--- title: "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-frozen-empire/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-frozen-empire" critics_score: 47 critics_reviews: 17 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024): what the critics said Critics' score 47 from 17 reviews: 5 positive, 3 mixed, 9 negative. The reviews are split, and widely. Most critics find Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire overstuffed: too many characters, too many callbacks to the original, and too little room for the young cast that Afterlife set up. Nostalgia comes up in nearly every notice, seldom as praise. Where critics are kinder, the praise gathers around the supporting players, with James Acaster and Kumail Nanjiani named more than once, around Phoebe’s storyline, and around the ghouls themselves, several reviewers enjoying the practical effects and a chase through the sewers. A handful, Digital Spy and Variety among them, think it an improvement on its predecessor, better balanced between scares and jokes. Radio Times and NME go further and call it plain good fun. At the other end, The Telegraph and Vulture find it desperate, witless and barely a Ghostbusters film at all. The middle ground, such as it is, settles on likeable but tired. ## Radio Times — Terry Staunton Rating 4/5. 20 March 2024. The critic praises it as a hugely entertaining next chapter that returns the action to New York with strong performances, inventive effects and quality control maintained by a sharp script. Phoebe’s emotional arc and the ensemble comedy are highlighted as standouts. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/scifi/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review/) ## The AV Club — Manuel Betancourt Rating B-. 20 March 2024. A serviceable franchise entry that tugs on '80s nostalgia and replicates what has worked in the past without reinventing the wheel, delivering an amiable if brisk and pat time with a message about teamwork. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-movie-review-1851351083) ## Total Film — James Mottram Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 20 March 2024. The critic finds it doesn't touch the original movies but is likeable enough overall, with a sharp script, funny performances from Acaster, Rudd and Nanjiani, and a creepy villain plus solid action sequences like the sewer dragon chase. Complaints focus on an unwieldy line-up, underuse of some OG cast, and predictable plot beats that make it only modestly exciting. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/ghostbuster-frozen-empire-review/) ## Empire — Alex Godfrey Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 20 March 2024. The critic calls it an overpopulated mish-mash buckling under franchise legacy, with too many characters and fan-service that elicits sighs rather than smiles. Some entertaining ghouls, zippy action sequences, and funny supporting turns like James Acaster are singled out for praise amid the complaints about squandered opportunities and lack of substance for the new cast. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/ghostbusters-frozen-empire/) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 24 March 2024. The critic views the sequel as an uninspiring, cut-and-paste duplication of the original film in story and tone, with an ancient ghost-god threat. It fails to fully utilize its young stars but is deemed not unenjoyable, though deeply unoriginal. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/mar/24/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review-cut-and-paste-copy-of-the-original) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 20 March 2024. The critic finds the overstuffed action-comedy a clumsy mixture of nostalgia, scares, set pieces, sincerity and wisecracks that never gels. It notes enjoyable performances but concludes the series struggles to stay relevant and may be time for Sony to give up this ghost. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review/5191763.article) ## IndieWire — Kate Erbland Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 20 March 2024. The film tries to resurrect something from the dead; the return to New York feels neither welcome nor new in this sequel to Afterlife. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review-1234965444/) ## Slant Magazine — Justin Clark Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 20 March 2024. The film lacks conviction and is afraid to go extreme with its elements, resulting in a scattershot story with no real sense of danger that squanders its characters and feels cursed. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review-paul-rudd-carrie-coon/) ## Time Out — Helen O’Hara Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 19 March 2024. The critic calls it a tired sequel that recycles old jokes and brings everything back to the original film in an overly stuffed and only occasionally fun spectral adventure. It faults the franchise for ghosting anything original or innovative. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-2024) ## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin Rating 1/5. 20 March 2024. The critic calls the film a shameful, commercially desperate sequel with no ideas, minimal plot, and almost no ghost-busting, sustained only by franchise desperation. It lacks the original's charm and features a generic demon. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review/) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 22 March 2024. The film is witless, joyless, and dull, with no great action, no laugh-out-loud jokes, and artless emotions, though it at least avoids being repellent or offensive. