Ghostbusters Frozen Empire is a step backwards for the franchise

In 2021, Ghostbusters Afterlife became a Pandemic hit that revived the 40-year-old franchise with a sentimental adventure following the family of the late Ghostbuster Egon Spengler. The sequel takes the action back to New York, with the Spengler family now part of a wider Ghostbusters network run by Winston Zedemore (Ernie Hudson). A rocky family dynamic is made worse with the discovery that a God intent on freezing The Big Apple to death is heading for the Ghostbusters firehouse, intent on raising an army.

Ghostbusters has traditionally been bound by the same problems as the Terminator and Indiana Jones films – their stars are simply too old. Afterlife seemed to find a solution, introducing likeable new characters with a nice cameo from the old guard. This follow up wants to have its cake and eat it, bringing together the old and the new.

The world building is fun, painting the Ghostbusters as a Men In Black-esque organisation. It’s often funny, but the pace is ground to a halt by oddly serious moments, like a character striking up a friendship with a teenage ghost who burned to death. The pair speculate about The Other Side, an odd choice for a traditionally broad comedy filled with marshmallow men and slimers.

Whereas Afterlife was a small-scale story with three or four main characters, there’s at least a dozen notable cast members stuffed into two hours. It means most of Afterlife’s returning characters feel redundant, while a bored looking Bill Murray has a glorified cameo. It’s a tangle of subplots and fan service that’s fun in places, but becomes exhausting.

Frozen Empire will satisfy fans who want to see the gang back, but as a film this is a corporately-minded muddle that may gross at the box office but lacks the heart of its predecessors.