There’s a moment of beauty nestled in the tepid confines of “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” that occurs during the only scene that legacy characters Ray Stantz and Winston Zeddemore have alone together.
“This is how I want to spend my golden years,” Stantz says. “Doing what I love.”
This is a sweet sentiment, and it’s easy to read it coming not from Stantz but from actor Dan Aykroyd, who has had the privilege of playing this iconic character several times over the last 40 years. It’s clear from the enthusiasm he shows on-screen that he loves this role and is happy that he still has it after all these years.
Unfortunately, the Ghostbusters franchise hasn’t been able to match Aykroyd’s enthusiasm. “Frozen Empire” marks the fifth release in the mainline series if you count the poorly received 2016 reboot and is ironically just as cold as the title would suggest, dragging ghostbusters new and old back to New York City to save the world once again.
A looming sense of “been there, done that” permeates this film. It has nothing to offer that the original classic didn’t do better, and the agonizingly slow pacing prevents it from even meeting the “turn your brain off and have fun” criteria.
It’s clear the film was rushed to bank off the success of 2021’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” and this showed in the writing. There was a lot of dialogue that came across as stilted and was only there for the audience’s sake.
Apart from the 2016 reboot, which I enjoyed more than most, none of the sequels have had much to offer. The original “Ghostbusters” is a great horror comedy, but we would have been better off if it was left alone.
The original was a comedy first and foremost, which is something “Frozen Empire” seems to have forgotten. It takes itself way too seriously, and the only times I laughed were thanks to Paul Rudd and Kumail Nanjiani, two of today’s great comedic talents.
Director Gil Kenan has proven in the past that he can make horror comedies like this work, but the material here just wasn’t up to snuff. Conforming to franchise conventions likely hindered creative decisions.
I won’t deny that there are a few cool moments throughout — who doesn’t love a good climactic team-up? — but they’re not worth the price of admission. If you have a Ghostbusters itch, you’re better off staying home and rewatching the original film.
Overall, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” left me feeling the same way 2022’s “Jurassic World Dominion” did. There is nothing left to do with this franchise, and it’s time to move on and let it go.
“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is now playing in theaters.