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review-witless-joyless-dull.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Katie Walsh 21 March 2024. The film is a perfectly fine but incredibly dull nostalgic sequel emblematic of Hollywood's IP obsession; it integrates lore a bit better than its predecessor but remains regurgitated nostalgia aimed at a kiddie crowd, though the cast appears to be having fun. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-03-21/review-ghostbusters-frozen-empire-paul-rudd-carrie-coone-finn-wolfhard-mckenna-grace) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Frank Scheck 20 March 2024. The critic finds it a breezy, pleasurable if lightweight installment that balances laughs and scares well, with nice emotional moments in Phoebe's subplot, though it tries too hard at times to balance characters. It's a minor triumph in satisfying fans. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review-paul-rudd-carrie-coon-1235855556/) ## The New York Times — Amy Nicholson 21 March 2024. The critic finds the overstuffed franchise entry an eclectic, enjoyable barrage of nonsense that crams in too many characters and ghosts but still delivers erratic laughs and a circus-like energy. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/21/movies/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review.html) ## The Times Rating ★★☆☆☆. 20 March 2024. The critic sees the film as a ghost of its former self, with the story leaning on geriatric original stars tackling an icy demon while underusing the young cast and featuring arbitrary, vapid elements. The franchise is deemed long dead. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-film-review-nbkhrrgl9) ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman 20 March 2024. It is a bigger, rowdier and slightly funnier fan-service grab bag than 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife,' with more energized ghostbusting action and enough going on to connect, thanks in part to lively performances like Kumail Nanjiani's. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review-paul-rudd-carrie-coon-1235945408/) ## NME — Nick Levine Rating 4/5. 20 March 2024. The critic calls it a fun, enjoyable sequel that succeeds by embracing its world and characters comfortably, bringing the action back to New York with satisfying updates while keeping the spirit of the originals alive in a fresh way. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-bill-murray-3603547) ## Consequence Rating B-. 20 March 2024. The film is strongest when blending the original surviving cast with the newcomers through practical effects and some authentic scares, but script issues and too many characters bog it down. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2024/03/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review/) ## Digital Spy — Ian Sandwell Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 22 March 2024. The critic sees it as a clear improvement over Afterlife, with better balance of spooky elements, comedy, and new ghosts, plus more organic roles for the originals, but notes it still leans too much on the past and lacks full confidence in forging its own identity. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a60243972/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review/) ## Den of Geek — Joe George Rating 3/5. 20 March 2024. The critic finds the film strongest when focusing on the new teen characters and family dynamics, especially Phoebe's story, but criticizes the overstuffed script and excessive nostalgic callbacks to the originals that pull focus and make it feel like a lesser entry. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review/) ## /Film — Ethan Anderton Rating 5/10. 20 March 2024. The film is an ambitious but messy and ultimately unsatisfying sequel despite some decent laughs and exhilarating sequences. It struggles under too many characters and storylines while trying to expand the ghost lore. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1543794/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review-ghosts-blockbuster-past-hold-back-franchise-future/) ## Polygon — Austen Goslin Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 20 March 2024. The film clings too tightly to the franchise’s past with hollow nostalgia, exposition-heavy dialogue, and little fun or scares, reducing it to corporate nostalgia-farming; Phoebe’s performance stands out as a rare bright spot. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/24106832/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review-paul-rudd-bill-murray) ## Deadline — Damon Wise 20 March 2024. The film finds its groove as a fun, scary sequel that keeps the Ghostbusters flame alive. It highlights the warm chemistry between Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon along with inventive scares and strong performances from the younger cast. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2024/03/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review-the-spooky-reboot-finds-its-groove-in-a-fun-scary-sequel/) ## The Wrap 20 March 2024. The spirited sequel captures good vibes and the spirit of the series through its exceptional cast and memorable monsters but struggles with an illogical, overstuffed script full of plot holes and ignored solutions. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/ghostbusters-frozen-empire.md