Like a wave of eerie mist, the reviews for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire are rolling in, and there’s definitely a persistent theme across all of them: Kumail Nanjiani is the film’s secret weapon.
As a direct sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Frozen Empire catches up with the Spengler kids as they join Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) in New York to become a new generation of the iconic team. How well that concept lands will vary, but for the most part, the early reviews say Frozen Empire has enough going for it to clear the low bar set by the franchise’s first attempt at a sequel: the lackluster Ghostbusters II.
That being said, Frozen Empire isn’t exactly knocking socks off, but Nanjiani is repeatedly cited for bringing back a much needed element to the franchise: comedy. Afterlife leaned way too far into the franchise’s wobbly science, and Frozen Empire has that problem, too, but Nanjiani does his best to bring the Ghosbusters back to their comedy roots.
You can see what the critics are saying below:
Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter:
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire tries hard, very hard, to satisfy the series’ fans with plenty of nostalgic throwbacks and mainly succeeds. It’s not nearly as good as the classic 1984 original, but then again, neither was 1989’s Ghostbusters II, and that one was directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, all of whom were responsible for the original. So the fact that this installment manages to be as much fun as it is represents a minor triumph.
Kristy Puchko, Mashable:
Ignoring the Paul Feig venture with Melissa McCarthy, this string of horror-comedies ties to 1984’s Ghostbusters and its 1989 sequel, Ghostbusters II, but has doubled down on lore, following the family of the late Egon Spengler. This makes for a new chapter that is overcrowded with characters, CGI ghouls, and science yelling. While at points, there’s jokes that actually land (thanks to the likes of Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt), overall, this sequel is a confounding mix of fan service and inexplicable choices meant to cater to a broad audience.
Owen Gleiberman, Variety:
[Kumail] Nanjiani is so nonchalant about this that he becomes the movie’s spark plug, and in doing so I think he points the way toward where this franchise should go. “Ghostbusters II” was a mild and flavorless sequel. The 2016 reboot, while unfairly bashed for its gender flip, was too polite — it lacked the postmodern center of gravity provided, in the original film, by Murray’s malarkey. “Afterlife,” to me, just sat there. “Frozen Empire” has enough going on in it to connect, but now that Jason Reitman and company have brought this series back to life, it’s time to re-infuse it with the spirit that Kumail Nanjiani brings. In a “Ghostbusters” film, the laughter should be more than just a ghost of itself.
Damon Wise, Deadline:
As opposed to The Dial of Destiny, which leaned way too hard into the modern-day appeal of an action hero who’s now 80, the new-era Ghostbusters is determined to start from scratch, and it’s telling that this film, like its predecessor, is at its weakest when trying to work in cameos for original stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson.
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian:
We get some new character turns: standup comic James Acaster is stuck with the dull role of a boffin called Lars Pinfield, and is given pretty much nothing in the script to allow his natural comedy style to flourish. (The same, sadly, is also true of Rudd.) Patton Oswalt does his best, playing a feisty scholar of the netherworld called Dr Wartzki. But really among the new contingent the only person who actually brings the all-important comedy is Nanjiani, who has the correct spark of humour and subversion. The younger contingent are all too wide-eyed and innocent, while the senior class of 1984 are too detached.
Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com:
“Frozen Empire” seems more interested in the wacky antics of the miniature Stay-Puft Marshmallow Men, who are even more Minion-like than ever this time, and in celebrating the cultural phenomenon of the “Ghostbusters” franchise as a whole. Once again, this is a movie that repeatedly acknowledges that the Ray Parker Jr. theme song was a massive radio and MTV hit 40 years ago, even going so far as to include a bit of the original music video. But we’d all be better off singing a different tune at this point.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire slimes into theaters on March 22.
