This is a Snappy Title for a “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” Movie Review

When it comes to mainstream bollywood, there is a term that Indians use to refer to films that have no substance or redeeming qualities short of unexceptional entertainment, called “timepass”. I didn’t need to define it, but I need to get to a word count, so Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. 

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire can only be aptly described as timepass. The film is overcrowded with characters, references to the previous film, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and two films before that, Ghostbusters II, and three films before that, Ghostbusters, but not the film directly before, Ghostbusters. If you thought my previous sentence was busy, you’ll be mildly surprised to find that it is, once again, an apt metaphor for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

Among the mile-long cast list is standout Mckenna Grace, who’s adorable, capable performance drives our attention amongst a cacophony of nothingness. The humor left a lot to be desired, as most of the jokes felt like a half-assed first draft of a teenager’s first attempt at stand up after spending an hour on iFunny. Kumail Nanjiani is in this, and his ethnically ambiguous presence is used to justify the ethnically questionable lore that the main antagonist is borne from.

To its credit, the film does manage to stick to the point in building up and knocking down the antagonist and its cronies, including an interesting concept of Emily Alyn Lynd as a double-crossing ghost who befriends Grace’s character. The film introduces, but then forgets its themes of growing up and mixed families, before ultimately hand waving in a quick ‘congrats, kid, you’re an adult and you can drive this car’ and also a ‘yes dad’ moment of acceptance. I think children would love this movie. But for the rest of us, I think this movie is pretty squarely

BAD.

I saw Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire on Netflix, but who knows where it’ll jump to later.

Wondering how my rating system works? Let me explain!