It could even get worse. Under the expert direction of Gil Keenan, the screenplay was written by him and Jason Reitman, son of the previous film's director Ivan Reitman, who passed away in 2022, and The Frozen Empire is dedicated to him. However, the “Afterlife” family reunites in New York. City, the renovated fire station where it all started. Mother Carrie Spengler (Carrie Coon), sarcastic son Trevor (Stranger Things' Finn Wolfhard), brainy daughter Phoebe (McKenna Grace), and her mother's boyfriend Gary (Paul Rudd) has taken over Grandpa Egon's (late Harold) mission of exterminating ghosts. Ramis), is financed by Winston (Ernie Hudson), the original fourth Ghostbuster, and is now a worthy Manhattan tech entrepreneur.
Where are the other two members of the titular crew? The plucky Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani) is dropping off his grandmother's belongings to Ray (Dan Aykroyd), who runs a paranormal shop. comes to visit. Inside was a mysterious metal ball that glowed with demonic energy. Aykroyd seems happy to be here, and shouldn't we just pay him what he calls an aging comedian's version of Social Security, or pop culture's pension? That's more than you can say for Bill Murray, who plays Peter Venkman. Murray appears in two scenes, punching a clock, eliciting laughs, receiving a check and going home.
This shows what has changed in 40 years. Murray inherited the original “Ghostbusters” from the strength of his unflinching irony, turning his comedy of exceptionally good special effects horror into a classic of breezy, gritty New York City wit. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is less a horror comedy than a pastiche of previous successes, and not necessarily just this series. The icy otherworldly god who serves as the main villain is a rehash of all his CGI monsters from the past two decades. The miniature army of Stay Puft Marshmallow Men are the minions of this movie, and honestly, according to the internal logic of the Ghostbusters universe, they shouldn't be here. Was the giant version of the first movie a projection of Rey's imagination and not an actual spectral embodiment? Or am I taking this too seriously?
In reality, it could be worse, and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire serves as an effective and unforgettable evening of family movie-watching and in-flight time. . Nanjiani elicits the most believable laughs in his unexpectedly gifted, deadpan self-paced role, and Patton Oswalt is deep in the New York Public Library, where the titular lion makes ghostly goose calls. It's a pleasure to play the role of an expert on ancient languages. Fans of the first film will see the return of Annie Potts as her mother Janine, William Atherton as the grumpy Mayor, and Slimer, the gory green junk food junkie who was on the cusp of ectoplasm in 1984. You'll be happy to see it. John Belushi has passed away.
But while Kuhn, Rudd, and Wolfhard's vast talents are largely wasted on exposition and reactive one-liners, what little honest emotion exists in “The Frozen Empire” is made even more so by the city's meddling. It comes from Phoebe, played by Grace, who is stuck in a worsening adolescent funk. You can escape from Ghostbusters because you are a minor. In particular, there's a tenderness to Phoebe's scenes with a sad-eyed teenage ghost named Melody (Emily Alyn Lind), with actresses and filmmakers posing exactly on the line between friendship and physical attraction. I'm intrigued by this. Perhaps the next Ghostbusters will be a young adult same-sex romantic comedy straight to streaming. Who do I contact? Netflix.
PG-13. At area theaters. Contains supernatural acts, violence, language, and suggestive language. 115 minutes.
Ty Burr is the author of Ty Burr's Watch List, a movie recommendation newsletter. tyburrswatchlist.com.