As franchises go, Ghostbusters has been through quite a fascinating trajectory. With two successful mainline films in the ’80s, a 7 season television cartoon run in the ’90s, and a controversial 2016 reboot starring a female cast of comedians donning the jumpsuits, it was safe to assume that no matter what, the Ghostbusters films were comedies. That was until 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife was released: a film that takes Ghostbusters lore so seriously that it forgets to even attempt to be funny. This is a symptom of how Hollywood handles franchises post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Creatives like Jason Reitman (director of Afterlife and son of Ivan Reitman, who directed the original Ghostbusters) are so focused on what a modern audience wants out of a franchise, that they forget to do anything special or provocative, leaving the films unmemorable. With Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, there seems to have been a bit of a course correction. While embracing the new cast of characters and implementing the old cast earlier, the film can feel like a Ghostbusters entry from the beginning.

Frozen Empire starts with our main cast, 3 years post-Afterlife, living in the famous firehouse in New York, working as Ghostbusters. Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, and Mckenna Grace make up the family. Dan Akroyd plays a much larger part in the film than in the previous and he’s an extremely welcome addition. When the crew gets in trouble for causing a mess in New York City during a ghost chase, the biggest penalty is on Phoebe (Grace), a minor forced to sit out of future jobs. She’s a genius who is essentially the brains behind the operation, so she is devastated by the decision. Much of the film’s runtime focuses on Phoebe, whether it’s her secret missions with Ray (Akroyd) and Podcast, played by Logan Kim, or her budding friendship with Melody, a ghost played by Emily Alyn Lind.

The cast does not stop there. The original crew including Bill Murray, Annie Potts, and Ernie Hudson are joined by newcomers Kumail Nanjiani, James Acaster, and Patton Oswalt. You’d think a film with a large ensemble like this would have trouble finding things for everyone to do. You’d be right. The other characters get completely sidelined, especially Trevor (Wolfhard), who spends the entire film in a strange C-plot involving Slimer and Cheetos. Carrie Coon essentially plays a support role for the budding stepfather-stepdaughter relationship between Paul Rudd and Mckenna Grace. The stand out of the film is Nanjiani, who plays an artifact reselling hustler who becomes a key part of the plot. He’s operating somewhere between Rick Moranis and Pete Davidson surprisingly charmingly. It’s a shame that so many great names get so little screen time. Anytime Ernie Hudson is on screen, you long for a version of this film that knows what to do with him.

Co-writers Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan have switched places with Kenan directing the film. While Reitman’s film spent most of its time establishing the setting and introducing us to new characters, Frozen Empire has the benefit of not needing to be bogged down by origin story cliches and being a Ghostbusters movie from the get-go. This includes the jaunty Elmer Bernstein score that was so jarring in Afterlife but feels very welcome in this film. This time, Kenan and Reitman have found a balance between embracing the originals with easter eggs and references and bringing some fresh, original elements. The film has an exciting set piece in the New York Public Library where a ghost possesses a trash bag. It matches the tone of the originals while feeling as memorable as the first time you see the Library Ghost (who also makes a fun cameo) in the original film.

Your patience for nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake will be tested. The opening of the film shows a tv montage of Ghostbusters history in the world of the film, which includes actual toy advertisements from the ’80s, clips from Ghostbusters II, and most confusingly, the music video for Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr. Later in the film, Rudd makes a very long winded reference to the song to Carrie Coon’s character that stops you in your tracks. It’s the kind of thing you could either find funny and move on or get stuck on the canonical logic for hours, like posing any question about the Cars universe. You will have a blast if you’re a fan of hearing someone mention something from another film. Unfortunately for this reviewer, nostalgia bait has fatigued me like nothing else.

3 stars out of 5

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire improves on its predecessor since it does not waste time not being a Ghostbusters movie. The bustin’ starts from frame one! It’s quite fun and at 1 hour and 55 minutes, there’s a lot worse and longer sequels being released week to week.