Santa in his sleigh gets involved on this holiday-targeting poster for Ken Finkleman's Airplane II: The Sequel |
The Sequel takes place in the future, where a moon mission gets off course due to a homicidal computer, so that the passenger rocket steers straight for the sun! With a bomb!
The Sequel is basically the original comedy classic Airplane! (1980) all over again, but with less original material, (because most of it is simply recycled here), and no Leslie Nielsen. The ZAZ creators of the original (Jim Abrahams, plus brothers Jerry and David Zucker) had nothing to do with the follow-up, and it suffers in freshness and creativity, - and in its basic story.
Even so, this thin cup of tea attracted stars Rip Torn (The Mouse (1996)), William Shatner (Range 15 (2016)), Raymond Burr (Mallory: Circumstantial Evidence (1976, TV movie)) and most of the rest of the original cast back, and Lloyd Bridges (Winter People (1989)) single-handedly secures the film's third star with his hysterical acting.
It is written and directed by Ken Finkleman (The Newsroom (1996-05)).
Related post:
Airplane! (1980) - Classic deadpan/spoof/crazy-comedy!
Watch a trailer for the movie here
Cost: 15 mil. $
Box office: 27.1 mil. $ (North America only)
= Uncertain, likely a box office success (returned 1.80 times its cost domestically alone)
[Airplane II: The Sequel opened 10 December (USA) and runs 85 minutes. Finkleman was also hired by Paramount to write Grease 2 (1982). Shooting took place in Los Angeles, California. The film opened #2, behind The Toy, to a 5.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd week. Its gross is down 67 % from the original's 83.4 mil. $ domestic gross, - on a budget that was only 23 % the size as the one for The Sequel. The world gross should nevertheless secure the film profitability. Roger Ebert gave it a 2/4 star review, translating to a notch harder than this one. Finkleman returned with Head Office (1985). Robert Hays (Starman (1986-87)) returned in Trenchcoat (1983), Julie Hagerty (The Winner (2007, TV-series)) in Lost in America (1985), and Bridges in 8 TV credits before he returned to cinemas in Weekend Warriors (1986). Airplane II: The Sequel is rotten at 42 % with a 5.33/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Airplane II: The Sequel?
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