The Mosley Review: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Nostalgia is a fleet of tug boats in the front and rear of a massive ship or tanker. They will lovingly push and guide the ship forward into familiar waters, but they can't carry it the entire way home. They have a limited distance of travel and don’t sail past the point of no return. Unfortunately, many franchises have yet to learn that lesson and rely on those tug boats for life. Ghostbusters: Afterlife was guided perfectly and went full speed ahead into new and uncharted waters with curiosity and warmth in its heart. I walked into this film knowing that the waves of nostalgia would brush up against this new story, but I felt this time that it started pummel the otherwise overly crowded ship. At first, I was loving the day to day ghostbusting with the new team and where they all ended up. Shortly after, the film started to take a turn in relying on too many reused moments, lackluster comedy that stopped the tension dead in its tracks and a vast number of characters that were given too little to do or were contradictory to one another. There were 4 out of the 6 plotlines that should've been the main focus of the film and would've driven the plot home to a more powerful conclusion. The amount of character development would've been more interesting and not so watered down and unfocused.

Mckenna Grace returns as Phoebe Spengler and she exudes the same amount of charm she had from the previous film. She begins to showcase that teenage rebellious angst in this film and it was interesting to see her befriend someone unexpected. She has a lot of pent up rage and its on full display at times. Finn Wolfhard as Trevor Spengler this time around nails that "I'm an adult now so treat me like one" attitude and it was fine, but that's really the extent of his development and I was a little saddened by that. Carrie Coon returns as their mother Callie Spengler and I still liked her protective and sometimes chill nature. I do wish she was a bit more stern and not so easy going when it came to some of the sass she receives from Phoebe. Paul Rudd returns as her boyfriend Gary Grooberson and I loved his chemistry with the family. He truly shines when he is trying to be a bigger part of the Spengler family and I found that was truly the heart of the film in many ways. Logan Kim continues to steal scenes as the loveable and intense Podcast. I would totally watch an entire film about his adventures with Phoebe and Ray Stanz or the rest of the younger ghostbusters anyday. Celeste O'Connor returns as Lucky Domingo and I liked that she was given the ability to play with some of the new equipment and be proficient at it. Her chemistry with Trevor is still palpable and I want a teen love story between them because they are too much fun together. Ernie Hudson, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts and Bill Murray all return as Dr. Winston Zeddemore, Dr. Ray Stanz, Janine Melnitz and Dr. Peter Venkman and they all get to have fun and shine in the best way. The chemistry between Winston and Ray has never been stronger. Their "Judgement Day" scene from the original film was my favorite and their conversation in this one was just as fantastic and important. Ray and Podcast have also have an amazing bond that I want to see expanded upon in a mentorship capacity. William Atherton returns as now Mayor Walter Peck and he was still delightful to watch. It fits that he still has it out for the Ghostbusters after 40 years. He was that grumpy old man you see on a porch that never stopped hating everyone.

There are a alot of new characters that join the franchise and this is where I meant it got crowded. Kumail Nanjiani was wonderful and funny as Nadeem Razmaadi. I liked that he was a driving force behind the plot and did get to have his comedic time to shine, but a bit too much in my opinion. There is a difference between a one liner that perfectly buttons a scene and a one liner that just lingers for too long. He has at number of the latter and I hated seeing that happen to a great actor and comedian. James Acaster was fascinating as one of Winston's engineers, Lars Pinfield. Through him, you are introduced to the possible future of the paranormal investigative side of the Ghostbusters that I hope will be the focus in the future and with him leading. I would watch an entire series just with him and a science team doing studies on the different classes of ghosts they capture and examine. Patton Oswalt as Dr. Hubert Wartzki was as good as you'd expect. He had the expositionary lore position of the film that I felt was wrongfully given to him. If Ray has studied the paranormal legends, folklore and beyond for his entire life, then why not make him the source of all knowledge for Podcast and Phoebe? I just felt Hubert truly stole alot of the thunder from Ray and you honestly could've cut his character completely. Just imagine for a second that Phoebe, Podcast and Ray work together to investigate the new villain and it would present a moment for Ray to have another chance to study with Egon through his granddaughter and you see that glow of happiness in Ray’s eyes and heart. Sounds awesome right?! Emily Alyn Lind was good and melancholy as Melody. I'll try not to spoil too much, but I'll say that she presents a interesting perspective on ghostbusting and possibly the humane nature of it. Her chemistry with Pheobe was a highlight of the film and gets a decent payoff.

Composer Dario Marianelli takes the helm this time around and delivers a fun score that incorporates the classic Elmer Bernstein score motifs while delivering his own themes. I do miss Rob Simonsen's touch from the previous film though. The use of more practical effects is always been a staple of the franchise and it continues here. I liked seeing the new and creepy ghosts in the film and wanted to know more about them. So what are my final thoughts on this new chapter in the GB franchise you ask? Afterlife was a welcomed and heartfelt return to the franchise, but this film felt like it wasn't handled with the same amount of care. Yes, it was more an adventure and more like an episode of the original animated, but it lacked a fully focused narrative that could service each character purposefully. There should've been less nostalgia, trim off the one liners and the many different plots at hand. You have too many characters on a single case and it came together in the end, but you still feel that void of logic in its essence. What I wish this film had done was let the tension and fear build and actually let the audience feel as if any of them could die. Don't be afraid to have that level of terror, darkness and seriousness that comes with facing these dangerous spirits. Stop adding all these characters and focus on the ones you already have. If this film was the many building blocks sprawled across the table that it felt like, then the next film needs to focus on the blocks that fit and not add more blocks to the pile. In the end, I still liked the film and I had alot of fun with this messy and scattered entry, but I hope the next film truly lets the tug boats of nostalgia return to the docks and allow the franchise set sail into more mature and fresh waters. I’m curious to see a director’s cut of this film because it truly felt like it needed another five minutes to clean up some of the mess. There is one mid credits scene that was fun, but its not that important. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!