# Is Airplane 2:The Sequel generally considered to be really bad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572 "2012-11-20T02:23:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/1 "2012-11-20T02:23:35Z")
Okay, like Monty Python films, my friends & I have always loved and constantly quote lines from the first _Airplane!_ film. We went and saw the sequel in the theater and loved that one too. I know it not only didn’t have Leslie Nielson in it, but that the original creators (Abrahams & Zuckers) weren’t involved. Yet, unlike almost every sequel made by others, we’ve always found Airplane 2 to be almost as funny as the first. It certainly has as many quotable lines as the first. And a self-parodying William Shatner more than made up for Leslie Nielson. I’m not so interested in box office figures or professional reviews, but do diehard fans of Airplane! (and say Police Squad) find the sequel to be almost as good, just ok, or terrible? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/2 "2012-11-20T02:27:08Z")
Big fan of both. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/3 "2012-11-20T02:32:25Z")
The sequel has its moments, just that those moments aren’t as good or frequent as the original. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/4 "2012-11-20T02:33:16Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I’m not so interested in box office figures or professional reviews, but do diehard fans of Airplane! (and say Police Squad) find the sequel to be almost as good, just ok, or terrible? Almost As Good – but only because I’m factoring in how the movie kicks into high gear once William Shatner arrives. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/5 "2012-11-20T02:36:53Z")
I haven’t watched it in ages, and when I first saw it I was but a kid, the perfect non-discerning age for it, but I’ve always thought of it being almost as good as the original. It has more of a Science Fiction parody element to it, which for me is a big plus. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/6 "2012-11-20T02:38:05Z")
The sequel was funny enough but it borrowed too many gags from the first film to rank along side one another. The first film was groundbreaking in the unsubtlty of the humor. No film using that style (like the countless _Scary Movie_ spinoffs) will ever seem as fresh or funny as the first _Airplane!_. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/7 "2012-11-20T02:43:50Z")
I’m somewhere between good as the orginal and just okay. I think the sequel mostly suffers due to comparision to the original. If the orginal didnt exist the sequel would take its place among the funniest movies ever. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/8 "2012-11-20T02:52:16Z")
Somewhere between Just ok and Almost as funny as the original. A little closer to Just ok. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/9 "2012-11-20T03:31:04Z")
Just OK, which was hugely disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/10 "2012-11-20T05:17:43Z")
“The Des Moines Institute?” By the way, when’s the last time Airplane 2 was aired on TV? It was pretty common on broadcast and cable TV in the 90s but I’ve haven’t seen it in years on TV. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/11 "2012-11-20T14:47:42Z")
One of the funnier aspects of the movie is a meta-gag. If you see the first movie, almost all the jokes are take-offs from that, only even more insane. Which is half the point, because it’s riffing on sequels as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/12 "2012-11-20T15:00:01Z")
I am amazed by how good the sequel is, considering that it’s not by the same team (although it used the same actors). Normally when one tries to copy an idiosyncratic comedy like that the result is a dismal failure. But Airplane II managed to tap into the same surreal vein of throw-a-joke-at-you-if-it-doesn’t-work-here’s=another, combined with off-the-wall pop culture references with an easy abandon. The whole “Macho Grande” court scene, with its constant running jokes switching phrases with names, could’ve come ftom the first “Airplane” film. Or the scene where Striker, havimng escaped the asylum, arrives at the airport in a truck carrying pods from _The Invasion of the Body Snatchers_, jumps off the truck as a flash goes off, then passes a newsstand having front-page newspapers showing him jumping off the truck is so in keeping with the whole Zucker/Zucker/Abrahams style that I was dazzled. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/13 "2012-11-20T15:02:27Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I am amazed by how good the sequel is, considering that it’s not by the same team (although it used the same actors). Normally when one tries to copy an idiosyncratic comedy like that the result is a dismal failure. But Airplane II managed to tap into the same surreal vein of throw-a-joke-at-you-if-it-doesn’t-work-here’s=another, combined with off-the-wall pop culture references with an easy abandon. > The whole “Macho Grande” court scene, with its constant running jokes switching phrases with names, could’ve come ftom the first “Airplane” film. > > Or the scene where Striker, havimng escaped the asylum, arrives at the airport in a truck carrying pods from _The Invasion of the Body Snatchers_, jumps off the truck as a flash goes off, then passes a newsstand having front-page newspapers showing him jumping off the truck is so in keeping with the whole Zucker/Zucker/Abrahams style that I was dazzled. Over Macho Grande? ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/14 "2012-11-20T15:03:57Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > … > > The whole “Macho Grande” court scene, with its constant running jokes switching phrases with names, could’ve come ftom the first “Airplane” film. > … I don’t think I’ll ever be over Macho Grande. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/15 "2012-11-20T15:18:59Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I am amazed by how good the sequel is, considering that it’s not by the same team (although it used the same actors). Ken Finkleman, the writer-director of Airplane II, is a noted comedy _auteur_ in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/16 "2012-11-20T15:52:48Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Ken Finkleman, the writer-director of Airplane II, is a noted comedy _auteur_ in Canada. Even being good and noted in your own right, however, is no guarantee that you can capture someone else’s style, and b damned good at it. Compare the “fake ads” and general style of **roboCop II** with the original **RoboCop** , for instance. I find the sequels painful to watch. It’s a common complant that sequels not by the original team aren’t up to sbuff ( **The Fly II**. Or **Son of the Fly** , for that matter). There are a few cases where they’re very good, but extremely different in stryle and tone ( **Aliens** ). To have a sequel be both good and similar is rare and impressive. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/17 "2012-11-20T16:19:58Z")
Almost as funny as the original. It’s been so long since I’ve seen either that I sometimes get confused as to which line or gag belongs in which movie. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/18 "2012-11-20T16:26:30Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > I don’t think I’ll ever be over Macho Grande. Those [wounds](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjBdFPyxuak) run pretty deep. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/19 "2012-11-20T17:57:56Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Even being good and noted in your own right, however, is no guarantee that you can capture someone else’s style, and b damned good at it. Oh, for sure. I was just pointing out a little Can-con (Canadian content). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572/20 "2012-11-20T19:19:14Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Almost as funny as the original. > > It’s been so long since I’ve seen either that I sometimes get confused as to which line or gag belongs in which movie. This is true. I suspect that a lot of folks think that some of the lines from Airplane II were really from the original, and say that the sequel wasn’;t as good simply because it was a sequel, or because someone else did it. Honestly – how many of you thought that “Macho Grande” was from the first Airplane film? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-airplane-2-the-sequel-generally-considered-to-be-really-bad/641572.md?page=2)