Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Movie Review

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) Movie Review

One of Hollywood’s most beloved and enduring franchises is ‘Ghostbusters’. Spanning 40 years now, Ghostbusters is one of the most recognisable movie franchises in history, with moviegoers young and old quoting it, reciting lines from its iconic theme from the great Ray Parker Jr. “Who you gonna call?” and of course its incredible, albeit simple, logo. It’s 27-year hiatus (animated series and PS3 game aside) from the public consciousness and pop culture zeitgeist was felt by fans across the globe. In 2016, the franchise returned with the all-female re-fresh, simply title Ghostbusters. The franchise returned to moderate acclaim 74% certified fresh, but unfortunately, poor box office returns against its significant budget ($229 million worldwide, against a $144 million production budget plus marketing). Sony went back to its newly established division ‘Ghost Corps’ to find a new way forward and they did!

In 2018 it was announced that Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace would star in yet another reboot, with original film and its sequel director Ivan Reitman and his son, Jason Reitman (keeping it in the family) to direct. The film proved to be a massive success with fans, critics, and audiences alike 63% (critical rating) and 94% (audience score) and grossing over $208 million at the worldwide box office during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sony finally had their successful Ghostbusters franchise that they had been hoping for, so it was only going to be a matter of time before we got a sequel and in April 2024 we did, with ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’. Frozen Empire follows our titular Ghostbusters new and old as they do battle with an ancient, evil force that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of reality and destroy the world. It’s fun and energetic premise, that sets us on a new path of new villains and expanding the world of Ghostbusters and I had an absolute blast with it!

‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ uses the platform laid by it’s 2021 predecessor and creates something new, both in its execution and its plotting. Yes, granted we still have the Ghostbusters action and call backs we have seen now across four films, but what Frozen Empire does is give us a new villain and whilst it references service the story, and don’t hinder it. The film definitely feels like an episode from the short-lived Ghostbusters animated TV series, which is completely fine and works well here in the context of this movie. Whilst I loved what Jason Reitman did with Afterlife as a perfectly formed legacy sequel/soft re-boot, Gil Kenan injects a different flavour here, delving into the weird and really having fun with the Ghostbusters world. Kenan has been a favourite of mine for a number of years, his 2006 animated flick ‘Monster House’ is a Halloween staple in our house and ‘City of Ember’ (also starring Bill Murray) and the 2015 ‘Poltergeist’ remake are also a lot of fun. Kenan has fun with tis large cast and really loves the spooky, weird imagery and occultist elements that help populate the screen. He was a perfect choice to handle this one.

Another huge strength here is the incredible cast. We see Ghostbusters new and old combine for a truly memorable cinematic outing. Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace all return here along with original Ghostbusters Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson. This crew combine perfectly, with each of them split off into their own smaller subplots. The pairing of each of the characters here is a lot of fun and a huge reason hey the film works. We also have newcomers here that weren’t in 2021s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, with Kumail Nanjiani’s Nadeem and Emily Alyn Lind as melody, who are the two standouts in Frozen Empire. They’re both given a lot to do with Nadeem being the catalyst for the demon being unleased, as he tries to see an ancient artifact to ray Stance (Dan Ackroyd) and Melody having a sweet friendship as a ghost herself, with Phoebe (Mckenna Grace). Both plotlines are a lot of fun and add a lot to this new story.

Overall, ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ was an absolute blast from start to finish. The film has a breakneck pace about it and an energy that will keep fans young and old happy. There are enough call backs here that are fun for fans, but don’t detract from the overall plot and pacing. The cast are all amazing, with some truly memorable character interactions and moments that rival that of Ghostbusters II. I am excited to see future adventures with this cast of characters as they’re a lot of fun and the way this new franchise has been set up invites for some fun villain of the weak adventures, and I am all for it! Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is now available on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra High Definition, be sure to secure your copy from Sanity today, you won’t want to miss out on it! 

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Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here