Dog’s Movie House: “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Delightful Continuation Of Original Film!

“Frozen Empire” finds the Spengler family, Callie (Carrie Coon), Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), and young genius Phoebe (and outstanding McKenna Grace), along with would-be stepfather Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) relocating to New York and the old Ghostbusters Firehouse, resuming their ghost hunting duties. Things take a tilt for the worse when the damage accrued during these hunts attracts the ire of none other than Mayor Walter Peck (a welcome return from William Atherton) who wants to shut down The Ghostbusters for good. Unfortunately, this becomes the perfect time for an evil deity named Garraka who breaks out of his ghostly prison just in time to turn New York (and presumably, the rest of the world) into a frozen hell. Will the Ghostbusters break though the bureaucratic red tape in time to save the world from a superpowered god? What do you think?

That said, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is a hoot to watch. The characters are all very well written (even Peck isn’t quite as over the top dickish as in the first film.) Of the original cast, Dan Akroyd and Ernie Hudson get most of the screen time, with Bill Murray being kept off screen until his Peter Venkman can make the most impact. This is actually a great decision, as Murray’s type of humor is not a great fit for this kind of film. By using him judicioiusly Murray never wears out his welcome.

As for the newer cast members, Rudd doesn’t go overboard with the comedy which allows Gary to have some nice moments with Phoebe, who is the heart and soul of this film. Coon is great as the often exasperated yet loving mother, and Wolfhard has some fun comic moments as well as some good scenes with Rudd. Newcomer Kumail Nanjiani adds a spark (literally and figuratively) as Nadeem, whose connection to Garraka is deeper than we are first lead to believe.

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” also has an advantage of having a brand new villain who’s actually kind of creepy. The big horns give Garraka an obvious devilish look but the design is more inventive than that and his powers are quite impressive. In fact, the ghosts overall have a great amount of variety (my personal favorite is the mischevious Possessor who animates inanimate objects) and the effects work is pretty superb and the script (by director Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman) has a nice balance of humor, spookiness and heart. (And Slimer actually contributes to the story this time, yeah!}. Overall, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is a delightful film for all ages that manages to keep the Ghostbusters fresh and new! 4 1/2 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer! So Sayeth The Kendog!

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