Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire continues the story of the Spengler family, who have now moved from Oklahoma to New York City.
The Production: 3.5/5
Paranormal activity has been on the rise in New York City once again, so it’s a good thing that the Ghostbusters are back in business. The Spengler family – mother Callie (Carrie Coon), son Trevor (Finn Wolfgard), daughter Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) along with mom’s boyfriend and Phoebe’s former summer school teacher Gary (Paul Rudd) – are the ones chasing ghosts having moved from Oklahoma to the Big Apple, often destroying property in the process. This does not sit well with the city’s new mayor (and former EPA agent) Walter Peck (William Atherton), who reminds Callie that her daughter Phoebe is a minor, and therefore cannot be a Ghostbuster. Handling the technology side of Ghostbusters is philanthropist (and former Ghostbuster ) Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), who funds a secret lab perfecting and improving Evan Spengler’s technology.
Ghost sightings increase dramatically after Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani) sells some of his late grandmother’s trinkets, including an ancient brass orb, to former Ghostbuster Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd). When Ray tests the orb with his PKE meter, it spikes with telekinetic energy, causing an earthquake in Ray’s shop and sends a frozen underground spike directly into the Ghostbusters ghost containment unit, releasing every ghost captured since 1984. It seems that long ago, Garraka was imprisoned inside that orb for trying to wipe out the human race, and he has now been awakened and wants out.
It’s fairly obvious what is about to happen, but the movie comes to an almost complete stop until that obvious occurs nearly an hour later, taking its time reintroducing us to more characters from the previous film Ghostbusters: Afterlife that also just happened to move to New York City, Podcast (Logan Kim) and Lucky (Celeste O’Connor), plus new characters like Dr. Hubert Wartzki (Patton Oswalt), lead scientist Lars (James Acaster), and Pheobe’s new ghost friend Melody (Emily Alyn Lind). Also along for the ride are OG characters Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) and Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts).
Similar to Afterlife, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire plays lots of fan service with callbacks to the first two films in the franchise (some are so quick that if you blink, you will miss them), but this time out the movie doesn’t rely as heavily on that. The performances all around are very good, there’s just a lot of them to try and keep track of. The problem with this entry is the screenplay by Gil Kenan & Jason Reitman that lacks some good one-liners and pacing. Kenan took the director’s chair this time out of respect for the sudden passing of Ivan Reitman, the director of the first two films and father to co-writer Jason (who directed the previous entry). Kenan is familiar with this type of material, having directed Monster House and the 2015 remake of Poltergeist, and for the most part, his direction on this film is competent, but it is that middle hour that really bogs this film down.
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
Ghostbusters: Afterlife was shot digitally on Arri Alexa LF Mini cameras and completed as a 4K digital intermediate in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Vision high dynamic range for its premium theatrical engagements. Sony’s 2160p HEVC encode is nearly perfect. Colors are bold and vivid where necessary with nice gradations in tones. Detail is excellent, revealing intricate facial features in close-ups and fabric textures. Contrast is extraordinary, with deep blacks and strong shadow detail, giving the film image some nice depth.
Audio: 5/5
The default audio on the UHD disc is Dolby Atmos (with Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core), that is demo-worthy. Surrounds are hyperactive, utilizing the height speakers not only for sounds of items flying overhead, but also adding some real depth to the voice of Garraka with some heavy lifting assistance from LFE. Dialogue is clear and understandable throughout. The included Blu-ray edition, per Sony’s policy, defaults with DTS-HD MA 5.1.
Special Features: 4/5
UHD Disc
Audio Commentary with Director and Co-Writer Gil Kenan: This is an interesting commentary track as Kenan discusses the origins of this sequel, points out many of the Easter Eggs, and the movie’s production.
Blu-ray Disc
Return to the Firehouse: Making “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” (1080p; 21:40): This is not your typical EPK behind the scenes quickie. The cast and crew discuss many aspects of making the film, especially the attention to detail of reconstructing the interior set of the firehouse.
Busted: Capturing the Ghosts of “Frozen Empire” (1080p; 11:28): The cast and crew discuss the various designs of the ghosts in the film, but only scratches the surface on the visual effects created for the film.
Easter Eggs Unleashed (1080p; 6:34): Director Gil Kenan runs through some of the many Easter Eggs found in the film.
Audio Commentary with Director and Co-Writer Gil Kenan
Manifesting Garraka (1080p; 3:55): A look at the film’s villain.
New York, New Gear (1080p; 7:05): A look at many of the new gadgets in the film.
Welcome to the Paranormal Discovery Center (1080p; 4:44): A look at the research center.
Knowing the Score (1080p; 6:33): A look at the score and how it pays tribute to Elmer Bernstein’s score for the first film.
Deleted Scenes (1080p; 8:44): Six scenes are included.
Digital Copy: A Movies Anywhere code is included to redeem a 4K digital copy. Apple TV and Fandango at Home will give you Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos on your digital copy, but if you watch on the Movies Anywhere app, as is the case with every single Sony m vie on their app, you only get HDR10 and Dolby 5.1.
Overall: 4/5
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a great looking and sounding UHD disc, with a fun first and third act, but the second act gets bogged down with reintroducing way too many characters and doesn’t really build up its climax as well as it should.
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