Blu-ray + DVD + Digital
Label: SPHE
Region-Code: Region-Free
Rating: PG-13
Duration: 115 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround French (Doublé au Québec), Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English & French (Doublé au Québec) Audio Description Track 5.1 Dolby Digital with Optional, English, French, Spanish Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Gil Kenan
Cast: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, McKenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts
In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where the franchise began, back in New York City at the old firehouse! Returning from the last film are Spangler's estranged daughter Callie (Carrie Coon, TV's Fargo) and her boyfriend Gary Gooberson (Paul Rudd, Ant-Man), her genius daughter Phoebe (Mckenna Grace, The Haunting of Hill House) and awkward son Trevor (Finn Wolfhard, Stranger Things). At the start of the film they're on patrol in the Ecto-1 chasing a ghost through the streets and causing quite a bit of destruction with errant proton pack streams, which puts them in a bad-way with the newly elected mayor, who just so happens to be Walter Peck (William Atherton, The Sugarland Express) - the EPA prick from the original film who had it out for the Ghostbusters then, and let's just say that time has not healed all wounds.
In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where the franchise began, back in New York City at the old firehouse! Returning from the last film are Spangler's estranged daughter Callie (Carrie Coon, TV's Fargo) and her boyfriend Gary Gooberson (Paul Rudd, Ant-Man), her genius daughter Phoebe (Mckenna Grace, The Haunting of Hill House) and awkward son Trevor (Finn Wolfhard, Stranger Things). At the start of the film they're on patrol in the Ecto-1 chasing a ghost through the streets and causing quite a bit of destruction with errant proton pack streams, which puts them in a bad-way with the newly elected mayor, who just so happens to be Walter Peck (William Atherton, The Sugarland Express) - the EPA prick from the original film who had it out for the Ghostbusters then, and let's just say that time has not healed all wounds.
Also returning are Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson, Leviathan) who runs a paranormal research center now, and its him that Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd, Dragent) who brings a powerful brass relic that threatens to unleash a frozen Hell on Earth, which he acquires from the shifty Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani, The Eternals), who may or may not be the next-gen of an ancient order of ghost-busters known as FireMasters. It's the evil inside, known as Garraka, that is the big bad this go around and it's a pretty decent evil baddie I must say.
Also new this time around is a mythological lore xpert Dr. Hubert Wartzki (Patton Oswalt, Observe & Report) and a seemingly friendly ghost named Melody (Emily Alyn Lind, Doctor Sleep) who befriends the increasingly lonely Phoebe, who is increasingly desperate for a friend to talk to.
I saw the original Ghostbusters on my 11th birthday at the cinema, when I saw the TV spot for it I told my parents I don't want a birthday party, I just want to go see Ghostbusters, and that's what we did, and it's pretty much been my favorite film of all-time ever-since. There's just something so very special about that first film, they really captured lightning in a bottle; it's firing on all-cylinders, the script is tight, the comic cast is perfection, and the phantasmagoric special effects were absolutely jaw-dropping. Not even the sequel Ghostbusters II managed to capture that same peculiar magic, but I am a total mark for any Ghostbusters sequel that has come along since the OG. I am not a total hater of the female-led reboot, but I will say that it certainly didn't recapture the magic of the original, not even close, and it's probably telling I have only ever watched it twice since the cinema. I do actually love Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which was directed by Jason Reitman (Juno), the son of the original Ghostbusters films Ivan Reitman (Meatballs), it's touching tribute to his father's legacy, and I loved the rural setting and how they connected the dots there with Spengler's estranged family. During that finale when the spectral Egon show's up there were tears running down my cheeks, sure that might just be the nostalgia of it all, but it worked for me, so I had high expectation for the sequel.
Did I enjoy Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire? Hell yes, did I love it, not quite as much as I love the first film or Ghostbusters :Afterlife, but I did have blast watching it, imperfect though it may be. The main cast still won me over, the dysfunctional family dynamic still works, but it feels more like a warm retread this time around, but Rudd is still the film's best comic asset.
I thought that bringing Phoebe's pal Podcast (Logan Kim, The Walking Dead: Dead City), who has matured a lot since the last film, and Trevor's girlfriend Lucky (Celeste O'Connor, Madame Web) as employees at Zeddemore's lab felt extraneous and forced, it's not terrible, but they just do not have much to do this time around. Bringing Oswalt and Nanjiani on board were top-not additions though, as is Lind as the ghostly almost love-interest for Phoebe. Of course Zeddemore, Peter Venkman (Bill Murray, Groundhog Day) and Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts, Who's Harry Crumb?) end-up gear-up for a proper final showdown with the big bad, which brought a big smile to my face, and we get the return of Slimer as well for a few brief scenes that also brought a smile.
I thought the big bad was pretty creepy, very menacing as it spreading an ice-covered Armageddon across NYC, and when he faces off against the Spenglers and the OG ghostbusters crew I also like the way the traditional proton-packs prove useless, turning the streams into ice, which was a cool effect, forcing the ghostbusters to improvise a new game planthanks to gal-genius Phoebe. I enjoyed pumped-up action this time around, the return to the familiar NYV environs, and the fantastical special effects. While I thought it lacked the heart of Ghostbusters: Afterlife was still an entertaining ghostbusting romp, not a classic, but a fun popcorn muncher that I liked quite a bit with plenty of nostalgic Easter eggs, whole also sort of handing off the franchise to the next gen of Spenglers.
Audio/Video: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) arrives on Blu-ray from Sony in 1080p HD framed in 2.39:1 widescreen. A big budget studio flick that's digitally shot and looks pretty fantastic in HD with excellent color reproduction and deep black levels. Fine detail is excellent, textures look wonderful, and the blend of practical and digital VFX shine in HD. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround with optional English subtitles. The track is full-bodied and offers a wide soundstage with plenty of nuance and bombast, the supernatural thrillride gets a top-notch audio presentation and the score by Dario Marianelli (V for Vendetta) sounds wonderful. I was a little unhappy that we don;t get the Atmos upgrade from the UHD, but the DTS-HD still sounds terrific.
Plenty of EPK style extras for this one, we get 9-min of Deleted & Extended Scenes (Headlines, I'm am a Doctor, Ghost-chopper, News Report, Rooftop Consolation, Slime Bath), the 7-min Easter Eggs Unleashed; the 22-min Return to the Firehouse: Making Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the 12-min Busted: Capturing the Ghosts of Frozen Empire; 4-min Manifesting Garraka, 7-min New York, New Gear, 5-min Welcome to the Paranormal Discovery Center; 7-min Knowing the Score, plusan Audio Commentary with Director, Co-Writer Gil Kenan; and Trailers for Garfield, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Gran Turismo. Madame Web. The 2-disc BD/DBD arrives in a dual-hubbed keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork, plus a Slipcover with the same artwork. Inside is a redemption code for a digital HD copy of the film.
Special Features:
- Deleted & Extended Scenes: Headlines, I'm am a Doctor, Ghost-chopper, News Report, Rooftop Consolation, Slime Bath (8:44)
- Easter Eggs Unleashed (6:34)
- Return to the Firehouse: Making Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (21:40)
- Busted: Capturing the Ghosts of Frozen Empire (11:38)
- Manifesting Garraka (3:55)
- New York, New Gear (7:05) .
- Welcome to the Paranormal Discovery Center (4:44)
- Knowing the Score (6:33)
- Audio Commentary with Director, Co-Writer Gil Kenan
- Trailers: Garfield (2:31), Across the Spider-Verse (2:38), Gran Turismo (2:33), Madame Web (2:34)
- Slipcover
Buy it!
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