Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire 4K review
Jun 23, 2024- Permalink
Studios love going back to the well again and again … and again. So that brings us to Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, a sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which was a reboot of the original Ghostbusters franchise. Directed by Gil Kenan, it comes from a script written by Kenan and Jason Reitman. In this outing, which takes place three years after the last one, Callie Spengler and Gary Grooberson and the family make the move to the Big Apple, where original Ghostbusters Winston and Ray are trying to restart the business. The movie stars Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O’Connor, and Logan Kim alongside Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and William Atherton. Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Emily Alyn Lind, and James Acaster also make appearances. The story can be entertaining, but there’s also the feeling that there’s a lot of fan service here, hitting the same notes to trigger that nostalgic feel, even taking us back to the iconic firehouse that was Ghostbusters HQ. The franchise could explore unchartered territory but it’s not doing it here. Sony just released this on 4K and Blu-ray and I had a chance to look at the Blu-ray courtesy of Sony.
NOTE: I received the Blu-ray version of the movie to review. If you have 4K, then you’ll want to get that, so that’s the one I’ve linked to below. These 4K links will allow you to choose the Blu-ray version as well.
The 1080p AVC encoded digital transfer is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The Blu-ray has excellent detail and except for some moments that look a little soft, it’s a very sharp image. The disc has a natural colour palette with pops of colour with some of the supernatural phenomena or proton pack emissions. I’d love to have had a chance to look at the 4K, as the HDR would have made some of the specular highlights look amazing.
On the audio side of things, only the 4K has Dolby Atmos, but on the Blu-ray I reviewed you have the choice of English, French, Spanish and Thai DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtracks as well as English and French Descriptive Audio. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French and Korean. With ghosts flying around everywhere, it would have been great to hear the Atmos track, but the standard surround track still puts you in the thick of the paranormal activity. Dialogue is clear and centred and there’s some nice oomph from the subwoofers.
The Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire 4K comes with a Blu-ray copy and a Digital code, while the Blu-ray that I reviewed came with a DVD copy and a Digital code. Once again, those in Canada (and perhaps other countries reading this) do not get the Digital code with their purchase. The bonus materials include a look an audio commentary by director and co-writer Gil Kenan, a behind-the-scenes piece with a focus on the firehouse, a piece on the ghosts, a look at the past films’ Easter eggs, a dive into our main villain, a look at new tech for the gang, a tour of Ray’s new venture, a piece on the score, an a series of extended and deleted scenes.
On the technical side, the Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Blu-ray that I reviewed looks and sounds great, so I can only imagine that the 4K version kicks that up a notch. As for the story, it’s a matter of personal taste whether you’re giddy there’s a new movie or think this dilutes the joy of the very first film. Some people love extended franchises and if you’re a Ghostbusters completist you’ll want to add this to your collection. If you have a 4K TV and player, get that version. If you also love SteelBooks, a 4K SteelBook version is also available.