{"id":48086,"date":"2024-03-20T14:00:04","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T13:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2011572"},"modified":"2024-03-20T15:58:20","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T14:58:20","slug":"ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review-hugely-entertaining-adventure","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review-hugely-entertaining-adventure\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire review \u2013 Hugely entertaining adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"

The franchise hasn’t lost its oomph. <\/p>

By Terry Staunton\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 20 March 2024 at 13:00 PM<\/p>

\n\n
<\/div> 4.0 out of 5 star rating<\/span> <\/span> <\/div> <\/div>

The closing shot of 2021\u2019s Oklahoma-set Ghostbusters: Afterlife<\/a> is an aerial view of a Manhattan bridge, on which a familiar white vehicle is seen heading towards the bright lights of the big city.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a sneakily subtle pointer to the events of Frozen Empire, heralding the return of the jumpsuited spook-chasers to their, shall we say, spiritual home.<\/p>\n

New York itself played a starring role in the original 1980s brace of \u2018Busters flicks, and it\u2019s a joy to have it looming large once again, as the new generation of feisty mum Carrie Coon (Egon Spengler\u2019s daughter), her lovably nerdy beau Paul Rudd and teenage offspring Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) move in to a certain old fire station.<\/p>\n

Frozen Empire hits the ground running, our 21st-century heroes pursuing the paranormal, specifically a \u201csewer dragon\u201d, at high speed through the streets of the Big Apple in their beloved former ambulance Ecto-1 (the addition of Phoebe\u2019s gunner seat, first revealed in Afterlife, threatens to become as iconic as anything from the first movies).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s very much business as usual \u2013 or at least as it once was, which means old foes rear their heads again.<\/p>\n

William Atherton\u2019s stuffy environmental inspector Walter Peck is back, now elevated to high political office and determined as ever to shut the Ghostbusters down, and there are other headaches closer to home.<\/p>\n

The otherworldly containment vault at headquarters is just about full, necessitating a move to alternative premises with a larger capacity.<\/p>\n

\"Phoebe\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.<\/span><\/figcaption> Columbia Pictures<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Luckily, \u2018Buster of yore Winston (Ernie Hudson) is now a moneyed philanthropist and bankrolls a new state-of-the-art facility, overseen by a tetchy scientist who could become the franchise\u2019s very own Q, a laugh-out-loud turn by British comedian James Acaster.<\/p>\n

However, ghostly conspirators are hovering with sabotage in mind\u2026<\/p>\n

Hudson isn\u2019t the only one of the old guard in the thick of it, with slightly more substantial contributions from Bill Murray and, especially, Dan Aykroyd than their save-the-day appearances last time around.<\/p>\n

Not that they\u2019re urgently required to give proceedings a boost, as the characters introduced in Afterlife by co-writers Gil Kenan (also director) and Jason Reitman (son of the \u201880s film\u2019s director Ivan) aren\u2019t short on comedic chops, and also bring a deeper family dynamic to the party.<\/p>\n

\"Lucky\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.<\/span><\/figcaption> Colombia Pictures <\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

As in Afterlife, it\u2019s Grace who stands out, her richly layered portrayal of Phoebe arguably the emotional centre of the film, either when being \u201cbenched\u201d from frontline action by her elders, or befriending a seemingly good-hearted ghost of her own age (Emily Alyn Lind) during a game of chess in a park at twilight.<\/p>\n

The subsequent tugging of heartstrings may not be to every viewer\u2019s liking, but it never overwhelms the default setting of gag after gag after gag.<\/p>\n

This is where the aforementioned Acaster comes into his own, along with strong names from American TV comedy Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, Veep) and Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens, Bored to Death). It\u2019s an extended ensemble cast not seen on such a scale in the earlier films, and expertly juggled by the writers.<\/p>

Script and players taken care of, what gives Frozen Empire even more oomph is the wealth of inventive special effects, thanks to technology Reitman senior could have only dreamt of back in the \u201980s.<\/p>\n

As the title suggests, freezing is significant, not least in the genuinely shocking pre-titles sequence, and there\u2019s more fun from a battalion of tiny Stay Puft marshmallow men, both referencing the original 1984 movie and nodding to the scene-stealing antics of gremlins and minions from other franchises.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hardly a spoiler to reveal that the good guys triumph at the end of a hugely entertaining couple of hours, and provided the makers maintain the so-far impressive quality control there\u2019s no reason why Phoebe and her folks shouldn\u2019t suit up and put the spectres in their place time and again. Let\u2019s face it, who else are you gonna call?<\/p>\n