Airplane II: The Sequel

Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)

Runtime: 85 minutes

Directed by: Ken Finkleman

Starring: Several returning faces, plus the likes of William Shatner, John Vernon, and Chuck Connors

From: Paramount 

It suffers without the presence of ZAZ (and Leslie Nielsen) but for a first-time watch inspired by my recent reference of Airplane, might as well finally tackle the sequel. There are many references to the first film and practically all aren’t as good. That doesn’t mean I didn’t laugh enough where “fine” is my rating for the film. Still, the concept of a sequel closely copying the original is not a phenomenon invented about a decade ago, in other words.

Ted Striker and Elaine return in “the future”, where a HAL 9000 ripoff known as ROK goes haywire on a commercial space shuttle flight; thankfully the duo are both on board. The plot is practically a copy of the first, for better or for worse, along with the expected sci-fi spoofing. Some other faces from the original return—along w/ many famous faces in small roles; even more so than in the first, Stephen Stucker’s presence as the oddball quipping, non-sequitor Jacobs was welcome here.

There were moments that fell flat; that said, there was plenty of clever wordplay I enjoyed and as uncouth as it is to admit, some of the off-color humor made me laugh. Those that liked the crassest moments in the first might be giddy that the sequel has humor involving a donkey, the worst stereotypes of the clergy, a shuttle crashing played for chuckles, etc. 

For a movie I had low expectations for, I was glad that it was at least watchable, even if it’s not a surprise that this did not leave the impact on pop culture that Airplane did. Be that as it may, William Shatner’s role in the final act did provide a boost & was a reason why there was no regrets in finally giving The Sequel a shot.