Ghostbusters 2 (3 Stars)

"Ghostbusters 2" was released five years after the original film, but it took a long time to get there. The cast of the original film (Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson) were unwilling to make a sequel, because they thought the original film was perfect in itself. When they finally agreed on making a film, it was delayed by scheduling problems. There were arguments within Columbia Pictures about how much money should be invested in the film. The only way to keep the budget low was for the main actors to agree on being paid a percentage of the profits, rather than a large salary in advance.

After the film was complete, it was badly received by test audiences, leading to rewriting and reshooting of many scenes, especially the ending. There were also last minute changes to make it more suitable for children. When it finally came to the cinemas there was a lukewarm response from the public, but the critics were unanimous in saying it didn't live up to the initial film.

Even though I didn't read about the film's production difficulties until after I watched it this evening, I could tell that something was wrong. "Ghostbusters 2" is missing the magic of the original. It's not as funny, and when the film tries to be serious the scary scenes aren't scary at all. The whole backstory with Dana Barrett's baby seems out of place. The main enemy (Vigo) isn't powerful enough to be considered a real threat, and the means used to defeat him (making the Statue of Liberty walk into Manhattan) are too ridiculous to be taken seriously, even in a comedy film.

"Ghostbusters 2" is a film that I find superfluous. There was no need for it to be made, from an artistic viewpoint, and it doesn't deserve to be remembered.

Success Rate:  + 5.2

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