Lamar Reviews - "Ghostbusters - Frozen Empire" (Airdate 3/29/2024)

Here we are, once again, with a great movie that hit it out of the park, then the second one suffered from everyone remembering the original. The third one flipped the script with a fresh take, Kate McKinnon and the rest did a great job that even director Paul Feig couldn’t mess up. The fourth one handed the ball off to a new generation of Ghost Busters, honored Harold Ramis, and was a classy way to call it quits. But sadly, it made just a little bit too much money, and greed said, “I think we are good for one more!” So now it ends with a whimper, and the lowest rating of the five.

I don’t say that because it is horrible, it’s not. It just does not give us anything new. It doesn’t bring any glamor to an already well known name. The main problem here is too many actors and not enough movie to go around. It is very crowded. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts all make cameos that really don’t do anything. We just get to see them hang around.

The problem with that is it takes away a lot of screen time and lines of the newcomers from the 2021 movie. Phoebe, played by McKenna Grace, who does a really good job, gets the majority of the storyline and screen time. Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd are prevalent, but most of their energy is spent trying to make teenage Phoebe happy and getting her to accept Gary as a father figure.

The plot, such as it is, involves an ancient artifact that of course has a demon god trapped inside, that when released will destroy the world and bring on the end of time. The ghostbusters cause a lot of damage while chasing ghosts and catch the attention of Mayor Peck, played by William Atherton. You may not recognize the name, but you know the face. He was in the original Ghostbusters and is the guy who played the reporter in Diehard that Holy McClane punches at the end of the movie. He has made a good living as the go-to actor when a director is looking for a jerk. He has appeared in 84 movies and TV shows.

When you watch the trailers with the panic on the beach as huge icicles come up out of the ground, but manage to miss everyone, you are set for action. This action does not occur until over halfway into the movie, and it is a little underwhelming. The CGI is great, and the villain has a cool look, he’s just not exciting.

The Movie feels a little long at 1 hour 55 minutes, Rated PG-13 supernatural action/violence, language and suggestive references.

I didn’t hate the movie, there were some good performances, but it was not a movie that needed to be made. I’m sure this will be the last one, the box office will guarantee that.

My Score: 3 Buds