“Don’t Cross the Streams”, a quote from Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) from the original “Ghostbusters” (1984) film, could apply to this sequel involving the Spengler family. There are too many plot lines, and this sequel is less than the sum of its parts.
It seems silly to complain about plot issues or character believability when discussing a film that’s about a scrappy team of Ghostbusters. There’s something to be said for just going with the flow and letting a fun film be light entertainment. “Ghostbusters Frozen Empire”, directed by Gil Kenan, supplies a little nostalgia and continues the story with the characters from the better film, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” (2021).
It’s not often that the trailer for a film has sequences not in the film. An earlier trailer has Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts) answering the Ghostbuster phone with her classic droll snark and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) coming up with a snappy comeback. Neither quip appear in the film. The trailer opens with scenes of an ice storm coming to freeze New York. While there are cool (pun intended) special effects, it feels derivative of other better films. Narratively, it makes no sense once you know that the creature is locked in an encrypted ball prison and had no reason to be at the beach. Unfortunately, that entire sequence is in the film exactly as depicted in the trailer.
The biggest issue is the large cast. While it’s a delight to spend time with Dan Akroyd as Ray, Bill Murray strolls in for just a quick cameo. The returning Ghostbusters are mainly there to draw in fans of the original and besides Akroyd, they’re under-utilized. The family from “Afterlife” returns and for some reason, the young friends are all in New York too. Sadly, the mom (Carrie Coon) is given little to do. She’s there to reprimand her kids and try to get her boyfriend (Paul Rudd) to step up in the discipline department. These parenting interludes are wasted in a film that’s not interested in spending time developing motivations for the “kids” to be acting out.
The daughter, Phoebe, is our central character. Ably played by Mckenna Grace, Phoebe’s got a secret. There’s an entire subplot involving a ghost girl, Melody (Emily Alyn Lind). She’s a cool character but her motivation makes little sense, and the relationship seems like it wants to be a romance. Phoebe has many scenes that are away from the action as she’s been grounded from Ghostbusting. Can you guess who’ll earn her proton pack privileges back?
Finn Wolfhard has even less screen time as the son, Trevor. He’s vanquished to the attic to deal with a returning ghost. Is it supposed to be funny and why does it happen twice? Trevor’s plot line seems far removed from the rest of the narrative. They seem added to bring in fans of his earlier work. Two of the friend characters from the first film, Lucky and Podcast, do more to move the plot along.
With so many characters and cameos, there’s no chance to let any of them have any development or impact on the narrative. Patton Oswalt has a cool role as a librarian and researcher with access to some important documents. Kumal Najani is funny in his role as the grandson of a great Indian mystic and protector of the orb. His journey from scheming salesman to fire warrior is too short to be believable.
Paul Rudd makes the most of his role as the boyfriend and newly appointed Ghostbuster. He’s having so much fun trying to save New York City that it brings the narrative to life any time he’s on screen. If the film had taken more time to concentrate on the family, perhaps audiences would care about their relationships more. Instead, there’s a fun opening action sequence and then lots of exposition about the origin of the orb and much discussion of this particular evil spirit, Garraka. The narrative is building to the showdown between the Ghostbusters and this evil entity. When that battle leaves the Ghostbusters quickly vanquished, it’s anticlimactic.
Hopefully the next film will feel less burdened by nostalgia and can find a story that gives the Spengler family a return to their roles as the newly appointed Ghostbusters.
Drinks With Films rating: 2 green gooey Slurpies in branded Ghostbuster cups (out of 5)
Drinks with films 