Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

By: Jamie Steinberg

It was absolutely time for a new Ghostbusters movie! We pick up in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire three years after the Spengler family has moved to New York and have set up shop in the original Ghostbusters headquarters. There they are busy answering calls from residents that have supernatural extermination needs. Sadly, the proton accelerator backpacks (“proton packs”) are having some issues, meaning they are tearing through matter such as brick buildings, glass windows and even historical lion statues. Meanwhile, the Spenglers are being irked by Mayor Walter Peck (William Atherton) who is displeased with the Ghostbusters’ current adventures and threatens to shut down their efforts for good. With so much going on in this film, there is a lot to follow. However much to manage, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will certainly fill the hearts of classic fans of this incredible franchise.

Adding insult to injury Ray (welcome back Dan Aykroyd), a familiar Ghostbuster, has come into possession of a mysterious ball that has the highest PKE (psychokinetic energy) that any of them have ever seen. Unfortunately, the orb contains an ancient and evil spirit named Garraka and he aims to escape his tiny prison in order to raise his army of the dead so that he can send the world into the next Ice Age. With Garraka looking to break out, things go from bad to worse when forty years of ghost storage has the containment unit filled to the brim. Thankfully, Winston Zeddemore (hey Ernie Hudson) has been working on a new, bigger and better storage for ghosts, but it will take a very long time to transfer all of the spirits.

Also at the heart of the film is an interesting arc for Phoebe (Mckenna Grace). Sidelined by Peck for being age inappropriate, she takes things into her own hands as she feels being a Ghostbuster is her calling. Plus, she has befriended a teenage ghost named Melody (Emily Alyn Lind) whom she seems to have feelings for…

At the heart of the film is a family tale, which viewers have come to love about the Ghostbusters franchise. Phoebe eventually comes to understand her parents (Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd) had her best interest at heart and wanted her to enjoy her teenage time for as long as possible. The humor to it is Gary looking to find his place as a new stepdad. He refers to himself as a “step-teacher” and offers the kids to call him by his first name. See, he’s a cool stepdad!

The truly favorite moments to this film though involve our beloved and iconic Ghostbusters of yore. Peter (Billy Murray), Winston and Ray lend a hand and bring their signature silliness and action to the movie. A particularly funny moment is when Peter locates a hidden liquor bottle he had at the fire house, which clearly was left behind thirty years ago right where he left it.  Sprinkle in the comedic talents of Patton Oswalt, Kumail Nanjiani and Annie Potts and you’ve got yourself a winner.

Director Gil Kenan delivers on another heart, humor and entity filled Ghostbusters movie. While there is some adult language and situations in the film, families will certainly still want to take a weekend trip together to see this movie in theaters.