Nineteen eighty-two was quite the year for Ken Finkleman, a Canadian comedy writer and performer on radio and television. He made his debut in the American film industry when Paramount assigned him to write sequels for two successful properties where neither the writers or directors returned. The first was Grease 2, the other Airplane II: The Sequel, which he also directed.
Buy Airplane II: The SequelUsing the crawl from Star Wars and the music from Battlestar Galactica, viewers learn the movie is set at the end of the 20th century. The Moon has been colonized, leading to “a new era of space travel.” The “Mayflower 1, the first passenger shuttle to the moon, prepares for its maiden voyage.” But the shuttle is not ready as was proven on its test flight. However the pilot, Ted Striker (Robert Hays), was made a scapegoat and put on trial for its failure due to his alleged incompetence. His attorney brings up witnesses from Airplane! to vouch for his skills, which includes a flashback. When Ted learns about the scheduled Mayflower 1 flight, he tries to stop it.
After the pilots [returning Captain Clarence Oveur (Peter Graves), navigator/co-pilot Unger (Kent McCord), and first officer/flight engineer Dunn (James A. Watson Jr.)] have their own bit of wordplay with their names like in the previous movie, they are incapacitated by R.O.K, the shuttle’s artificial intelligence computer system, leaving the ship’s computer officer, Elaine (Julie Hagerty), as the only member of the crew. Former air traffic controller Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges), fired by President Reagan, is called back into action, but he can only do so much from Earth. There’s one man on board who can fly the shuttle, which is heading into the sun, and that’s Ted Striker. Although their relationship ended, Ted and Elaine have to work together on the shuttle, which includes a passenger with a bomb, a plotline lifted from Airport.
Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, the Airplane! writing/directing team considered coming back for a sequel, but they wanted to go in a completely different direction. Unfortunately, The Sequel copies the original’s basic story and a number of its jokes so that it seems more like Airplane II: The Remake. Even though there’s laughs to be had and the cast, both returning and new members, do a good job delivering the material, Airplane II pales in comparison to original, which is inevitable due to the similarities.
The video is from a new 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative and displayed in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Color reproduction is strong. Blacks are inky, although some portion of space lose their richness due to the special effects, which at over 40 years old don’t stand up to the higher resolution. The image delivers a sharp focus that reveals depth and texture details.
The audio is available in English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and 5.1. On both, the dialogue, effects, and score come through clearly and are balanced well together in the mix. However, there’s not a lot of action or ambiance for the 5.1 to offer. The subwoofer offers minimal support. The tracks sound free of hiss and defects.
The Special Features are:
- Two audio commentaries, one by Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast, the other by television writer and critic Patrick Walsh
- Various trailers for comedy films released by KL Studio Classics
Fans of Airplane II will be happy with this new release. It is also available in a 4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo Pack.
