Forty years after "Ghostbusters" and following a string of sequels that never measured up to the 1984 original -- beginning all the way back with 1989's "Ghostbusters II" -- it's fair to wonder, well, who else ought we to call? It may be time to, if not give up the ghost entirely, at least give a flip through the ol' rolodex.
But as the lackluster 2021 installment, "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" showed, the half life of most film franchises today is an ever-lengthening long tail of diminishing returns. Though the options are many, sucking "Ghostbusters" dry would make a prime exhibit in Hollywood's nostalgia fix.
Still, it's not quite as simple as that. I'm glad for the female-led 2016 "Ghostbusters." Aside from prompting a minor culture war, it assembled the best comic ensemble since the original with Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and, yes, Chris Hemsworth.
And as easy as it might be to label the new one, "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire," another half-hashed retread -- which it is, a little bit -- it's also a significant upgrade from "Afterlife," which relocated the action to Oklahoma and forgot to pack any comedy. "Frozen Empire," back, thankfully, in New York, is a breezier, more serviceable sequel that has a modest charm as an '80-tinged family adventure.
"Frozen Empire" is organized less around a group of funny people wearing proton packs than it is around a family. The movie more or less opens with the Ectomobile racing down Fifth Avenue with Gary (Paul Rudd) at the wheel, Callie (Carrie Coon) riding shotgun and her kids -- Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) -- in the back, all in bickering pursuit of a "sewer dragon" apparition.
The cast is much the same as "Afterlife," but the behind-the-scenes talent has been rejiggered. After Jason Reitman took over directing from his father, Ivan Reitman, he here is credited as a producer and writer. Gil Kenan, who co-wrote "Afterlife," directs "Frozen Empire," which is dedicated to the elder Reitman, who died in 2022.
More than before, you can feel the growing distance from the original "Ghostbusters." Harold Ramis died in 2014 and while Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson all return, they no longer feel like the axis to this cinematic universe.
"Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire," a Sony Pictures release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for supernatural action/violence, language and suggestive references. Running time: 115 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
This image released by Columbia Pictures shows, from left, Mckenna Grace, Logan Kim, Dan Aykroyd and Patton Oswalt in a scene from "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire." (Jaap Buitendijk/Columbia Pictures/Sony via AP)
This image released by Columbia Pictures shows Mckenna Grace in a scene from "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire." (Jaap Buitendijk/Columbia Pictures/Sony via AP)
This image released by Columbia Pictures shows Dan Aykroyd, left, and Kumail Nanjiani in a scene from "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire." (Jaap Buitendijk/Columbia Pictures/Sony via AP)
This image released by Columbia Pictures shows Mckenna Grace in a scene from "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire." (Jaap Buitendijk/Columbia Pictures/Sony via AP)
This image released by Columbia Pictures shows, from left, Celeste O'Connor, Finn Wolfhard, James Acaster, Logan Kim and Dan Aykroyd in a scene from "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire." (Jaap Buitendijk/Columbia Pictures/Sony via AP)
This image released by Columbia Pictures shows a scene from "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire." (Columbia Pictures/Sony via AP)
This image released by Columbia Pictures shows a scene from "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire." (Columbia Pictures/Sony via AP)