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Rating:  -
Airplane II: The Sequel is a funny film, though it is only a shadow of the original. Whereas the first Airplane! was a spoof of the 70s disaster movie, the sequel sends up science fiction, with a particular emphasis on 2001: A Space Odyssey, with some Star Trek thrown in thanks to the welcome addition of William Shatner.
Airplane II succeeds in places where most sequels, particularly sequels of spoofs, fail. It does not simply recycle the gags from the previous film, although there are a few moments such as the recurrence of Ted Striker (Robert Hays)'s drinking problem that are lifted directly from the original. Airplane II stays close to its disaster roots by having a computer kill off the crew, leaving Striker to try to save the day and win back Elaine (Julie Hagerty). Shakespeare it's not, but enough of a plot is there to keep this from just being a collection of one-liners and sight gags.
The larger problem is that there is a little too much plot and that some of the jokes are dated or simply no longer funny. The Rocky poster and the Japanese couple with dozens of cameras were probably funny when this film was released in 1982, but with the decline of Sly and the end of ethnic stereotype as comedy, these bits fall a bit flat. Similarly, the comedy inherent in having Sonny Bono as the bumbling terrorist is lost when you are working with a generation that thinks of Bono as the late Congressman from California.
The problem of sparsely spaced-out gags is probably a result of the cut. Some of my favorite scenes, such as McCrosky (Lloyd Bridges) being hospitalized because he thinks he's Lloyd Bridges, have been cut out. Similarly, Leslie Nielson, a star in the first film, is not in Airplane II at all and the role of Johnny (Steven Strucker) is greatly reduced. On the other hand, this cut restores some racy scenes from the original. While this makes the film funnier for the adult audience, the restored comedy makes this more of a PG 13 than the PG rating it originally received.
Those complaints aside, Airplane II is still a good film. The acting by Hays and Hagerty is as dynamic and funny as it was the first time around; I'm still mystified why neither had a big career after this series. Peter Graves, Bridges and Shatner all shine in their roles, and there are solid supporting performances from Raymond Burr, John Vernon, and Rip Torn.
Like the first film, Airplane II also has plenty of sight gags in the background, ranging from a nurse with an `I love sanity' outfit to a drug deal gone bad in Mission Control. If you are like me, you will have to watch and listen carefully to get all of the jokes; it took me forever to figure out the joke behind a reporter `getting a picture for the Daily News.' A director's commentary, or at least a pop-up video version, of this film would have been a nice addition, but sadly this is a basic DVD with nothing besides language options and the trailer.
The bottom line is that while Airplane II isn't the original and it isn't family entertainment, it is good comedy and well worth the time spent watching.
Rating:  -
Yes, Airplane 2 The Sequel is funnier than it's predecessor. Contrary to popular opinion, none of the jokes were recycled from the first film for the Sequel. The funniest moments in this movie include Ted Strikers escape from the sanitarium, Sonny Bono's Character purchasing a time bomb from an AIRPORT GIFT SHOP, and then Ted Striker's not so subtle Revealing of the "problem" that Sonny Bono's character suffers from. Just remember the other great joke regarding this "problem" and half the men in the room upon hearing upon a treatment center for this problem say "we're familiar with it". HOW is that not funny???? I mean Jeez! This movie is EASILY funnier! From beginning to end! I mean it's a laugh a minute of hysterical non-stop hilarity! I can't say anymore without giving away some of the best jokes, but William Shatner's appearance towards the end of the film gives the film a great feel too. Yes, airplane II: the sequel that has gone where no sequel has gone new yorik!
Rating:  -
The DVD release of the classic comedy film has restored many scenes missing from both TV showings and the original VHS release, though at the unprecedented cost of random pieces throughout the movie. While several jokes will be new to those seeing the DVD for the first time (many sexual and drug related), fans of the other formats of the movie will no doubt be scratching their heads as scenes go by without memorable bits.
With the trend of jamming every possible thing onto a DVD release, it's baffling that this movie would be released with scenes missing from it. That and the conspicuous lack of special features tarnishes a true great among comedy movies.
Disappointing.
Rating: -
The previous entry said that many scenes were delted, that is not true. The fact is that with these two films, there was too much content that was very adult related and therefore deleted scenes were added for the television version to make the film fit the 1 hour 30 min time slot. This DVD is the theatrical release of the film, however, I do bleieve that there are many deleted scenes for both films that were semi-funny and they should have been included. But we all know how sub par films get their DVD treatment....sub par.
Rating: -
Okay so the movie Airplane 2 isn't as funny as Airplane but it does have some funny scenes and if you are a Star Trek fan like myself then it is so worth watching this movie to see William Shatner do somewhat of a spoof of his whole Star Trek Captain Kirk image! He really seems to have a great flair for comedy! Hopefully now that a new special edition DVD is coming out for Airplane (Airplane - The Don't Call Me Shirley Edition) that they will release a new special edition DVD for Airplane 2 - The Sequel.
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