Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
My biggest issue with “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” was that it felt like a “Stranger Things” movie that went after “Ghostbusters” nostalgia to the point of cheapening the entire thing. One of the reasons “Frozen Empire” has had me excited is that it feels like a genuine “Ghostbusters” film rather than one that just wants to play the greatest hits. I wonder if that has to do with the director being Gil Kenan (“Monster House”) rather than Jason Reitman; Kenan seems like someone who enjoys giving us adventures that deliver fantastic imagery, and he does that in spades.
“Afterlife” is important in setting up what we get in “Frozen Empire,” where Phoebe Spengler (Mckenna Grace) uses her scientific curiosity to follow the path her grandfather, Egon (the late Harold Ramis), pioneered with Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) back in the 1980s. Here, “Frozen Empire” throws us right into the story, where Phoebe, her brother Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), mother Callie (Carrie Coon) and science teacher Gary (Paul Rudd) are in New York, busting ghosts from the same firehouse her grandfather worked out of in his prime. It also happens to be the same firehouse a group of firefighters were from in 1904 when they saw an unusual sight for July in New York- a room of businessmen frozen solid. It’ll take some shoe leather, but eventually that happening will fall right into the Ghostbusters’s lap…so long as they can get Mayor Peck (William Atherton) off their back. How he became Mayor, I’ll never know, but pricks from New York getting into unwarranted positions of political power seem to be a dime a dozen right now.
The feel of this film is more in line- I think- with what I associate “Ghostbusters” with than what “Afterlife” was, and that’s part of why I enjoyed it greatly. Yes, we get original actors Murray Aykroyd, Hudson and Annie Potts in the film, but they feel more in line with actual characters with something to do (for the most part; Potts is basically a cameo) than just waving to give us a hit of nostalgia. I love the way Winston has gone from a regular Joe who was just looking for a steady paycheck to someone who is taking the long view of what to do about the paranormal in society. Ray as a collector of mystic artifacts- and someone who hosts a web show with the help of Podcast (Logan Kim)- is a natural progression for his character. Meanwhile, Peter is the smarmy wiseass who helps when he wants to. The ways in which the original Ghostbusters have built up their operations are intriguing, and the film’s focus remains on Phoebe, whom Grace imbues with a natural curiosity but also forces her to realize that- regardless of what she may want- she’s still a teenager, and that responsibility matters when you’ve graduated beyond being a mere science student.
Kenan isn’t above giving us bits of nostalgic hits, from composer Dario Marianelli mixing in Elmer Bernstein’s wonderful theme to more mini Stay Puffed Marshmellow men (which continue to make no logical sense) to Trevor’s attempts to capture Slimer to giving us a satisfying reunion between Peter and Peck. But it’s the visual effects in service of new ghosts and paranormal offerings where he really delivers the goods, like the opening frost over a board room in 1904 and the freeze that happens when the film’s main baddie spirit is unleashed. One of the most impactful uses of visual effects surrounds Melody (Emily Alyn Lind), a spirit whom strikes up a game of chess with Phoebe, and is wanting to cross over to the other side. The bond between Melody and Phoebe is the ultimate heart of the film, and seeing how it unfolds makes “Frozen Empire” a film that anyone invested in the potential of new “Ghostbusters” films quite satisfied. “Frozen Empire” warmed the heart of this “Ghostbuster” fan who didn’t care whether we got more movies, but is grateful this is one that resulted in the desire for the creative team to deliver one.
He’s her grandpa not dad, couldn’t read any further after that
I apologize. Corrected. I don’t know how I made that mistake.