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I'll never understand what people's problems were with Ghostbusters II -- I love it just as much now as I did when I watched it as a kid in the '80s. Considering it has all the original cast, improved special effects, memorable humour, and an even more ridiculous story line, this sequel has all the elements that made the first movie such a success (and then some), and is just as enjoyable.

Sequels have such a bad reputation for being unimaginative, with a majority of critics complaining that they tend just to repeat the same material as the original film. Really, though, this has never been a great concern of mine: I'd much rather have the "feel" of the original movie -- like Ghostbusters 2 has -- than it aspiring too much to be different and choosing to depart so far from a successful formula. Rambo: First Blood Part II did this and I thought it was mediocre at best; however, Rocky II kept the essence of the original and I loved every minute of it.

The story opens five years after the Ghostbusters first saved New York City, with the guys now being out of business and sued for property damages by the local council (talk about ungrateful). Zedmore (Hudson) and Stanz (Aykroyd) are attempting to entertain little kiddies at parties for their main source of income, while Spengler (Ramis) conducts scientific experiments in various laboratories and Venkman (Murray) is hosting a show called 'World of the Psychic' on television.

Dana (Weaver) is back too, and now a single Mother, who is being menaced by a mysterious pink slime on the streets and in her own home. During a test, the boys realise that this slime reacts, kinetically, to human emotion -- whether this be positive or negative -- and soon enough discover a river of it under the city, which is leading to a painting of 'Vigo the Carpathian' at the art museum. This possesses an evil spirit within and is seeking the body of a young child -- more specifically, Dana's baby -- so that it can become mortal again.

Yes, it all sounds pretty ridiculous, and the freshness of a supernatural plot line may be lacking when compared to the first movie, but there's a still a lot of enjoyment to be had here. Ghostbusters II moves at an energetic pace with the key feature still being the characters. The Ghostbusters' unwillingness to be beaten by all the bad vibes generated by the ungrateful, two-faced people of New York in the opening scenes makes us even more glad that the guys are back. The screenplay took a risk depicting the depressive slump of the team in the beginning, but this makes for a very satisfying pay off when they do eventually start catching ghosts and cracking witty jokes just like old times. Louis (Rick Moranis) and Janine (Annie Potts) are also given more screen time to develop their characters, and the introduction of baby Oscar also adds further energy to the film.

I also remember being scared a lot more by Ghostbusters II when I watched it as a kid than I was by the original. The scene where Vigo's eyes "come alive" and shock Janosh at mid-point never failed at making me flinch -- even when I knew it was coming. Sure, it doesn't quite have the same effect upon me now; nevertheless, the film offers plenty of light horror and comedic moments that are good for escapism. Check also the scene prior to the final battle which sees the guys soaking the statue of liberty in "positively-charged slime" and controlling it with the NES joystick. This looks pretty damn awesome.

My small gripe with the film is its ending, which sees the Ghostbusters defeat the threat of Vigo a little too easily. The bottom line, however, is this: Ghostbusters II is a visual improvement upon its predecessor, and its actors manage to fit significantly into their character roles and showcase their comic talents and ghost-busting-heroism just as much as before. It really is an entertaining movie, and right up there with the original as one of the best Comedy/Sci-Fi films of the '80s. So ignore a majority of the negative comments surrounding and just enjoy another significant fun fest for all the family.
 

(C) Andy Carrington, 2009.