Product Details

• Actors: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Chad Everett, Peter Graves
• Directors: Ken Finkleman
• Writers: Ken Finkleman
• Producers: Howard W. Koch, Mel Dellar
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: July 22, 1997
• Run Time: 85 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300214265
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #96,319 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The 1982 sequel to Airplane! is basically more of the same class-clown ironies but with a more forced feeling to the jokes. In the first film, veterans such as Peter Graves, Robert Stack, and Lloyd Bridges were feeling their way through self-parody, and the air of experimentation was part of the fun. By this film, however, everybody knows what's up, and the assuredness of new cast members Raymond Burr, William Shatner, and Chuck Connors is almost counterproductive. Still, there's lots to laugh about. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Missing so many scenes!!, August 7, 2004

By 

Jimmylavino - See all my reviews

This review is from: Airplane II: The Sequel (DVD)

Okay, we all know this isn't the best sequel out there but it has its moments. However I find it SHAMEFUL that this version is missing many scenes that are shown on TV. (Simon in escape pod, Sonny Bono's reason for being on the flight, The Sarge explaining potential bomb damage, Striker reading 'Modern Electronics', the list goes on!) Why leave out scenes on a DVD is beyond me.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unfortunately Edited, January 30, 2006

By 

J. M. Dunman (Murray, KY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Airplane II: The Sequel (DVD)

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.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better Than Watching the Sound of Music More Than Four Times, June 29, 2006

By 

William D. Shingleton "Wishful Thinking Is No... (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Airplane II: The Sequel (DVD)

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.