Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Blu-ray Review
“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” might leave you cold.
Set 3 years after “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” finds Gary, Podcast, Lucky and the Spengler family (Phoebe, Callie and Trevor) working as Ghostbusters in the iconic firehouse in New York. After causing destruction during a ghost chase, however, the team lands in hot water which leads to the teenage Phoebe being removed from the team. Lost and sad, Phoebe soon finds herself meeting and bonding with a teen ghost named Melody who is hiding a secret.
Meanwhile, Ray and Podcast are fascinated by an orb that was sold to them by a man named Nadeem. The mysterious orb is being researched at the new paranormal research center among other locations. It turns out to be a prison for a God named Garraka that was created by sorcerers known as the Firemasters. Moreover, Nadeem himself is the descendant of a Firemaster. As one might guess, this comes in handy when Garraka escapes the orb and turns NY into a frozen hellscape.
Despite being a deeply flawed and fanservice filled sequel, director Jason Reitman’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” still served as a heartfelt tribute to Harold Ramis. With “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” Gil Kenan steps into the director’s chair this time around, but this follow-up turns out to be a cluttered bore.
On the surface, all the pieces are here for a crowd-pleasing sequel. The story is set in New York again, the firehouse is featured, Slimer returns, the original cast is back, Walter Pack re-appears and stirs up more trouble, and the Ecto-1 is present. So, what went wrong? Simply put, the script by Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan is overstuffed with characters. The characters from Afterlife (Phoebe, Gary, Callie, Lucky, Podcast and Trevor) are front and center as is to be expected, the OG cast (Janine, Peter, Ray, and Winston) gets a little more time on screen here than they did in ‘Afterlife’ (though not as much as one would hope), the Mini-Pufts are still running around, and theen there are the brand new characters that bog down the movie as a whole. The plotline between Phoebe and the ghost girl causes the movie to screech to a halt. It drags down the entire middle act and leads to an overly choreographed plot twist. Add in the fact that there’s a host of other new characters like Nadeem, Dr. Pinfield, Dr. Wartzki and the villainous Garraka (a CGI White Walker essentially). It’s just too much and it all takes time away from the characters you want to be spending time with.
The story doesn’t do the movie any favors either. While it’s nice to see a new villain this time around with Garraka, the baddie feels underutilized and is too easily defeated. NY being frozen and people dying from the death chill should have been explored a lot more as it was ripe with potential and tension.
Really, ‘Frozen Empire’ is at its best when the classic characters are on screen. Dan Aykroyd (Ray), Bill Murray (Peter), and Annie Potts (Janine) all have memorable moments, but it’s especially gratifying to see Ernie Hudson (Winston) have a more substantial part.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 2.39:1 1080p. How does it look? Say what you will about the movie itself, but this transfer is crystal clear. Note: This title is also available on 4K.
Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? This is easily one of the best audio tracks I’ve heard recently. From the thundering voice of Garraka to the proton packs in action, this track delivers an immersive and pleasantly loud audio experience.
Extras:
* DVD copy
* Digital copy
* Sony trailers
* 5 deleted scenes
* Commentary by Gil Kenan.
* “Knowing The Score”- A featurette on the score by Dario Marianelli.
* “Welcome To The Paranormal Discovery Center”- An extra about the new lab/set.
* “New York, New Gear”- A look at the new gadgets.
* “Manifesting Garraka” is all about the new villain.
* “Easter Eggs Unleashed” gives a rundown of references to the past films.
* “Busted: Capturing The Ghosts Of Frozen Empire” showcases the ghosts in this sequel.
* “Return To The Firehouse: Making Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire”- A 21 minute featurette with set footage, interviews, film clips,concept art, discussions about the sequel, firehouse, and more.
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