घोस्टबस्टर्स: फ्रोज़न एम्पायर

Watched this film today and spent the whole time trying to articulate what was wrong with it to myself. Basically I didn't hate it and I didn't love it. It was competently made, good effects, some comedic moments and good set pieces. But it just didn't feel like something derived from a SNL skit. The joy of ghostbusters was that it was free wheeeling, that it was anarchic. That, similar to the Blues Brothers, somebody had allowed a bunch of slackers to spend millions on making a movie which to coin Bill Murray from Meatballs "just didn't matter". Afterlife was touching and sweet, looking back at that time with a smile and a wink. This however, was just a generic family action movie, using the brand name of the ghostbusters. It left me indifferent.

I saw this film twice because I wanted to see it with my Ghostbusters fan friend and see if this film got better with my second viewing. I seriously wanted to love this movie. The TV spots and trailers looked awesome. This had to be the best Ghostbusters sequel yet! Nope. In fact, this might be the worst.

There's a great Ghostbusters film in this movie. There really is but studio meddling hurt the film. My first time viewing it, I walked out of the film feeling like I just got out of work. Throughout most of the film I struggled to care about anything going on and I was drained. When the actual Ghostbusters show up, I perked up a little bit. However, I should be loving this. All that stuff at the library should have been beyond exciting but not even that.

Then when I saw it again, I figured out the exact moment when I stopped caring and I struggled to get that same investment I had in the film up to this point. That scene is when Phoebe and Podcast and go into that diner for a ghost call and Phoebes ghost girlfriend is sitting at one of the tables. It was that moment and that moment on where my investment in the film cratered and I tried desperately to get back into the film.

These two characters are nothing but a vacuum that sucks the fun and investment of the film into a netherworld that you will never get back. Their scenes mainly consist of "Hey hey sure whatever" and I'm left shouting "what is the point? Move forward! Stop wasting time." And apparently, the studio told the filmmakers they had to cut 20 minutes of this movie two weeks before it premiered. Why werent these scenes cut down?

So many characters and scenes could have gotten the axe with the plethora of characters flooding this film to the point where they move the brother to Slimer duties that had no real purpose in the film. Sunny and Podcast return and add nothing. They should have eliminated them and gave the scenes from Podcast to the brother.

But theres lots to like too. Dan Ackroyd is at his best here and I'm glad Winston and Murray return too. They have a couple cool new ghosts like Pukey and Possessor that were great additions and say what you want about the new villain, but at least finally the Ghostbusters face a new villain.

I'm hoping for a directors cut because there is a lot to like in a movie that is dragged down by an extremely boring subplot that gives you Rings of Power vibes in a potentially great Ghostbusters film.

It's a big-budget blockbuster with an extensive all-star cast of both legends and rising stars, a menacing other-worldly threat, and it leverages an iconic intellectual property that brings nostalgia to an audience who grew up watching cartoons that bordered on marketing brainwashing, so hypothetically 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' has all of the elements for a great movie. Unfortunately it just isn't one.

It's not awful, but it's definitely not 'great'. The cast is bloated, so it feels like a series of SNL sketches cut together. The main plot thread, Phoebe, is probably the least interesting character they could have chosen for the lead plot line. The handling of her character was heavy-handed and pandering. Yes there were sex jokes in the old movies, but Bill Murray's romance stories in the originals were one of their least interesting aspects, and apparently my distaste for romance stories in Ghostbusters movies has not changed.

The effects, sound, music, cinematography and general production value are of high quality. The acting is across the board because there're a zillion actors.

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' snatches defeat from the jaws of victory in an effort to appeal to modern audiences, leading to a forgettable middle entry to what is likely a string of movies that are already declining in quality at a predictable rate.

This film is the epitome of okay. It relies on a fairly bland, standard plot with tepid, generation spanning humor. It's an offensively inoffensive product, which takes few risks while attempting to cater to a generic corporate vision of the 'standard audience'.

Most of the performances are adequate. It includes a large and diverse cast of all your favorite new, forgettable characters, played by actors from better films.

Perhaps most importantly, the film overflows with member berries and nostalgia bait for product craving consumers of all ages and backgrounds.

And in a financial sense, the corporate entities and creators behind the film were moderately successful, earning over $200 million dollars on a film with a $100 million dollar budget. Truly, a triumph in generic corporate film-making.

Wanted to love it, the previous movie was great, had that Ghostbusters feel.

This movie however, even though it has all the parts needed, was well shot and looked decent enough, had plenty of stars and the original cast, was just dull. Felt like an obligation. Comes across like the first draft and they just said "yeah go with that"..it's low energy low fun low everything. You won't hate it, but you'll probably lose interest half way through and you'd never watch it a second time. Maybe it was a contractual obligation that they make one in a certain amount of time or something, don't know, but it's disappointing.