The new Ghostbusters have now firmly established themselves in the place of their predecessors. Phoebe Spengler, her brother Trevor, her mother and her new partner, Professor Gary Grooberson, live and work, in fact, in the former fire station that saw the birth of the great adventure. But since you can never rest easy, the mayor of New York, who wants to get rid of them, uses Phoebe’s minority to forbid her from continuing to wear the uniform and proton pack, unleashing anger and frustration in her. Meanwhile, at Ray’s shop of “possessed” objects, a strange brass sphere arrives, dating back a few thousand years ago, whose accidental opening triggers many other threats.

Three years ago Ghostbusters – Legacy found meaning in relaunching for a new generation that paranormal idea of mixing comedy, adventure and horror that had thrilled young people and adults in the mid-eighties.

Now this sequel to the half-sequel (and half-reboot) struggles a bit to find an identity, so on the one hand it proposes the theme of the reunion once too often, risking transforming the homage into rhetoric, and on the other seeks its own path with sentimental subplots which, however, remain only hinted at. In particular, while the line of friendship (or perhaps something more) between Phoebe and her ghost peer fits properly into the plot, the one concerning Gary’s new parental role is poorly treated, consigned to a hasty banality that it overwhelms the character played by Paul Rudd, preventing him from replicating the nice performance of the previous film.

Even if Jason Reitman still co-signs the script, the polish is therefore less and the change of director in favor of Gil Kenan can be heard loud and clear. Despite this, Ghostbusters – Glacial Menace remains an enjoyable “episode” of the second cycle of the Ghostbusters franchise, confirming once again the happiness and fruitfulness of the original idea.

Thanks to the experiments of grandmother Kumail Nanjiani’s new fire and coconut master; of the intriguing prologue; digs at the police who should raise the alarm but are regularly overwhelmed by inertia; of the return of Slimer and the marshmallows: familiar and fun ingredients, easy, perhaps, but also more in line with the pop spirit of the Ghostbusters and more successful than the unlikely experiment at the center of the story (even the fantastic has its boundaries, for how expanded).

No drama, therefore, just a problem of overcrowding: to ensure that each of the many characters on the field, old and new, had their moment, we ended up squeezing too much even those who wanted or deserved more.