Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Gil Kenan

Cast: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, McKenna Grace

Release Date: June 25, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 6.5/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:

In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.

‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ rejoins the Spengler family who have relocated to New York and taken over the iconic Firehouse where the original ghostbusting team was located, picking up the mantle as protectors of the city’s more peculiar and paranormal related situations while working with a newly created research department that searches tirelessly for new ways to combat these threats. But when an ancient artifact lost for generations resurfaces it unleashes a terrifying new threat that could send New York into an ice age in the middle of summer and will require both generations of ghostbusters in order to stand any chance of stopping it before all is lost.

Directed this time around by Gil Kenan (Monster House, Poltergeist 2015) from a screenplay written by Gil Kenan & Jason Reitman (Ghostbusters: Afterlife), Kenan does a capable job for the most part at the helm of ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ guiding along the fun and excitement with style but absent of the notable heart that its predecessor had in abundance. The film’s cast features numerous new and returning stars and includes Paul Rudd (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), Carrie Coon (Widows), Finn Wolfhard (TV’s Stranger Things), McKenna Grace (Annabelle Comes Home), Kumail Nanjiani (Eternals), Patton Oswalt (80 For Brady), Ernie Hudson (Champions), Annie Potts (TV’s Young Sheldon), Celeste O’Connor (Madame Web), Logan Kim (TV’s The Walking Dead: Dead City), Emily Alyn Lind (Doctor Sleep), James Acaster (Cinderella 2021), Bill Murray (The French Dispatch), Dan Aykroyd (Tammy) and William Atherton (The Crow: Salvation) who each offer solid or at least fitting performances in their respective roles.

‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ is an enjoyable new installment in the series that serves up some entertaining moments, humorous antidotes and a big new baddie for both generations of our heroes to confront this time around, while taking things back to New York City and the iconic firehouse that the original series stars called home. Its heart is certainly in the right place and while it’s great to return to where it all started not to mention once again featuring plenty of familiar faces, ‘Frozen Empire’ isn’t quite able to reach the level of wonder, heart and intensity that ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ managed to capture which helped to insert some new life and youth into the beloved franchise. Part of the struggle this time around seems to be the film’s inability to capably juggle a few too many storylines and characters while still finding key moments and situations to let each shine in their own right, instead often feeling like they just rolled the dice and decided what characters to put where and then tried to balance around it.

‘Frozen Empire’ is far from a terrible film and it has quite a bit going for it including an eerie new villain and plenty of other spirits running amok as well as allowing some time for our new lead Phoebe to try and find her place in the world when she starts to get left out due to her age. The action and chase sequences are well crafted and not only visually impressive but extremely fun, yet perhaps most surprising are that they also seem to be much fewer and farther between this time around, especially during the first half or two thirds of the film which often drags more than you might expect, especially for a ‘Ghostbusters’ movie.

Overall, ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ is a largely entertaining ride that brings back the characters from both generations of the franchise and returns them to the New York setting where it all began, but while it’s visually outstanding in the effects department and has plenty of fun to offer, it tends to struggle while trying to juggle so many characters and situations. Fans of the franchise will almost surely still have a good deal of fun with this one and it’s recommended for anyone that’s a fan of the series but hasn’t yet had the pleasure of ‘Frozen Empire’ who should each at the very least find it worth your time and the price of a rental. It keeps the viewer engaged and entertained adequately enough throughout, but it’s hard not to notice the lack of heart and passion that was so prominent the last time around in ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks spectacular across the board and delivers a rich, clean and beautifully detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any noticeable faults or problems to be uncovered throughout. Detail is crystal clear on everything from characters (both living and ghost) to the firehouse and the city streets, while the Dolby Vision HDR complements nearly all of it by providing some more realistic and vibrant colors noticeable on clothing, ghosts and plenty of other elements. Overall, this is an outstanding Ultra High Definition video presentation that’s consistently flawless and should have viewers thrilled.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is an absolute blast and provides a clean, crisp and wildly aggressive audio presentation throughout. It constantly utilizes all seven available channels in order to send a flurry of activity throughout the various speakers including music, vehicle and action effects, plus nature effects, crowd chatter and plenty more, all while never resulting in any dialogue or other audio elements becoming problematic in the process. Overall, this is a phenomenal Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that repeatedly adds to the fun and excitement of the viewing experience.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ features a nice helping of bonus content which can be found on the included Blu-ray disc. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary with Director, Co-Writer Gil Kenan’ which is featured on both discs, while the Blu-ray additionally includes some ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the movie (running approximately 9 minutes in length altogether) along with some Behind the Scenes Featurettes that include interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more. The included Featurettes are ‘Return to the Firehouse: Making Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ (running approximately 22 minutes in length), ‘Busted: Capturing the Ghosts of Frozen Empire’ (running approximately 11 minutes), ‘Easter Eggs Unleashed’ (approximately 6 minutes), ‘Manifesting Garraka’ (4 minutes), ‘New York, New Gear’ (7 minutes), ‘Welcome to the Paranormal Discovery Center’ (5 minutes) and ‘Knowing the Score’ (6 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 6.5/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

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‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Ghost Corps, Columbia Pictures & Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

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You can purchase your copy of ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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