Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a supernatural comedy the continuation of the Ghostbuster franchise and the sequel to 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The crew of the previous installment is, inexplicably, in NYC occupying the old headquarters and fully operating as the Ghostbusters when an old artifact resurfaces that confines and power and old god/spirit(that of course is inadvertently freed).
The returning cast are all fine with needed additions of Kumail Nanjiani and James Acaster, the only adults other than Ackroyd who don't seem to be phoning it in. In this as in the previous movie the presence of the legacy characters hinders more than it helps and the change in setting further makes this derivative and less fresh than the previous. The younger cast members are all solid and still excited to be there but the lead Mckenna Grace(the highlight of the previous film) is given less to do and her emotional arc is convoluted and unbelievable. Its all serviceable but uninspired.
Visually the movie looks very similar to the originals without some of the NYC grime but with a fair amount of decent practical effects with minimal CGI integration until the big culmination which turns into a unreal CGI fest. The soundtrack is virtually non-existent and the titular hit isn't played, bafflingly, until the end credits. The production is all workman like, all function, there's no real life in it or in the by-the-numbers script. Its as if the creators misunderstood the success of Ghostbusters: Afterlife and instead of going further into originality and cutting new ground within the franchise they instead attempted a straight up remake.
A mildly entertaining disappointment. Empty calories.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
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