Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire 2024
I skipped the most recent reboot of Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters: Afterlife due to so-so reviews, but I was given a digital copy and watched that just last month. Not a great movie, I was still impressed enough with it to give it a B. Like that movie, the main character is 15-year old Phoebe Spengler, the granddaughter of Egon (Harold Ramis), who is good in her role (and the actress who plays her, Mckenna Grace, is only 17). Most of the cast from Afterlife is along for the ride, including Paul Rudd, but they don't have much to do. The movie is stuffed with characters including all of the original Ghostbusters except for Ramis. They also add some new characters, including Kumail Nanjiani, who plays his usual kind of role, which works. Phoebe gets some sparks going with a female ghost which is about all the character development you can expect. Then there are a lot of action scenes, gags, ghosts, and nostalgia, not all of which works, but enough to keep it fun and keep your attention. It is probably a little too long, but the flat spots aren't around for long. I was sleepy going in to the theater and almost dozed off. If you like Afterlife, you should like this, but I didn't feel like it was quite as good, but still easy enough to watch.
Written: 22 Mar 2024