Often considered one of the top ten comedies of all time, the original Airplane! is a perfect spoof of the popular disaster films of the 1970’s. Highly quotable, some of its most famous lines are still repeated today, more than thirty years after the film’s release. Given the box office success of Airplane!, it’s no surprise that Paramount decided to produce a sequel to the film. However, they did so without the participation of original creators David Zucker, Jerry Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker (ZAZ) which definitely left the film lacking much of the humor that made the first film a classic.
First time writer/director Ken Finkleman crafts an occasionally funny, but largely redundant movie that simply recycles quite a few jokes from the first outing. As you might expect, a group of innocent passengers once again put their lives on the line. However, this time it’s no ordinary plane, it’s the lunar shuttle, Mayflower One, commanded by our old friend, Captain Clarence Oveur (Peter Graves). The flight crew includes First Officer Dunn (James A. Watson, Jr.) and Navigator Dave Unger (Kent McCord). Along for the ride is ultra-macho Simon Kurtz (Chad Everett), the fiancé of ditzy computer officer Elaine Dickinson (Julie Hagerty), who dumped Ted Striker (Robert Hays) after he crashed a prototype of the shuttle during a test flight.
Blamed for the accident, the company had Ted committed to the Ronald Reagan Home for the Mentally Ill (“We Cure People the Old Fashioned Way”) after a rigged trial presided over by a judge—played by Raymond Burr—who strangely enough, looks like a dead ringer for Perry Mason! The most damning testimony against Ted came from his psychiatrist; Dr. Stone (John Vernon), whose idea of mental illness is anyone who complains about his bill. In truth, Striker had discovered some serious issues with the shuttle’s manufacturer, a sentiment shared by the Sarge (Chuck Connors), but he decides to defer to the airline’s management.
When Striker sees a headline announcing the shuttle launch, he breaks out of the asylum and buys a ticket. Quicker than you can say “lunar disaster,” the Mayflower One’s wiring overheats, causing its sophisticated computer, ROK (voiced by director Finkelman), to kill or incapacitate most of the crew. Simon Kurtz survives the attack, but his macho disappears as he turns to Jell-O (literally) and dashes for the nearest escape pod. It’s now up to Julie and Ted to land the flying disaster safely at lunar base Alpha Beta. Guiding them at mission control is that old, crazy fella Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges), hauled out of retirement for the occasion.
Airplane II is full of familiar cameos. The Krishnas turn up briefly, though only David Leisure was also seen in the first film. Lee Bryant’s Mrs. Hammen still needs to be slapped by everyone in sight to prevent her hysterics. Al White returns as one of the “jive dudes,” acting as a character witness at Ted’s trial, but he’s just not as funny without Barbara Billingsley along. Ann Nelson also returns as the kind, old lady who makes the mistake of listening to Ted’s woes.
Not to be outdone, Ken Finkleman brought along his own group of famous faces for some interesting turns. Sonny Bono plays Joe Seluchi, who buys a bomb at the airport store and carries it in a suitcase covered in stickers from places like Nagasaki and Pearl Harbor. The standout is William Shatner as Buck Murdock, commander of lunar base Alpha Beta. A survivor of Striker’s ill-fated wartime raid over Macho Grande, Murdock despises the pilot but fate has brought them together again. Shatner is truly hilarious, and brings a much needed spark to the second half of the film.
Fans of the original will find things to like about Airplane II, it has its funny moments. However, the whole thing just feels rehashed and rudderless at times.
Cinematographer Joseph F. Biroc shot Airplane! and returned for the sequel, employing bright lighting, a pretty run-of-the-mill color palette and lots of close-up and medium range shots. Presented in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio, Warner transfer offers up solid blacks, nice color, well rendered detail and a natural looking grain. There’s no evidence of edge enhancement or DNR in use.
The mono soundtrack has been formatted as lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0. Boasting identical left and right channels, the soundtrack is certainly serviceable, if nothing special. Dialogue is clear, and the effects are distinguishable. The parody score composed of Elmer Bernstein’s cues from the first film, plus additional music by arranger Richard Hazard and other key musical cues come through nicely.
English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles are included.
There are no extras.
