Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis return for this comedy sequel directed by Ivan Reitman. Struggling to find work as they find themselves being sued by municipal authorities, the Ghostbusters are reduced to performing at children's parties. When a physical embodiment of evil is discovered lurking beneath the city, however, their services are once again required. The cast also includes Rick Moranis, Sigourney Weaver and Ernie Hudson.
Much less fun than its predecessor, this 1989 sequel starts off on a bleak note by telling us our heroes from Ghostbusters have been on the skids for five years and Bill Murray's lead character never did hook up with Sigourney Weaver's lovely symphony-musician character. What's more, she has a kid by somebody else. Everybody's on an uphill climb, and Ghostbusters II never soars the way the first film did, despite having the same director, Ivan Reitman (Dave, Kindergarten Cop). The lame plot finds the boys attempting to prevent a disaster on New York City caused by too many bad vibes in the Big Apple. Yikes! Fortunately, screenwriters Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis have penned enough good one-liners to keep Murray busy, and if the ghostly special effects no longer surprise as they did in Ghostbusters, they're at least inventive. -- Tom Keogh,