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Despite saving New York City from the shapeshifting god Gozer, the Ghostbusters swiftly went out of business following lawsuits and injunctions, leading the four members to pursue other careers. Ray Stanz (Dan Aykroyd) and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) work as children's entertainers while Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) experiments with human emotions and Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) hosts a TV talk show about psychics. After Peter's ex-girlfriend, Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), experiences a supernatural occurrence involving her baby son, she reaches out to Egon and Ray for assistance, leading the Ghostbusters to reunite. While carrying out their investigation, they discover a river of sinister slime running underneath the streets of Manhattan that feeds on negativity and threatens to destroy the city. Meanwhile, Dana works as an art restoration specialist for the sleazy Dr. Janosz Poha (Peter MacNicol), and their newest acquisition is a large portrait of a 16th-century tyrant and sorcerer, Vigo the Carpathian (Wilhelm von Homburg). Vigo's spirit lives within the painting, and he needs to possess a child to allow him to escape the painting, re-enter the realm of the living, and conquer the world. In exchange for a date with Dana, Janosz agrees to bring Dana's infant son to Vigo.
Instead of continuing on from the ending of the first movie, Ghostbusters II finds the team out of business and exploring other career avenues, making this feel like a legacy sequel. Although a direct sequel chronicling another adventure from the team's golden years would undoubtedly be fun, The Real Ghostbusters was already exploring such exploits, necessitating a more narratively complex approach to justify a theatrical follow-up. Ramis and Aykroyd's screenplay is conceptually interesting, with the public no longer perceiving the Ghostbusters as heroes and the river of slime representing a metaphor for urban decay, and the film gets ample comedic mileage from the idea of New Yorkers needing to be friendly and feel positive emotions to defeat the supernatural evil. Despite this sequel's below-par reputation, Ghostbusters II does not feel like a lazy, careless cash grab - on the contrary, it tells a worthwhile story. Unfortunately, the narrative flow is hit-and-miss, with the script introducing too many setbacks and obstacles preventing the story from progressing comfortably. The most egregious example of this is an ill-advised plot detour involving the city's douchebag mayoral aide committing the Ghostbusters to an insane asylum. Additionally, the story follows a similar structure to its predecessor, with the Ghostbusters getting their operation off the ground again, Peter pursuing a relationship with Dana, and a big finale involving a giant figure stomping through the city.
Reitman was not a technical director, and his approach to a blockbuster like this did not involve careful planning or meticulously overseeing every aspect of the special effects; instead, he gave carte blanche to the wizards at ILM. With a rushed schedule and post-production reshuffling, ILM was required to create 180 special effects shots with limited time, a modest number in the 21st Century but a sizeable amount in the realm of old-school optical printing. Fortunately, the visual effects remain enormously impressive for the most part, vividly giving life to the various spirits and apparitions, with the Scoleri Brother ghosts in the courtroom looking especially terrific. Slimer's popularity (especially among children) ensured his return here, but his screen time was reduced after test screenings, resulting in a mere cameo. A few special effects shots look on the ropey side, but not to a distracting degree, and Reitman heavily relies on practical effects and location shooting that makes the film's visual design more agreeable than artificial-looking modern blockbusters beset with computer-generated imagery. Additionally, composer Randy Edelman replaces Elmer Bernstein here, and the resulting original score does not retain the original movie's recognisable motifs or cues because Edelman wanted to create a new sound for this sequel. Ghostbusters II even features a new rendition of the iconic Ghostbusters song, with hip-hop group Run-DMC performing the track instead of Ray Parker Jr. The soundtrack also features songs from artists like Glenn Frey, Bobby Brown, and Elton John, adding further flavour to the production.
With the Ghostbusters franchise subsequently lying dormant until after Harold Ramis's tragic passing (except for the 2009 video game), Ghostbusters II features the original four Ghostbusters on-screen for the second but final time. Despite its flaws, Ghostbusters II remains eminently watchable due to the funny, charismatic cast - Murray, Ramis, Hudson and Aykroyd are an incredible cinematic quartet, and their sharp, funny interplay is a huge asset, but there is not enough of it compared to the first film, and the content feels more kid-friendly. Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts and Rick Moranis also return, with Weaver adding appreciable dramatic weight while Moranis is a superb comedic force, earning abundant laughs as Louis Tully. Out of the newcomers, the comic highlight is the uproarious Peter MacNicol, who espouses an over-the-top accent and steals every scene in which he appears. Meanwhile, it took two actors to play the film's villain, Vigo the Carpathian - Wilhelm von Homburg provides the intimidating appearance while the magnificent Max von Sydow gives the character a strong, authoritative voice.
Following disastrous test screenings, Ghostbusters II underwent extensive reshoots and re-editing to add more exposition and memorable set pieces, including an underground ghost train sequence complete with a vision of severed heads. Despite the last-minute tinkering, the story feels surprisingly cohesive, though the hasty changes perhaps explain the movie's choppy narrative flow and uneven pacing. Flaws and shortcomings hold back Ghostbusters II, but there is still plenty to recommend about this entertaining and underrated sequel that deserves a fair reappraisal.
7.3/10
