When a new female-centered Ghostbusters emerged in 2016, it rebooted the franchise, it didn’t carry over the characters from the 1984 and 1989 movies. Though not a true flop, the expensive 2016 film lost money and that put the kibosh on a potential new franchise.

Nonetheless, old ghosts never die, and 2021’s Afterlife acted as a more direct continuation of the 1980s flicks. This meant a connection to its characters.

Afterlife actually made less money than GB2016, but it also came with a much lower budget. Though Afterlife likely only broke even, the suits at the studio clearly thought it did well enough to spawn another film, one that arrives via 2024’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

Previously residents of rural Oklahoma, the Spengler clan – mom Callie (Carrie Coon), 18-year-old Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and 15-year-old Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) – move to New York City along with Callie’s boyfriend Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd). They follow in the footsteps of Callie’s dad Egon and pursue their calling as Ghostbusters.

Along the way, they discover a mysterious artifact that contains an evil entity that threatens to unleash a new ice age. With the fate of the world in the balance, who ya gonna call?

Back in 2016, the first episode of South Park’s 20th season introduced “Member Berries”. Basically that speaking fruit reminded folks of how much they enjoyed media from the past.

Though credited to Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman, I suspect some Member Berries actually wrote the script to Empire. Far too much of the movie just tries to elicit a response based on theoretical audience affection for the earlier movies – which mainly means the 1984 flick, since Ghostbusters II remains much less fondly recalled.

This seems odd because clearly those involved clearly want to attract a younger audience who didn't see the original movie 40 years ago. That felt like more of the point with Afterlife, as it devoted most of its time to new characters and situations.

Sure, these prompted memories of the 1980s movies and veered toward that nostalgia. However, Afterlife still made Egon’s descendants the focal point, with returning 1980s roles as semi-brief support.

That changes with Empire. Whereas the Afterlife roles continue to fill important facets of the Empire story, they can feel more extraneous than in the prior film.

This means Empire walks a balancing act between indulgence of the Gen X crowd – hello! - and hesitant, vague attempts to something new. These mainly come from the characters introduced in Afterlife.

It doesn't connect. The movie's relentless reliance on familiarity and nostalgia feels borderline insulting, and it feels wholly gratuitous much of the time.

A convoluted story doesn’t help. Empire juggles a lot of balls in the air and it can’t keep them steady.

Part of this comes from the choice to involve so many characters. Not only do we get the integration of the 1980s and Afterlife roles, we find some new parts as well, along with the perplexing return of the 1984 movie’s main human villain.

In that flick, Walter Peck (William Atherton) acted as an EPA representative out to shut down the Ghostbusters. In Empire, Peck still wants to get rid of his old foes, but now he comes after them as mayor of NYC.

Really? Does this seem out of nowhere to others like it does to me?

Peck’s return feels like just another gratuitous nod for those cheap links to the past. It makes no sense whatsoever that the sour, unpleasant Peck somehow turned into a successful politician, but I guess it sounded good when the Member Berries pitched it.

All of the various plot threads essentially connect in the end, but Empire takes a torturous route to get there. It often feels like a bunch of loosely linked concepts that need a lot of goosing to eventually come together.

I maintain enough affection for the franchise that I can find some entertainment in Empire. And Member Berries be damned, but I do enjoy the ability to see the surviving 1980s Ghostbusters together again.

But Empire nonetheless fails to become an actual good movie. While it musters some laughs and thrills, too much of it seems like a blunt exercise in nostalgia more than a coherent movie.

Footnote: a tag scene appears mid-way through the end credits.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. As expected, this became a fine presentation.

At all times, sharpness appeared positive. As such, I thought the image seemed accurate and well-defined.

I noticed no signs of shimmering or jaggies. The movie lacked any print flaws.

Teal? Check. Amber? Check.

Color-related creativity? Not really. The hues followed predictable stylistic paths, but the Blu-ray executed them in a positive manner.

Blacks were always deep and tight, and I saw good contrast as well. Shadows seemed clear and appropriately opaque. The Blu-ray became a strong reproduction of the film.

Empire came with solid audio, as its DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix used all the channels in a lively, involving manner. Ghosts, vehicles, weapon-fire, and other action elements popped up from all around the room and delivered a smooth, engrossing soundscape.

This meant a high level of audio from the surrounds. The back speakers created a great sense of place in that domain. All of this melded together in a vivid, satisfying manner.

Audio quality was also strong. Music seemed full and bold, while speech was consistently natural and crisp.

Effects became the most prominent component, of course, and packed a solid punch, with positive clarity and range. The audio of Empire delivered the goods.

