The Hindu - International

Despite featuring two generation­s of Ghostbuste­rs, the apart from fan service

- Gopinath.raj@thehindu.co.in

hostbuster­s’ cultural impact has been so gargantuan that one’s pop culture repertoire is not complete without knowing what terms like Ectomobile, Proton pack, PKE Meter, and Ghost traps stand for and if you don’t blurt out the word ‘Ghostbuste­rs’ every time you hear “Who you gonna call?”

But the much-beloved franchise’s reboot in 2016 was such a bomb that its studio decided to continue the original ƒlm canon with Ghostbuste­rs: Afterlife

(2021), which opened to mixed reviews. But if Afterlife didn’t work for you, then you should deƒnitely give the cold shoulder to Ghostbuste­rs: Frozen Empire,

which is an uninspirin­g sequel that o‰ers nothing new.

Jason Reitman’s Ghostbuste­rs: Afterlife

can be called an origin ƒlm for the new breed of Ghostbuste­rs who happen to be the descendant­s of the late Egon

Spengler. We were introduced to the nerdy Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), her wannabe-adult brother Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), their mother Callie (Carrie Coon) and former teacher turned Callie’s boyfriend, Gary (Paul Rudd). In the sequel, they have embodied their quirks and the dysfunctio­nal team that’s somehow operationa­l is introduced in the thick of the action as they zip through the Big Apple trying to take down the Hell’s Kitchen Sewage Dragon. Of course, the ƒlm has a bigger baddie, in the form of Garraka, a demonic ice god, and the usual interperso­nal bonding tropes and a

GDirector:

Gil Kenan

Cast: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani

Storyline: An ancient icy monster is out to create havoc and it’s up to the Ghostbuste­rs to turn on the heat barrage of cameos and Easter eggs to target the fans of the original ƒlms.

Speaking of the original ƒlms, they were light-hearted, charming comedy entertaine­rs and one of the pioneers of lacing the supernatur­al genre with humour; something that proved to be the formula for a slew of franchises over the years. Frozen Empire, for some reason, takes itself a little too seriously. If the fact that it actually starts with a quote from Robert Frost’s poem Fire and Ice does not drive home the point, the lack of quality humour makes a case for it. Not to mention how the ƒlm throws random

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