Ghostbusters 2 ... Was It Really That Bad?

No. It wasn't that bad or at least I don't think it was. Ghostbusters II is plagued by those who like to ostracize the movie and pretend it doesn't exist.

The problem with sequels is that people tend to compare it to the original, I'm not saying I don't, because I do. But the thing you need to remember is that Zuul is not in this movie, neither is Gozer, or Stay Puft, it's a totally new adventure and should be treated as such. I will agree on a few arguments that have been raised over the past 20 years.

- Pink slime? Really? I have no idea why they chose the pink over the green slime. There's some deleted content that has floated around the internet for years that shows the slime that is under the city was suppose to be green. Not like snot nose green, but dark green. It looked Ghostbusterish and looked like it fit. But alas, for reasons that may have made sense at the time, they decided on the pink slime.

-The end battle with Vigo ... sucked. I thought Vigo could have kicked some serious ass as a movie villain, but nope. Let's just slime him and be done with it. I would have liked to see Vigo suck the Ghostbusters into a ghost world like dimension and them battle it out there. But what we got was a lazy finish in my opinion.

-The baby had more screen time than the boys. Sure, baby Oscar is cute, but at times it almost seemed like he was the main star rather than the Ghostbusters themselves. And I know that the storyline had to have him, because Vigo needed a vessel for him to be alive. Speaking of ...

-He ended up coming out of the painting anyway ... even without the baby. Mind you, I suppose since he's all powerful, he can get away with that.

-Slimer. No, I have no problem with Slimer or anything about him. He just looked ... bigger in this movie. Like in one he was pretty small, but in this one, it was like he was the size of a person. Just more of a production issue than a problem. 

-From Zeroes to Heroes to Zeroes Again. As you saw in the first movie, they were unknown paranormal investigators at the beginning of the film. They became heroes after defeating Gozer and became heroes. I don't have that big of a problem with their problems in the second film; it's just if you really think about it: it doesn't make sense. They saved the world at the first movie, I think they'd get a pass for all the damages they caused! But like I said, I'm okay with it.

-Titanic. If you know how much I post on the Titanic on here, then you know I'm a Titanic nerd. I do really like the Titanic scene in the movie, though short, it's pretty funny ... even in a macabre way. "Well, better late than never," you hear Cheech Marlin say. Although I like the part, I also can't stand how they made the Titanic look. If it was a fictional ship, it would be pretty cool, but since they're now playing with history, they should at least make it true. My beef with it, is for example, the picture above. Titanic doesn't have a big, gaping hole, like her sister ship, Britannic (wrong spot, but whatever). The Titanic wreck was discovered in 1985, long before filming began for GB2. They should have done their homework. Oh well. Maybe I'm over thinking this and being a nerd. Actually this is more of the smaller problems, but I still managed to talk about this more than the other problems!

Okay, I'm sure there's more things I can nit-pick at, but let's talk about why Ghostbusters II is worth the time.

-It's funny. Is it Ghostbusters one funny? Well, that's up to you. I remember when Harold Ramis died, I played both Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II and found myself laughing more at the second one. But comedy is up to the person and doesn't speak volumes for the film at hand.

-Louis Tully. I loved seeing more of Rick Moranis' character in this. To me, he made the movie more fun and funnier. From his interactions with Slimer, to his more intimidate interactions with Janine; he was just a fun character to watch. I especially liked him during the court room scene.

-A lot more special effects. This is where I compare the first one to the sequel. The first one had some pretty impressive special effects for 1984, but when the second one came out, being five years later, effects can improve quite substantially. I guess what I'm saying is that I liked it because it had more special effects and really showcased what we could see if we had more Ghostbusters movies.

 -The Ghostbusters II soundtrack is probably my favorite movie soundtrack out there. There was a time not too long ago when movies got these bands or artists together to make original music just for the movie. Now it's much different, but back then, it was all about making the movie special and it's own identity. Now, I'm not that big of a hip-hop fan, but I can honestly listen to these tracks over and over again. From Doug E Fresh's "Spirit" to "On Our Own" by Bobby Brown, it's music that get's you into the Ghostbusting spirit.

-It FEELS like a sequel. Great sequels are few and far between. I can only count a few, but that's another rant for another day. Ghostbusters II isn't my most favorite sequel, but it had the essentials to make an ideal sequel. A sequel should be a new adventure for the characters with new villains and new characters and we got that. A sequel with the same characters, but same antagonist(s) is a continuance of the first. GB2 follows GB1, but doesn't involve the same antagonist.

-It goes without saying, but Janine was pretty damn hot in this movie. Or maybe I just have a thing for chicks in glasses. 

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In Closing: The more I think about Ghostbusters 2 the more I love it.