Why do so many dislike Ghostbusters II?

[Darthkush]

Yes, I'm aware of the "where are the Ghostbusters" thread which is an general thread this forum has about the various movies, actors, etc but in this thread(which I hope is left open) I wanted to have some discussion about Ghostbusters II in particular.

Why is it so heavily disliked? It's one thing to say the first one is better. That's fine. I like the first one SLIGHTLY more(that's just my opinion) but we're not talking about an GIGANTIC shift in tone like going from Batman Returns to Batman Forever or something which is what I don't get.

So for those who hate it or find it horrible, I want to know why. Murray(as many know) briefly stated recently that the effects kind of boggled down his enjoyment of the last half of the first film and almost all of the second one(he commented that the story wasn't done correctly in the second one). What was so bad about it?

 

[Sam Fisher]

GB2 is underrated

 

[Darthkush]

Reasons why Ghostbusters II is an entertaining flick to me:

- First of all, I'd be remiss not to mention that both Ghostbusters films were released when I was an child(I was born in 1983) and as an result I was caught up in the full extent of the franchise(as I watched the films almost everyday on videotape, watched the cartoon everyday monday thru saturday and owned an TON of the toys). So there's obviously an hint of nostalgia there. I remember going to the theatre and seeing Ghostbusters II and sitting in my dad's lap feeling just wowed.

-EVERYBODY came back! They even came up with an comical reason for Louis Tully to be in it(who most fans loved).

-The character's lives have moved forward. Instead of going in an predictable route and just having the Ghostbusters just well...keep ghostbusting, they retired and New York tried to sue them for Property damage(which is pretty typical of how people tend to treat others about various things like that. Sad but true). I like that they had Dana and Peter(offscreen) get together, break up, and now meet again after an few years. I liked Ray/Winstons's birthday gigs, Ray's Occult, and Egon's research. All of this works for me and hell, if there's an third one soon, I'd love to know what they've been doing since the last one.

-They came up with an ghostly villain that was interesting. An evil painting that was possessed by an ancient tyrant. That's pretty cool, especially for an sci-fi comedy. I loved Vigo. I also loved how*spoiler if you haven't seen it, but, come on, you probably have if you're reading this* he possessed Ray at one point. That kind of thing happened all the time on the cartoons so I dug that.

-I liked the way they balanced having scenes with just the original 3 ghostbusters and ones with Winston being there as well. It was very cleverly executed. The courtroom scene(special fx heavy or not) is one of my favorite movie scenes of all time. I absolutely love every moment of it. It starts off hilarious(Louis's questioning is just damn funny) and ends with an whole lot of great humor mixed with action(Doh, Rey, Egon. hehheeheh. I LOVED IT). And on the other hand, Winston was there during every importent thing that requires all the Ghostbusters(montages of busting, the vigo investigation, the slime investigation in the subway tunnels).

-All in all, I just think it's an really great film and sequel.

But i'm aware there are negatives...

-One can argue that everything is just repetetive of the first film. Courtroom=Slimer catching, Slime shell =Dana's apartment, etc. I was aware of it but didn't mind it.

-Just wasn't as funny. Again, arguable.

-Anything else, I can only really think of little silly things like maybe they don't like the score is much or the bobby brown song bothers them. I don't know.

thoughts?

 

[Sam Fisher]

Agree with you 100%.

 

[Darthkush]

GB2 is underrated

"You're not sleeping with it are you, Ray?"

What's not funny about that stuff? I love the look Ray and Egon give Peter and Winston and then how Egon clears his throat to go to the dancing toaster stuff lol.

Again, I just don't get the hate sometimes.

 

[Gilpesh]

It's no Ghostbusters... but I liked it.

 

[Sam Fisher]

"Who you gonna call?

HE-MAN!"

 

[Venom75]

Personally,I don't hate it but I don't love it either. What I didn't like about it is how everything took a step down from the original. In the original the jokes were more adult(and so was the film)and the ghosts were ALOT more creepy and sinister looking. I didn't find the new villain in GB2 the least bit scary and I understand why it happened,but having the Statue of Liberty come to life and walk through NY was a bit over the top. Although,I did like the Titanic moment.
With GB2 I think that after the success of The New Ghostbusters cartoon (that was popular at the time)it really lightened up the Ghostbusters and made it more "family friendly." Slimer,who was fun but looked a little creepy in the original film,now become this lovable sidekick and the adult humor was,of course,toned down very much. So,it would stand to reason that GB2 would reflect that status.

 

[Darthkush]

Personally,I don't hate it but I don't love it either. What I didn't like about it is how everything took a step down from the original. In the original the jokes were more adult(and so was the film)and the ghosts were ALOT more creepy and sinister looking. I didn't find the new villain in GB2 the least bit scary and I understand why it happened,but having the Statue of Liberty come to life and walk through NY was a bit over the top. Although,I did like the Titanic moment.
With GB2 I think that after the success of The New Ghostbusters cartoon (that was popular at the time)it really lightened up the Ghostbusters and made it more "family friendly." Slimer,who was fun but looked a little creepy in the original film,now become this lovable sidekick and the adult humor was,of course,toned down very much. So,it would stand to reason that GB2 would reflect that status.

