Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Review

 

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a supernatural comedy movie, the sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and the fifth film in the franchise. It's produced by Columbia Pictures, Ghost Corps., and Right of Way Films and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is written by Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman and directed by Gil Kenan.

The story is, the newest members of the Ghostbusters have firmly established themselves in New York, but not without controversy. While tensions are rising within the team, a new evil is planning to escape from its prison, and freeze the entire city.

Initial Reaction

Having enjoyed Afterlife I was fully ready for the next movie. And, well,...that's pretty much it.

Cons

I've don't have anything for this section. Just move onto the next part.

Middle Ground

The movie has three slight issues. One of those being the humor. While I did laugh for the most part, those parts that didn't work do leave a bad flavor. There was even a scene that was straight out of the MCU's playbook. Big tense moment with some beautifully done music playing...and then at all just disappears completely when the unnecessary comedy pops up. Then there's the pacing. While it didn't bother me too much, there was a few moments when things felt slower then they had to be. The last mix bag stems from the story. Now the stuff where they expand the lore, what with showcasing new tech and the villain was really good. And the constant butting heads with Phoebe, Callie, and Gary was also not bad, especially on Gary's part where he doesn't know if he's the dad of the family or not. But then you get things that just didn't feel needed. Like the stuff with Trevor and Slimer. I like Finn Wolfhard and I get the filmmakers needed to give him something to do, that way he wasn't just standing off into the background, but that story could've been cut out and nothing would've been lost.

Pros

Now even though the material is decent at best, I gotta give the cast credit where it's due. They still managed to deliver great performances from start to finish. But my biggest praise does go to the newest villain Garraka. I loved the backstory, the design, and he could be a little creepy from time to time. A very good improvement from the villains from Afterlife, where there wasn't much there.

While I still had some bit of fun with this movie, I do admit that it has some issues, but nothing that'll make me regret watching it like the 2016 movie.

My final rating is, Okay.

That's all for now. Come back on Monday, Mar 25th, for part three of Looking Back at the Films of 2023. For that one I'll be reviewing, John Wick: Chapter 4. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.