Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire fails to thaw hearts, disappointing fans and casual viewers alike

Fans were vexed at one of their cherished movies being poor. This time around too, Frozen Empire disappoints.

Hyderabad: A trip down memory lane and the feeling of nostalgia are not enough to save a franchise. We have reached a stage where revamps are running solely on the concept of nostalgia.

If one looks beyond that, one would be disappointed. Actors like Tom Cruise and Jason Mamoa learned that the hard way. I sincerely hope director Gil Kenan learns that early.

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What worked for Ghostbusters Afterlife was the failure of the reboot of Ghostbusters. Fans were vexed at one of their cherished movies being poor. This time around too, Frozen Empire disappoints. Luckily though, it follows the sequence of the original and not the reboot.

It has been three years since the Summerville event. Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), his sister Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), their mother Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon) her boyfriend Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), and close friends Lucky Domingo (Celeste O’Connor) and Podcast (Logan Kim), relocate to New York City to aid Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) and Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) in re-establishing the Ghostbusters.

Post capturing a ghost in Hell’s Kitchen, their nemesis – an over-zealous inspector for the Environmental Protection Agency, Walter Peck (William Atherton) threatens to close them down.

Phoebe is grounded and runs in a ghost named Melody, a chess prodigy. Melody has her own agenda and uses Phoebe to release Garraka. Does Garraka succeed in freezing the world (not Hell), why did Melody use Phoebe, will the world we know be saved is what the rest of the film is all about.

With revamps of successful franchises like Superman, Mummy, Hell Boy, Conan and the likes failing to go beyond the nostalgia affect, Gil Kenan should have put in a bit more of effort.

There is a very bad mashup of the past and the present. Just when you want to enjoy the presence of a character from the yester years, you are introduced to a character from the present.

At least, Afterlife had worked in setting up a strong premise. Frozen Empire, however, fails to keep the audience hooked to the story or happenings. It is not that the movie does not have its moments. It does make up its lack of substance with CGI.

The introduction of Kumail Nanjiani as Nadeem Razmaadi adds the much-needed comic relief. It is interesting to see Annie Potts reprise her role and not play Mee Maa in Young Sheldon. The generation that does not know about the franchise may find the 115-minute outing a tad interesting. Others will definitely not enjoy it.

It is surprising to see actors like Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon or Bill Murray not be able to carry the film on their shoulders. Ghostbusters always dealt with introducing ghosts early on in the film. This too takes time. Kenan falls short of recapturing the essence of the franchise and tap into his predecessors’ success.

True fans will be hugely disappointed. Others may fail to connect. This is too frozen even in summer.