Statue of Liberty is an good enough point I suppose but I could've seen it being in the first one too. It'd be cheesy no matter how it was presented, I think. One noticeable thing that's less adult is the lack of smoking. In the first one, everyone save for, I think Spengler smokes. Then in the second one, none of them do. Noticeable. I'll give the "less adult" argument that.

As for Slimer. I think he was IN the second one because of the cartoon but I don't think his redesign had as much to do with it. I think it was an probably an combination of his look from the cartoon with just having an bigger and easier to operate puppet. It's not like they had him hanging out with the Ghostbusters like on the show. THAT would've been cause for complaining. Also, for all thinking Slimer is done, if this new Ghostbusters is in fact made, do any of you really think he won't be in it? Even for one scene? Let's get real.

 

[GhostPoet]

It's a good movie....but no where near as good as the first. They are hardly in their uniforms in the 2nd one...and not a lot of ghost busting actually happens in it.

 

[Alien Anal]

its the ghost buster movie i have seen the most

 

[Franklin Richards]

I like how Winston grew from the new guy to a full fledged member. You didn't even think of him in the way you did in GB1.

Winston!

 

[Symbiotic]

I love GB2.

Ray: "It's like a giant... jello mold.
Winston: "I hate jello."
Peter: "Oh come on. There's always room for jello."

t:

 

[Sawyer]

This thread is strange. I mean, when you ask people what the worst sequel ever is, they will hardly ever say Ghostbusters II. I mean, granted, it is not the best sequel, but it is still not as disliked as you make it sound.

And I love GB2, btw.

 

[Galactus]

I didn't hate Ghostbusters II, but like most sequels it just suffered from the "been there, done that"-syndrome. Ghostbusters was hardly a movie that needed a sequel.

 

[Darthkush]

It's a good movie....but no where near as good as the first. They are hardly in their uniforms in the 2nd one...and not a lot of ghost busting actually happens in it.

Actually, I think they wear them about the same, maybe more.

 

[KnightBat]

Personally I like GB2. I think its just as enjoyable as the first one.


Peter:" Because sometimes **** happens, someone has to deal with it, and who you gonna call?"

 

[Kent]

I love Ghostbusters II.

But I guess, yes, it does lack the slightly more adult edge from the first one, and the Statue of Liberty bit was a bit too much.

I do think, much like "Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom", it's a bit underrated due to the fact that:

1.) It's not quite as good as what was expected from it.
2.) Fanboys have a tendency to overreact.

 

[CashforStash]

Meh, it's slightly underated but The First GB is still epic win for me.

 

[Theweepeople]

Well, I found the film to be very disappointing. Definitely, not the worst sequel but, it's obvious that the creators behind it weren't inspired to make the best sequel possible. The sound track was weak and the villian was not scary. The humor really ruined the mood of the film. There was no sense of tension in this one. The only thing I found to be enjoyable were the advancement in special effects and the ending was pretty lame.


Columbia pictures seemed to be the only ones interested in doing a sequel. The original creators(Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ivan Reitman) were pressured into making another film.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostbusters_II



Bill Murrary's interview at fantastic fest makes it pretty clear why he hasn't considered doing a ghostbusters sequel until recently. Go to the 5 minute part of the interview to see what he really thinks of Ghosterbusters 2 in comparison to the first.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/38496

 

[Doctor Jones]

I love Ghostbusters II.

But I guess, yes, it does lack the slightly more adult edge from the first one, and the Statue of Liberty bit was a bit too much.

I do think, much like "Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom", it's a bit underrated due to the fact that:

1.) It's not quite as good as what was expected from it.
2.) Fanboys have a tendency to overreact.

Agree with this. Though not as good as the first one. The second isn't terrible like most peple think it it. TOD is unfairly treated and is very underrated.

 

[WeaponXProject]

I love the sequel. I think the villain is more menacing. The slime is frightening and Bill Murray is as funny as ever. When I watch it now I think it is even more funny how the Ghostbusters save the city in the first movie and are sued for destroying the city. The cast rocks, Vigo is terrifying and the slime was pretty freaky.

I am with most of you guys, this sequel shouldn't have gotten the crap it received.

 

[bullets]

GB2 is an entertaining movie but most people think it's not as interesting. I didn't think it was good but it was still worth it to see the cast collaborating again because they are genuinely funny people.

 

[Carnotaur3]

GB2 is an entertaining movie but most people think it's not as interesting. I didn't think it was good but it was still worth it to see the cast collaborating again because they are genuinely funny people.

Well, I think GB2's villian is a hell of a lot more interesting than Zule. He's actually SCARY.

 

[The Chris]

Yeah I really like this one. It was just fun. They both were.