Disastrous Movie Sequel

AIRPLANE II: THE SEQUEL (1982)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Sometimes there is no real purpose to a sequel except to rehash what worked fine the first time around. The original "Airplane!" had gags flying in and out of it, sometimes in the background too. That movie could never be topped in any way unless the original ZAZ (Zucker, Abraham, Zucker) team returned to do something more epic and insane. Their inspiration was 1957's "Zero Hour" and all those silly "Airport" flicks from the 1970's, in addition to "Saturday Night Fever" and "Jaws." The only inspiration for the makers of "Airplane II: The Sequel" was cashing in on the original. Period. Repeat some of the same gags, go back through the same waters by bringing back the same regulars, and we got a movie that repeats the same notes without the spirit of inspiration.

Robert Hays returns as the beleaguered hero of the original, Ted Striker, who has escaped from a mental institution and wants to return in the arms of Elaine, the stewardess (Julie Hagerty). She is ready to board a space shuttle that is headed to the moon. Why the moon? Because passengers pay top dollar to go and visit the lunar surface which is already occupied by a base headed by Commander Murdoch (William Shatner, who definitely gives the film a shot of adrenaline). A malfunction causes the shuttle to head right into the sun! Striker is on board to save the day.

Sonny Bono appears as a serial bomber - the only laugh derived from this character is the fact that it is played by Sonny Bono. Returnee Lloyd Bridges as air traffic commander McCroskey utters some of the same lines from the original, as does Peter Graves as the shuttle pilot who asks a young kid about a dog humping...you get the idea. The late Stephen Stucker reappears as the air-traffic controller who makes offhanded remarks that have nothing to do with airline safety, and he also gets a funny part as a courtroom clerk. Other than that, writer-director Ken Finkleman does nothing except be on autopilot - the movie is labored and mechanical and lacks the anarchy of the original. The actors play their parts like machines. The jokes fall flat, like Shatner seeing the Enterprise or the passengers playing Jeopardy! One inspired bit occurs in the background (something the movie could've used more of) where two air-traffic controllers are trying to make a pot sale while McCroskey speaks in the foreground. Mostly, "Airplane II" feels like reproduced processed cheese. It should have tasted like swiss.