Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

It's a big-budget blockbuster with an extensive all-star cast of both legends and rising stars, a menacing other-worldly threat, and it leverages an iconic intellectual property that brings nostalgia to an audience who grew up watching cartoons that bordered on marketing brainwashing, so hypothetically 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' has all of the elements for a great movie. Unfortunately it just isn't one.

It's not awful, but it's definitely not 'great'. The cast is bloated, so it feels like a series of SNL sketches cut together. The main plot thread, Phoebe, is probably the least interesting character they could have chosen for the lead plot line. The handling of her character was heavy-handed and pandering. Yes there were sex jokes in the old movies, but Bill Murray's romance stories in the originals were one of their least interesting aspects, and apparently my distaste for romance stories in Ghostbusters movies has not changed.

The effects, sound, music, cinematography and general production value are of high quality. The acting is across the board because there're a zillion actors.

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' snatches defeat from the jaws of victory in an effort to appeal to modern audiences, leading to a forgettable middle entry to what is likely a string of movies that are already declining in quality at a predictable rate.