Customer Reviews

Airplane 2: Sequel [VHS]

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

In reading the list of reviews posted here, it's clear that many who have reviewed this film, just plain don't get it. For starters, Airplane One is perhaps the greatest comedy every made. To put this movie down by comparing it to the original is like saying every new film that comes out stinks because it's not quite as good as Citizen Kane.

The second mistake people make is to point out the places where this movie continues jokes from Airplane 1. These items are re-used for one simple reason, BECAUSE THEY WERE HILARIOUS!!! One thing to remember is that in '80 & '82, VCRs and rental stores had not completely taken root in popular culture. When this movie came out in 1982, it's not like the fans of the first had been sitting around watching the video over and over again for a year leading up to it-- They had been sitting around for two years talking about the funniest movie they had ever seen. They continued the humor in the same way that Saturday Night Live did A LOT more than ONE episode of Hans and Franz, or Chris Farley's motivational speaker.

If you buy this movie, just watch it, and enjoy it; not for what it isn't, but what it is. Slapstick has never been done as well as in the two Airplane movies.

"Check it bleed, the bro was ON! Didn't trip, but the folks was freakin' man! Hey, and the pilots were laid to the bone, holmes! So blood hammered out and jammed jip, sheeeeet...Tighented that bad sucka 'side the runway like a mutha... Sheeeet (golly)."

I loved the first Airplane! and this was pretty good too :) But something was missing from this to take it to the top of my movie list. Maybe Leslie Neilsen not being in the cast had something to do with it but overall this movie is a great Saturday night treat :)

A lot of the jokes are funny and I love the physical and visual gags that they do just like in the original.

Overall I'd say rent it, buy it cheap, or watch it on TV. If you liked the first you'll probably like this one too, but as with my suggestion when watching Monty Python's Holy Grail, you might want to be high when you watch it

As in the original AIRPLANE, there are so many sight gags and one liners going on, it's hard to keep up with them, but the movie made me laugh a lot. Comparing it to the original is natural, but given we have a different director and a different approach, it is best to let it stand on its own. And I found it did for me.
Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty are back as the starstruck lovers and the bit where she removes her bobby pin to give to Hays is truly funny. Stephen Shucker is back, although he's not used as much, but his one liners are still hilarious. Peter Graves returns as the pilot who likes little boys; Lloyd Bridges is back as the flight commander; Chuck Connors and William Shatner are fun in their brief roles, and we get nice bits from Chad Everett, Raymond Burr, Rip Torn, John Dehner and John Vernon.
I like this corny type of humor, for some reason, but when a movie makes me laugh this much, who cares about its faults?

OK, so it's not as funny or slick as the original, but it's still good. There are many. many funny moments, but like everyone says, Shatner really steals the show, he's the numero uno, the big cheese.....................

Sequels are often cheap imitations of the original and more often than not, they're usually pretty bad. And "Airplane 2: The Sequel" is no exception. The producers and writers of this lackluster endeavor obviously didn't put a lot of thought or effort into making this film. Much of the material is nothing more than a variation of what was in the original "Airplane!," which makes for a rather dull and predictable movie.

In "Airplane 2," the writers do try to vary the plot a bit by changing the venue to the 21st century but this does more harm than good. This futuristic setting has some comic aspects but it never really connects with the audience. There are also some futile attempts at political/ethnic/sexual humor but they too fall flat.

This is a second-rate movie that never gets off the ground. Don't waste your money on it.

Airplane 2 is a decent sequel, but the jokes and dialogue are not as clever or witty as in the original.

I remember seeing this movie as a teenager and remembering how funny it was, as was the original Airplane!. My husband and I decided to buy it recently (2008) and haven't regretted it. The jokes are still funny even after all this time. Some of the younger crowd won't get some of the jokes (such as the gentleman singing "The Love Boat"), but for those born before 1980, it's a riot.

You must like physical humor and silly humor. If you don't like that kind of humor - don't bother.