Airplane II: The Sequel

Airplane II: The Sequel
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ken Finkleman
Produced by	Howard W. Koch
Written by	Ken Finkleman
Starring	Robert Hays Julie Hagerty Lloyd Bridges Chad Everett Peter Graves Rip Torn Chuck Connors Stephen Stucker Wendy Phillips Sonny Bono William Shatner
Music by	Elmer Bernstein Richard Hazard
Cinematography	Joe Biroc
Editing by	Tina Hirsch
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	December 10, 1982
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$27,150,534

Airplane II: The Sequel is an American comedy sequel to the 1980 film Airplane!. First released on December 10, 1982, the film was written and directed by Ken Finkleman and stars Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Chad Everett, William Shatner, Rip Torn, and Sonny Bono.

Plot

In the near future, the moon has been colonized and supports a station on its surface. A lunar shuttle known as Mayflower One is being rushed to launch from Houston.

The head of the ground crew, The Sarge (Chuck Connors), does not like what is occurring, but he defers to the airline's management. On-board is computer officer Elaine Dickinson (Julie Hagerty), who was a flight attendant in the first movie. Elaine has long-since left Ted Striker (Robert Hays) and is now engaged to one of the flight crew, Simon Kurtz (Chad Everett). On the flight crew with Dickinson and Kurtz are Captain Clarence Oveur (Peter Graves), First Officer Dunn (James A. Watson, Jr.) and Navigator Dave Unger (Kent McCord). Striker has been committed to an insane asylum, as he was declared mentally incompetent in a lawsuit brought after the lunar shuttle crashed during a test flight that Ted piloted. Striker believes that the lawsuit was used to silence him, because he knew there were problems with the lunar shuttle that made it unsafe. Now Striker is haunted by his actions in "The War", specifically the events that took place over "Macho Grande", where he lost his entire squadron. When Striker reads of the upcoming Lunar Shuttle launch, he escapes the asylum and buys a ticket for the flight.

During the flight, Mayflower One suffers a short circuit, causing the artificially intelligent computer ROC to go insane and send the ship toward the sun. Unger and Dunn try to deactivate the computer, but are blown out of an airlock. Oveur tries to stop ROC, but the computer gasses him. Kurtz abandons Elaine and leaves in the only escape pod. Once again Striker is called upon to save the day, but first he has to figure out how to make the computer relinquish control. Steven McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges), the air traffic controller, reveals that a passenger named Joe Seluchi (Sonny Bono) had boarded Mayflower One with a bomb in a briefcase, intending to commit suicide so that his wife can collect on insurance money. Striker manages to wrestle the bomb from him and uses it to blow up ROC and set course for the moon as originally intended. Using the bomb to destroy the computer causes collateral damage to the shuttle, meaning the flight is not out of danger yet. On the way to the Moon, control of the flight is shifted to a lunar base, commanded by Cmdr. Buck Murdock (William Shatner). He has a high level of contempt for Striker because of Macho Grande, but agrees to help anyway. They manage to land the craft on the moon. Ted and Elaine fall back in love and are married at the end. After the wedding, Seluchi looks into the cockpit and asks for his briefcase back.

Cast

• Robert Hays as Ted Striker
• Julie Hagerty as Elaine Dickinson
• Lloyd Bridges as Steve McCroskey
• Chad Everett as Simon Kurtz
• Peter Graves as Captain Clarence Oveur
• Rip Torn as Bud Kruger
• Chuck Connors as The Sarge
• Stephen Stucker as Controller Jacobs / Courtroom Clerk
• Wendy Phillips as Mary
• Sonny Bono as Joe Seluchi
• William Shatner as Commander Buck Murdock
• Raymond Burr as Judge D.C. Simonton
• John Vernon as Dr. Stone
• Lee Bryant as Mrs. Hammen
• David Paymer as Court photographer
• Rick Overton as Clerk
• Leon Askin as Moscow anchorman
• Pat Sajak as Buffalo anchorman
• Louise Sorel as Nurse
• George Wendt (uncredited) as Ticket agent
• Leslie Nielsen (uncredited, archive footage) as Dr. Rumack

Reception

In comparison to its predecessor, Airplane II: The Sequel received generally mixed reviews from critics. Variety magazine commented that "It can't be said that Airplane II is no better or worse than its predecessor. It is far worse, but might seem funnier had there been no original."^[1] Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars, saying it "never really seems to know whether it's about a spaceship. It's all sight gags, one-liners, puns, funny signs and scatological cross-references."^[2] The film currently holds a 39% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[3]

References

1. ^ Variety Reviews - Airplane II: The Sequel
2. ^ Roger Ebert - Airplane II: The Sequel
3. ^ Airplane II: The Sequel at Rotten Tomatoes

External links

• Airplane II: The Sequel at the Internet Movie Database
• Airplane II: The Sequel at AllRovi
• Airplane II: The Sequel at Box Office Mojo
• Airplane II: The Sequel at Rotten Tomatoes