Spoiler Alert
Ghostbusters Frozen Empire is a satisfying continuation of Phoebe Spengler’s (Mckenna Grace) coming of age tale. Although she’s ready to continue the family legacy after learning about her grandfather’s exploits, not everyone agrees. Her new father, Gary (Paul Rudd), has to set boundaries and when he grounds her for other reasons, she’s ready to lash out. Nobody understands her, except for a lost spirit she befriends.
According to We Minored in Film, Reitman knew Ramis has a flair for grounding comedy in reality which made him the perfect person to overhaul Aykroyd’s initial concept. What he injected is a sense of why this brotherhood matter, and this latest has its moments to remind audiences family togetherness is just as important too. As for Egon, nobody knew he left his wife. To acknowledge his lost family connections is only fitting and feels like a logical choice to move the franchise forward.
Although this film is supposed to be about this girl growing up and learning how to express her feelings, her interest in Melody (Emily Alyn Lind), a ghost, isn’t all that well-developed. The fact that Phoebe is attracted to the spirit is very obvious, and the fact she would do anything for love makes their growing need for being together very dangerous.
Meanwhile, Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani) is key to the actual story still to unfold. When he sells a mysterious orb to Ray (Dan Aykroyd), that’s when the fun finally begins. Although his role looks of being a firebender seems like a riff on Avatar: The Last Airbender, his tribe’s role is nothing like! As for Hubert (Patton Oswalt), a librarian specialising in occult objects, it’s about time there’s another smart aleck like Venkman. In what he reveals is the fact other organisations similar to the Ghostbusters exist.
As for that Garraka entity contained within, I’m surprised nobody wants to leave it alone and have it restored to its prison. I had to laugh when Lars (James Acaster) believes he can move it to the new prison. The fact he doesn’t recognise that they are categorised according to threat level suggests he’s not suited to stay an employee of the firm. The same can be said concerning Phoebe’s brother, Lucky and Podcast; they have no real role in this work, and those tiny subplots involving them just do not matter.
As a result, I wanted Ghostbusters Frozen Empire to be a two-part film. All the extra subplots slowed down the film and half of them were really unnecessary. All that backstory concerning how to defeat this icy entity felt all for naught and I suspect it wanted to be trapped. A better idea the producers should’ve gone for is to show the team failing to protect New York to show that an old adversary, Walter Peck (William Atherton), is right. And in part two, they would have to redeem themselves to a city, after finally finding a proper artefact to contain this villain. What got used here is a poor man’s choice.
Also, I doubt Zeddenmore’s new team and facility is capable of handling forces not identified in Tobin’s Spirit Guide. While they can build a better ghost trap, I doubt anyone has ideas on how to keep divine forces at bay. Egon’s idea gave them a fighting chance in Afterlife and she can’t reconstitute herself, but this one might have some other agenda if my theory is right. As with Phoebe sidelined, all that thinking outside the box might not be available.
After what Ray said about cursed objects sometimes comes containing the soul of its owner, sometimes leaving it alone is the best solution. Because it’s imprinted upon the item, sometimes the entity wants to be alone. They won’t harm anyone until someone awakens it. For those items haunted by a dark force, they can be locked up. Anyone who knows John Dee can respect that magic seals are just as powerful, and invoking the name of an angel or devil can be just as powerful. While defeating Garraka was a result of technology and magic coming together in Ghostbusters Frozen Empire, I wonder if this mix will be used in future films too.
This new direction is exactly what I want to see to keep this franchise fresh. And when considering the last two encounters with this force has a distinct Hellboy style vibe to it, I’d embrace any potential crossovers. Sony should ask Dark Horse Comics for permission to bring the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense to the Ghostbusters universe. This studio did distribute Hellboy!
And with Phoebe able to communicate with the dead, maybe she can provide an alternate means to deal with them at a diplomatic level. I’d love this franchise more when busting every spirit is not required. Some spirits do not move on because either they have unfinished business or simply don’t want to. The latter doesn’t make for a good movie but in real life, sometimes investigators encounter spirits that are okay with where they are. Melody’s story is a perfect example before Garraka found her.
And the fact that Ray said neutral spirits can be coerced to do nasty things says a lot about how this spectral world works. Not everything is black and white. To mix those themes up with Phoebe’s coming out may well give the next film the oomph it needs.
4 Stars out of 5
Ghostbusters Frozen Empire Final Trailer
Discover more from Otaku no Culture
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
