Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Come on, people, it's not THAT bad. People acting like this movie killed their dog. I'm not gonna be so contrarian as to say this is some misunderstood masterpiece, because it isn't. It is flawed, unquestionably so, and in ways it really shouldn't be. The bloated cast makes the movie feel over-stuffed and under-baked. I've seen much criticism saying the main characters are under-developed, and on that I would disagree, because they are returning characters. We know them already. The problem is that nobody gets a chance to do much beyond move the convoluted plot forward. Paul Rudd gets a few quips in there, and the few threads of the relationship between he and Carrie Coon are fun, but not really explored. Mckenna Grace likewise gets few moments to be the breakout star that she was in Afterlife, and is sidelined with a weird subplot with a teenage ghost that does connect with the main story, but feels like it didn't need to happen the way it does. Finn Wolfhard is credited as acting in this, but he's barely above a cameo. Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt did not need to be here. There was better ways to execute the roles they play. But then there's the returning originals. Winston, I'm all about. He serves a purpose. Ray serves a purpose. Venkman, Janine, and Walter Peck did not need to be there. They're the worst kind of fan service. It panders, it says "LOOK AT PEOPLE YOU REMEMBER!", relying on nostalgia as an emotional crutch rather than to inform the new with a familiar foundation. And then there's the plot itself, which is so messy and scattered, it can be hard to follow, and is not helped by hectic editing that bounces the viewer from one place to another with no connecting thread. And yet ... I still had fun. It didn't fill me with childlike excitement like 1984 did, and it didn't pull on my heartstrings and give me a lovely story of family and grief like Afterlife did. It gave me Ghostbusters stuff. It was energetic, it never bored me, and it had a fresh villain that challenged the Ghostbusters in a new way. I like the idea of the Spengler family (and Rudd) living in the firehouse, treating it like a residence that just so happens to require them perform this job that don't want to do and are definitely unqualified for. Mckenna Grace's Phoebe is older now and has the sass of a teenager, and rightfully so; it would've been wrong to force her to be as adorable and awkward as she was in Afterlife. The banter between Coon and Rudd is nice and feels natural. And they canonized Ghostbusters 2! Sure, it's not a great movie -- barely a good one -- but it's nice they didn't pull a Halloween 2018. If you didn't like Afterlife, this isn't convincing you of anything, and I would advise just stay away. If you liked Afterlife, as long as you go in with more measured expectations, I think you'll be fine. It's not the dire train wreck a lot of people say it is. It's just not everything it could be.