Sadly, the fresh and gripping friendship between the ghost of a young girl ghost and Phoebe suffocates as the film struggles to serve the other characters.
The main ghostly threat, Garaka, isn’t menacing until the third act and never feels like an urgent concern until the rushed climax brings everyone together in a messy fashion.
The movie leans into a wider modern style of comedy that overshadows the grounded stakes that made the sci-fi/horror concept work so well in the original.
It's not downright terrible, but this particular "Ghostbusters" movie feels too big for its britches without establishing a firm foundation for the paranormal universe.
Despite innovative story points, the film suffers from leaning into cartoon elements, and the amusing supporting characters from the original become caricatures.
The main foe isn’t as scary as the ghosts and gods of the original "Ghostbusters," and turning the Statue of Liberty into a remote-controlled vehicle to get across town is absurd.