Product: Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
Rating: 4.0
Nowhere Near As Good As The Original, But It's Still Funny!!
The redundantly-titled (on purpose, of course) AIRPLANE 2 - THE SEQUEL (1982) follows the rapid-fire, gag-a-second style of the original AIRPLANE! (1980) so well that, although it doesn't come close to matching the original for laughs, it's amazing that it was made without any input at all from the ZAZ boys (Jerry Zucker-Jim Abrahams-David Zucker) whatsoever---no writing, no directing, nada! It was in fact written and directed by just one man: none other than Ken Finkleman. I know, you're probably asking, Ken Who? Well, it seems that good ol' Ken is rather famous---more like *infamous*---for two mega-bombs of the '80's: GREASE 2 (made the same year, actually---1982) and WHO'S THAT GIRL? (1987). The fact that he took a beloved comedy that was still fresh in the minds of the audience members and dared to follow it up with his own vision, and made it this funny, is just amazing. (Now, if he only could have done that good a job with GREASE 2...)Of course, AIRPLANE 2 - THE SEQUEL couldn't live up to the lofty expectations set by its predecessor, but that's okay, as there are some big-league laughs here. Robert Hays returns as the stone-faced, hilariously serious Ted Striker as he tries to prevent disaster on the First Passenger Space Shuttle To The Moon. Along for the ride, literally, are Julie Hagerty as Elaine, the flight attendant and Striker's ongoing love interest from the first film. Also making a return is (believe it or not) Lloyd Bridges as old Steven McCrosky (who must've picked a bad time to start guiding space shuttles), and Peter Graves as Capt. Clarence Oveur (thankfully, little Johnny didn't board this flight). Too bad Dr. Rumack (Leslie Nielsen) didn't come back for this trip; however, joining the crew in AIRPLANE 2 - THE SEQUEL are Chuck Connors as The Sarge, Raymond Burr as Judge D.C. Simonton, and William Shatner as Commander Buck Murdock. Shatner steals the show and gives what is easily the funniest performance in this film. Unless you've never seen Star Trek, you're bound to get the endless jokes!In short, this is a really short movie. At only 85 minutes, with at least five of those minutes showing flashbacks to the first AIRPLANE!, this sequel doesn't give us very much. However, it still gives us plenty of hilarious moments, such as what happens at the end of a line of people, each one exclaiming "Striker," "Striker," "Striker...!" Also, it gives us Sonny Bono as the villain---c'mon, you can't possibly hate a movie that does that---plus, we get brilliant cameos by Rip Torn, Hervé Villechaize, and James Noble (the Governor on the TV show "Benson" for those who don't recall the name). Not only that, but David Leisure is back! (Although, instead of playing "First Hare Krishna" he's playing "Religious Zealot #1.")Listen, I wouldn't recommend spending the proverbial arm & a leg on this DVD, especially because, like its predecessor, it offers absolutely nothing in the way of extras. But, at the price for which it's being offered on Amazon, I'd say that it's well worth it.RECOMMENDEDHIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR FANS OF AIRPLANE!