifact it could spell doom as the potential for the next ice age could break out. With the help of old Ghostbusters and a few others in the Spengler family must stop this frozen nightmare from occurring and turning the world into a world of cold and ice.

The new director Gil Kanen has assembled a great cast for this the second film in the new iteration of these Ghostbusters. Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, and Finn Wolfhard lead this new bunch, but like any family they have issues with their kids. Specifically in this case with McKenna Grace’s character Phoebe. She has typical teenage problems and she befriends of all people, a ghost nearly her own age played by Emily Alyn Lind. They spend time together and get to know each other. Like teenagers do. This is a nice subplot for this character. It’s clear she means a lot to the writers, including Kanen and Reitman and others.

Kumail Nanjiani plays another character that has a key role in this story. He plays the ancestor of a which that was able to capture the evil entity in a brass orb. When this orb gets broken open it unleashes frozen hell on the people of New York City. He has to show he isn’t just another Indian guy in this country. He has an ability and that ability comes in handy when trying to defeat the Frozen deity. These backstories help make the film more interesting. 

With the Ghostbusters movies comes a lot of visual effects. This one there is a lot of cold and ice that helps make the film look that much better. The main villain character Garraka is quite menacing and looks great. I felt cold just watching this character unleash his frozen powers on New York City and the Ghostbusters. Other visual effects involving Slimer, and a dragon are all also very good-looking. The filmmakers spared no expense when it came to the visual effects. They helped make this film that much better.

The Ghostbusters franchise has survived off of nostalgia and fan affection for many years. Fans of this franchise have given it a pass for many decades. Even through the bad all female version.  With the last film Afterlife the producers, and writers have shown there is an intellectual path forward for this franchise.  This followup to that successful movie in 2021 has proven there is still love for these goody characters that fight the paranormal.  It’s still inevitable the way the sequel tackles the supporting characters and the legacy of this franchise. 

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire takes one of my greatest fears and makes it real. That is cold weather and literally being frozen to death. I can’t stand being cold and I was glad as a kid when my family moved us from up north to sunny Florida.  This film brought back those fears. I felt cold all over again watching it. It wasn’t fun. The parts that were fun though were the family banter between the cast of newer characters and classic characters. This film brought back the fun of the original film while also keeping the franchise fresh. Grace and Nanjiani were the standouts while the visual effects gave it a great look. I’m sure there will be a third movie in this new iteration of the Spengler family. I for one surely hope so.

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen