Culture news I saw Ghostbusters and I don’t understand this science fiction film. Fan service is not the miracle solution!
Hollywood has become a master in the art of unearthing the more cult licenses of the 7th Art in the hope of striking the nostalgic chords of fans and thus convincing them to return to the cinema. In 2024, the famous ghost hunters return to service alongside the new generation. Is the film Ghostbusters: The Ice Menace chilling cinemas this April?
Everything you need to know about Ghostbusters: The Ice Menace
This isn’t the first time the Ghostbusters have pulled their proton pack out of the closet. From 2016, the “feminine” reboot with Chris Hemsworth in an unsuitable role tried without success to relaunch the saga. Five years later, They are trying the experience again, this time banking on the young Hollywood guard with the original team as reinforcement. Ghostbusters: Legacy, directed by Jason Reitman, is profitable enough in theaters for a sequel to be launched immediately.
The esoteric protectors of New York City are therefore back in 2024 with filmmaker Gil Kenan, already a screenwriter on the 2021 film, as their conductor. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire from its original title is aimed above all at the younger generation as well as early fans thanks to its inter-generational casting. The American-British director behind City of Shadows (2008) and Poltergeist (2015) puts his quick humorous pen and his pronounced taste for fantasy to the service of a franchise that began 40 years ago… in 1984.
The synopsis of Ghostbusters: The Ice Menace: Five years after the events of the first film, Phoebe, Trevor and Lucky, the new Ghostbusters, are having difficulty running their business. But when mysterious paranormal events multiply in New York City, the team is called to the rescue. This time, they will face an icy threat from another world.
The cast of Ghostbusters: The Ice Menace: Mckenna Grace (Mary), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things), Logan Kim (Kung Fu Panda 4), Carrie Coon (Gone Girl), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man in the MCU), Kumail Nanjiani (The Eternals), Celeste O’ Connor (Madame Web), Bill Murray (Lost in Translation), Dan Aykroyd (The Blues Brothers), Ernie Hudson (The Crow), Annie Potts (Rose bonbon)
Ghostbusters: The Ice Menace is released in cinemas in France on April 10, 2024.
The apology of fan service and nostalgia
I know too little about Gil Kenan’s filmography to have had any excitement or a priori before my session. However, I am a pure product of the 80s and especially 90s (I was born in 1986) having grown up with the Ghostbusters franchise. Suffice it to say that I am quite critical regarding the rampant exploitation of the Ghostbusters. I’m generally a good audience, but I have limits. Unlike the 2016 film which left me unmoved, the 2021 film knew how to fan the flame of passion without being free of flaws. Three years later, our favorite esoteric hunters are back for better, but also for worse.
There is a concept which has haunted the meeting rooms of major Hollywood firms for a decade, and which is becoming omnipresent in 21st century cinema. Lega-Sequels (for Legacy Sequels) have abounded in recent years, and the new Ghostbusters film saga is the perfect representative. “Legacy” of 2021 lives up to its name, and The Ice Menace of 2024 continues, come what may, in this direction. I can understand that the return of a major license is done with the stars of the time in order to capitalize on the nostalgia of the fans, but for the continuation of a sequel… it is incomprehensible.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire relies so heavily on the past that new characters struggle to find their place in this universe that constantly looks in the rearview mirror without really thinking about the future. The return to New York, considered beneficial by some, is symptomatic of a series which is struggling to move forward. Without necessarily making a clean sweep of the past to the point of forgetting their origins, it would be high time for our ghost hunters to take an interest in the future. The result is a story constantly fed by fan service and which by force of circumstances takes on the air of caricature.
Ghostbusters: The Ice Menace seems trapped in two distinct space-time loops which telescope into the streets of New York with the direct consequence of too many characters. The old ones struggle to exist on screen while the new ones never find their place, with the exception of Mckenna Grace (Phoebe Spengler) and Paul Rudd (Gary Grooberson) who enjoy real narrative development. The rest of the cast gets in the way and steps on each other more than anything else within a framework that forces them into inaction. Hesitating too much between past and future, this Ghostbusters film stands still.
Not everything has to be thrown away with the bath slime, however. Frozen Empire generally provides the essential – to entertain – and allows itself a few moments of bravery which at times revive my interest in this New York safari. Then the music always has its little effect. From the first notes, a nostalgic shiver runs down my spine, and the same goes for certain dialogues that are touchingly sincere and interpreted with precision. Finally, the threat of ice (inspired among other things by the Cthulhu myth imagined by Lovecraft) and its demonic vessel are slow to cast a chill on the story and ultimately serve only as a “final boss” for the Spengler family and the other protagonists. Afterwards, what remains is a design and cryokinetic power that are as freaking as you can imagine.
Ghostbusters: The Ice Menace is aimed at nostalgic people and new generations without knowing what message to convey. This supernatural adventure aims to entertain (without always succeeding) if it fails to transcend its subject, but does not deserve it. Damage !