Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

The Movie: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

The Director: Gil Kenan

The Cast: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Celeste O'Connor, Logan Kim, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts

The Story: When the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second ice age.

The Rating: 8.5 / 10

The Review:

The number one thing that stands out about this movie to me is how the nostalgia aspect is seamlessly blended into the story which stands on its own while also opening the door wide open for more adventures and even an expansion of this universe if the creators decide to go that direction. Seeing the original ghost busting crew have more than just standard cameos was really nice and each of their contributions (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts are all present) to the story are meaningful in their own way.

As a huge fan of the original movie, I was about 11 or 12 years old when it came out, I love the fact that this franchise has found a way to move into the modern movie landscape while maintaining the tone and style that made it so great in the first place. Of course there are plenty of callbacks to previous films and only a couple of them come off feeling gratuitious and the filmmakers leave plent of room for the newer cast members to really take ownership of their characters within this world.

Paul Rudd really seems comfortable in this role right now, even more so than he does as Ant-Man although that might be that movie's fault not his. His brand of humor fits perfectly with the franchise o it makes sense to see him take the lead and it's nice to see him be able to hold his own next to the comedy legends that made the original such a classic. I think Mckenna Grace is also well on her way to becoming a big star for a long time to come and hopefully even within this franchise. There's a lot of opportunity to see her character grow and develop over the next several years.

If you're a fan of proton packs and ghosts of all shapes and sizes then you're definitely going to love this one. I will say the main villain looks more like a video game boss but I didn't really have a problem with it. Everything was executed nicely and having the big bad not look perfectly photo realistic is in line with the light hearted and comedic tone of the movie so it was fine. Overall, the special effects were done really well so I have no complaints in that area.

I could go on about the finer points of acting and editing and all that other fun stuff but I don't want to bore you with all that stuff. Just know that this is a really fun movie that kids of all ages will be able to enjoy. It's nice to see that the Ghostbusters franchise is in great hands and I'm hopeful that it won't be too long before we get more proton streams and ghost slime on our theater screens.