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Ghostbusters II

Ghostbusters II (1989)

June. 16,1989
|
6.6
|
PG
| Fantasy Comedy

Five years after they defeated Gozer, the Ghostbusters are out of business. When Dana begins to have ghost problems again, the boys come out of retirement to aid her and hopefully save New York City from a new paranormal threat.

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Reviews

Micitype
1989/06/16

Pretty Good

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Huievest
1989/06/17

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

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Derry Herrera
1989/06/18

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

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Nayan Gough
1989/06/19

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

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Minahzur Rahman
1989/06/20

I think Ghostbusters II is just as good as Ghostbusters. If you have seen the first one and enjoyed it, it's highly recommended you see the second one because it's just as good. I certainly enjoyed it. Both were different movies too. I'm glad a sequel was made because it didn't disappoint me one bit. If I were to watch Ghostbusters again, I would watch both the movies together. The amazing thing about Ghostbusters is just how classical it is - truly 80s stuff. I like the catchphrase: "Who you gonna call?" that's one of the first things that will come to mind whenever we hear of the Ghostbusters. I really like the theme song too - it never gets old.

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bowmanblue
1989/06/21

I think it's fair to say that the original 'Ghostbusters' is a classic. Very few people will disagree with that. Therefore, due to its success, a sequel was inevitable. I remember watching 'Ghostbusters II' at twelve years old back in 1989 and absolutely loving it! As did every other one of my friends. It was only as I grew up (and possibly coupled with the rise of the internet) did I realise how - apparently - hated it was.Since that revelation, I've watched it a few times and, every time, tried to see its flaws. And, even after repeated viewings through older, more cynical eyes, I still love it! It has all the original actors from the first film and they play off each other perfectly. The story has literally moved on and the characters have grown as a result. The special effects still look better than many that are overly-CGIed nowadays and best of all, it's funny.If I was really trying to be critical I could mention that it does seem a bit odd that, by all accounts, the city of New York has completely forgotten about how the Ghostbusters saved the world (and, sometimes, it's even debateable whether the populous even BELIEVES in ghosts!). Plus it is a bit of a re-tread of the first movie's plot, beat for beat (but no one seemed to mind that much when 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' did that many years later!).I'd never say it's better than the original. That kind of praised is reversed for the 'filmic elite' and rarely happens at the best of times. However, just because it's not as good doesn't make it a bad film. It's a perfect compendium piece to the original and, if you accept that, you should have fun with it. Now, if you REALLY want a bad and extremely pointless film, then check out the Ghostbusters remake (actually, don't - stick with either of the originals, the eighties cartoon series or even the game on the PS3 when it comes to your fix of ghostbusting!).

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Hollywood_Yoda
1989/06/22

In this sequel to the 1984 hit, the boys are back at work; at first not ghostbusting! But that doesn't last for long. New York city is full of crazy ghosts, so the boys are allowed to resume their business.It's been five years, Peter Venkman has his own talk show, and the guest believe the world will end. And Dana has a job at the museum restoring classic works of art. Both Dana and Peter soon cross paths again, paranormal paths.Peter MacNichol costars, and uses an accent, you'd never know its the same guy from Ally McBeal. Rick Moranis also returns as Louis Tully, now an attorney defending the Ghostbusters. Towards the end of the film, in the dock harbor scene, you can spot Cheech Marin. He's the dock supervisor that sees the Titanic arrive in New York. The statue of Liberty also makes an appearance to help fight the evil.This film is a riot, and it's fun. It's up there on par with the original Ghostbusters. Aykroyd and Ramis pulled off a great feat, an excellent sequel.

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kira02bit
1989/06/23

After the mammoth success of the original Ghostbusters, it was a foregone conclusion that a sequel would be in the works. It apparently took five long years to reunite the original cast/crew. Unfortunately, the results are a real mixed bag.As the film opens, we discover that the Ghostbusters have apparently gone bankrupt and disbanded thanks to various lawsuits and derision from the events in the original. Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson have been reduced to making appearances at obnoxious children's parties; Harold Ramis is doing psychological research; and Bill Murray is the host of a bizarre TV show. When former client Sigourney Weaver becomes frantic that paranormal forces have targeted her toddler son and the guys discover a river of slime building below Manhattan, they reunite to once again avert disaster.Given that this crew had five years to come up with a script and funny material, one can be forgiven for being a bit bereft as to what appears on screen. The comedy is oddly mannered and toothless, and the visual effects are more ho-hum than dazzling. The entire tone of the film seems more like reuniting with a bunch of beloved old friends you have not seen for years and then having the entire reunion coast solely on nostalgia, sentiment and feelings from the past. There are no hilarious moments here and every time the film seems on the verge of letting loose...it doesn't. There is too much time devoted to people fretting over the toddler. I never thought I would see Murray playing unfunny mannered bits opposite an infant. The toddler is apparently being targeted as the vessel to be possessed by Vigo the Carpathian, currently inhabiting a painting at the museum at which Weaver works. All of this has something to do with a river of slime, but the script never really hooks up how or why.The film mistakenly thinks that based on Murray's classic line "He slimed me!" that the slime itself is some fascinating aspect in Ghostbusters lore that can hold its own plot. It doesn't. The whole "mood slime" nonsense culminating in a let-down touchy-feely climax feels really pointless.What does work is the congenial cast. They seem pleased to be back together again and it shows and, sometimes, it is infectious. Murray again gets the bulk of the screen time/material and once again Aykroyd, Ramis and Hudson have little to do. Nevertheless, it is still fun to see them back on screen. Weaver has a lot more to do this time around and once again reminds us of what a swanky comic foil she is paired opposite Murray. In a better film, they could really make some magic. Annie Potts returns as the receptionist, garbed in manic outfits and missing her acerbic attitude. The film also mothballs the flirtation she had with Ramis in the original in order to bolster a half-hearted romance with Rick Moranis, now the GBs tax consultant and in a role that feels shoe-horned in here simply because he was in the original cast. The one casting aspect that does not work is newcomer to the films Peter MacNicol as a Eurotrash art restorer with designs on Weaver, who becomes a sort of Renfield to the villainous Vigo. Between his overdone accent and manic gestures, he will really aggravate your nerves quickly.For a Ghostbusters film, there are surprisingly few ghosts (what little there are mostly show up briefly and to minimal fanfare near the end). The brief appearance of Slimer comes out of no where and like too much in this film feels disappointingly pointless. The conclusion is equally a let down. Reitman and company try to offer a half-hearted homage to the original with the "mood slime" and Jackie Wilson music somehow making the Statue of Liberty come to life and the GBs riding her to the rescue in Manhattan. Alas, the effects are so bad that sometimes Ms. Liberty looks huge and sometimes she appears 6-feet tall.The script still seems in the planning mode. The story never links up the slime and Vigo in any conceivable way. Nor does it explain why Vigo must have Weaver's toddler to possess when ostensibly any toddler in NYC would do the trick. Plus it is hard to believe that these guys who saved the world so publicly in the original would have not gotten any credit for it - actually it is a bit depressing. What we do have is an ace cast who seem happy to be back together on screen providing some pleasant, if underwhelming, diversion. We do not have a classic though and we do have the strange sensation that if the screenplay were substantially better, this cast would have hit it out of the ballpark.

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