The Ghostbusters franchise continues to be one of the worst offenders of peddling cheap and easy nostalgia for laughs and poignancy.
Once Star Wars, Jurassic Park and The Terminator all had their fair shake at resurrecting our favourite characters and iconography for the risky yet often lucrative “legacy sequel”, it was inevitable that New York City’s supernatural saviours would have to answer the call.
The only trouble? Arguably Ghostbusters’ biggest name, comedy legend Bill Murray, has been notoriously reluctant to sign on after the original’s 1989 sequel was such a mixed bag. Until now.
He’s since appeared, alongside Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts, in three overdue instalments, though notably not as their classic characters in the much-maligned 2016 reboot.
Now Murray et al have shrugged their way through two attempts to breathe life into the series, how does the latest slapped-together sequel compare?
Frozen Empire opens with the Spengler family – Carrie Coon’s Callie, McKenna Grace’s Phoebe and Finn Wolfhard’s Trevor, plus Paul Rudd as quasi-step-dad Gary Grooberson – having already upped sticks and settled into the Ghostbuster’s old firehouse in New York.
After saving the world as a family once before, they’re already in full swing taking down ghostly entities across Manhattan, with their trusty Ecto-1, proton packs and an arsenal of new gadgets to help them kick ectoplasm and sell a new range of toys while they’re at it.
When a mysterious artefact falls on the doorstep of the original team’s most superstitious ‘buster, Dr. Ray Stantz (Aykroyd), the Spenglers must team up with the Ghostbusters’ top-secret researchers to stop an ancient threat that could bring about the next ice age.
In this forgettable romp, directed by Gil Kenan with Reitman returning as co-writer, the family is also facing interpersonal drama, failing tech and even returning EPA inspector Walter Peck (William Atherton), now the mayor, trying to shut them down.
Meanwhile, Phoebe makes a new ghostly friend (Emily Alyn Lind), Trevor deals with a familiar slimy face in the attic and Kumail Nanjiani’s Nadeem Razmaadi, the original owner of the aforementioned mystical device, embarks on a journey of implausible self-discovery.
Finally, comedian James Acaster makes a welcome big-screen debut as a Ghostbusters technician who will at least charm British audiences by delivering every line with a raised eyebrow.
If that sounds like a lot to juggle, it’s because it is. There’s just so much going on in Frozen Empire, but the script and performances are sorely lacking the original’s dry wit and infectious energy to keep viewers interested in the five or so major storylines.
Once the ensemble of 10 or so players winds up facing yet another inter-dimensional god in the firehouse garage, the climax feels more like a teetering game of Jenga than puzzle pieces forming a satisfying whole.
There are fleeting moments of inspiration. Frozen Empire’s chilling baddie is genuinely frightening at points, even if his master plan is as paper-thin as Gozer’s leotard. He’s styled with a stop-motion jerkiness recalling early Tim Burton that adds some rare tactility to an otherwise flat palette of washed-out CGI.
It was also a pleasant surprise to see Slimer return with what appeared to be a convincing combination of visual effects and puppetry, although Ghostbusters’ other returning mascots, the tiny Stay Puft critters, continue to be a shameless attempt to shoehorn in the series’ own version of the Minions.
Aykroyd and Hudson also deserve shout-outs for delivering genuinely heartfelt performances as Stentz and Winston Zeddemore, who make the most of their minimal screentime together to finally give their characters some due following Afterlife’s lazy walk-on cameo.
Murray and Potts, unfortunately, seem like they’d rather be literally anywhere else.
Nanjiani had it right when he said Frozen Empire took inspiration from the Ghostbusters’ animated spin-off, The Real Ghostbusters. This half-baked sequel may entertain kids on a Saturday morning, but any adults watching are liable to feel a little embarrassed.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire releases in cinemas on Friday, March 22.