When we head to the set’s extras, we launch with an audio commentary from writer/director Gil Kenan. He delivers a running, screen-specific discussion of story/characters, the continuation of Afterlife and connections to the larger Ghostbusters universe, Easter eggs, sets and locations, cast and performances, various effects, music, costumes and props.

I only heard one prior Kenan commentary: his discussion of 2006’s animated Monster House. That piece worked really well.

Happily, his Empire chat follows suit. An enthusiastic participant, Kenan covers a solid array of topics and makes this a chatty and informative track.

Six Deleted/Extended Scenes take up a total of eight minutes, 44 seconds. We find “Headlines” (1:19), “I Am a Doctor” (1:11), “Ghost-chopper” (2:51), “News Report” (1:03), “Rooftop Consolation” (1:49) and “Slime Bath” (1:00).

Of these six, “Doctor” easily becomes the most interesting. It features a short conversation between Gary and Venkman that seems a little unnecessary in terms of plot but offers too much amusement to have gotten cut.

“Ghost-chopper” sticks mainly with exposition and runs a little long. Still, it comes with some funny bits as well.

The others appear less compelling but they’re largely interesting. The movie doesn’t need the but they’re worth a look.

A mix of featurettes follow, and Return to the Firehouse occupies 21 minutes, 40 seconds. It provides info from Kenan, co-writer Jason Reitman, production designer Eve Stewart, and actors Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Celeste O’Connor, Kumail Nanjiani, Finn Wolfhard, Bill Murray, Patton Oswalt, Dan Aykroyd, Mckenna Grace, Logan Kim, James Acaster, and William Atherton.

As implied by the title, “Return” looks at the firehouse location along with the New York setting and various sets, Kenan’s impact on the shoot, cast, characters and performances. Expect a mix of facts and fluff.

Busted takes up 11 minutes, 28 seconds. It comes with notes from Kenan, Grace, Coon, Rudd, Wolfhard, Acaster, O’Connor, Reitman, Kim, Nanjiani, Aykroyd, visual effects producer Nicole Rowley, visual effects supervisor Geoffrey Baumann, special effects supervisor John van der Pool, special makeup and animatronics creature effects artist Arjen Tuiten, puppeteer Robin Guiver, and actor Emily Alyn Lind.

Here we learn about the various ghosts of Empire. Though not a deep piece, “Busted” offers a satisfying little take on the topics.

After this, Easter Eggs Unleashed goes for six minutes, 34 seconds. Following an intro from Kenan, a narrator leads us through hidden nuggets strewn throughout Empire. Some seem more obscure than others but this turns into fun peek at the details.

Manifesting Garraka runs three minutes, 55 seconds. It boasts remarks from Reitman, Kenan, Nanjiani, Rowley, Baumann, and Coon.

This piece examines the movie’s main villain. “Manifesting” becomes a good discussion of that subject.

Next we go to New York, New Gear, a seven-minute, five-second reel. This one brings statements from O’Connor, Kenan, Coon, Rudd, Rowley, Wolfhard, Grace, Kim, motorcycle consultant Troy Lee, head prop modeler Ben Lee, and property master Colin Mutch.

Here we find into about the gear, vehicles and props seen in the film. This turns into a fun look at the various gadgets.

Welcome to the Paranormal Discovery Center arrives next. It spans four minutes, 44 seconds and features Reitman, Kenan, Coon, Hudson, O’Connor, Rudd, Stewart, Nanjiani, and co-costume designer Alexis Forte.

Unsurprisingly, “Welcome” discusses aspects of the movie’s “Paranormal Discovery Center”. Though short, it becomes fairly satisfying.

Finally, Knowing the Score lasts six minutes, 33 seconds. We find info from Kenan, composer Dario Marianelli, score consultant Peter Bernstein, and principal percussion performer Wade Culbreath.

As implied by the title, “Knowing” covers the film’s music. It turns into a useful summary.

The disc opens with ads for The Garfield Movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Gran Turismo and Madame Web. No trailer for Empire appears here.

A second disc offers a DVD copy of Empire. It includes the “Firehouse” and “Busted” featurettes but none of the other extras.

Two films into the Ghostbusters reboot/sequel series and Frozen Empire offers a disjointed affair. Too reliant on nostalgia and not especially fresh, the movie gives us occasional entertainment but it disappoints in the end. The Blu-ray boasts excellent picture and audio along with a nice array of bonus materials. If one emerges, I’ll see another Ghostbusters movie, but Empire doesn’t give me confidence it’ll offer anything special.