"Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" Talkback (Spoilers)

[Yojimbo]

Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Release Date: March 22, 2024 (March 14 and 18 red carpet premiere screenings)
Studio: Sony Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Ghost Corps
Director: Gil Kenan
MPAA Rating: PG -13 (for supernatural action/violence, language and suggestive references)
Screenwriters: Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman
Starring: Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Logan Kim, Celeste O'Connor, Annie Potts, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, William Atherton, Patton Oswalt, Kumail Nanjiani, James Acaster, Emily Alyn Lind
Runtime: 125 minutes

Plot Summary: The Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who've developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But 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.

Related Links:
Ghostbusters General News & Discussion
Ghostbusters Talkback
Ghostbusters II Talkback
Ghostbusters III (Shelved) News & Discussion
Ghostbusters: Answer The Call Talkback Thread
Ghostbusters: Afterlife Talkback Thread
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire News Thread
Ghostbusters (Untitled Netflix Animated Series) News & Discussion Thread

External Links:
Ghostbusters.com
Ghostbusters on Twitter
Ghostbusters on instagram
Ghostbusters on facebook

 

[Pooky]

Not very good.

Sorry, I know that we've got some pretty big GB fans on this site (I’m a pretty big one myself) and I know GB fans are hurting a bit at the moment over how this film has been received, and I do sympathize. I think there are some criticisms against these two recent films that have been raised somewhat disingenuously, and I’ll say this much; it’s not true that Frozen Empire is just a nostalgia bait movie. It does try new things, it does point forward as well as back. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t coalesce.

I saw this at a “fan screening” with a theatre adorned with various Ghostbusters trinkets (Slimer and Stay Puft models, a Vigo painting, an Ecto-1 parked outside), gift bags on the way in, lot of people in Ghostbusters costumes (I settled for a humble T-Shirt), lots of excited kids in tow, so I certainly saw it under pretty optimal conditions. The first scene was pretty good and quite refreshing for the series, but from the second scene I started to feel something wasn’t quite working. As a comedy it has very few laughs and a lot of clunkers, as horror it’s occasionally spooky but rarely tense, as storytelling it’s jumbled, messy, overstuffed and overly reliant on some pretty clunky exposition. I like that the returning cast from the 84 film all have something a bit meatier than an extended cameo, but it’s not that engaging.

Trailers are also pretty misleading; yes, it’s good to be surprised, but not when what you’ve got in place is much less interesting. A lot of missing scenes across the promotional material too. All three of the recent Ghostbusters have the common maladies of Sony’s (live action) movies, they probably aren’t but feel like movies that filmed about six hours’ worth of material cut down to an unsatisfying and messy 2 hours, with a lot of setups and payoffs but no middle to make the journey feel rewarding.

Despite being an audience of fans, it didn’t get much of a reaction, certainly not many laughs. Still, word is it’s just about come out on top of Afterlife’s opening weekend, I sort of suspect there may be a big drop-off with Godzilla x Kong coming out next weekend, but this might not be the end of this line. Hopefully, most of the people making up those numbers enjoyed it more than me.

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

Saw Frozen Empire over two weeks ago and while I enjoyed it, it's definitely not as great as Afterlife.

 

[Yojimbo]

Digital release is tomorrow. List of special features included.

 

[Pooky]

Despite not really being a fan of the film, I will buy the Blu-ray if it retains these extras. Maybe not at full price, but at some point. It's a shame that alternate cuts for home media seems to mostly be a thing of the past, or at least it's a shame in this case.

 

[Yojimbo]

5/7: Digital home release PR.

First seven minutes of the movie.


Special features preview.


5/8: 4K/Blu-ray/DVD release is reportedly June 24.

5/14: June 25 confirmed for 4K/Blu-ray/DVD.