'Airplane II' is practically the same movie as the original 'Airplane', only the jokes are different. Whilst it may seem like a cop out, the first 'Airplane' was a resounding success, so why change a working formula? The sequel is funny, and that's all that matters.The film may lack ideas and originality but it makes up for it with plenty of laughs. The original 'Airplane' is without doubt the funnier of the two, but this certainly isn't short of jokes that are sure to crack you up. They knew that they were never going to outdo the first 'Airplane' movie, and obviously just decided to play it safe.I'm not sure why 'Airplane II' has a considerably lower mark than the original movie on IMDb, I would have thought that those who enjoyed the first would have also liked the second... at least I did.

The original Airplane! from 1980 is highly regarded as one of the funniest films of all time, and most certainly the best 'spoof' ever made. Boasting the writing talents of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker (Z/A/Z), the film accurately lampooned the formulaic disaster movies from the 1970's, which commonly boasted a ridiculously large roster of former A-list superstars to battle against whatever crisis they found themselves caught up in. It was a huge success, but Z/A/Z scoffed at the idea of a sequel. Paramount decided to go ahead and make one anyway despite the protestations of the creators, and hired the writer of Grease 2 (1982) to make the magic happen once again.Predictably, Airplane II - amusingly subtitled The Sequel - doesn't come close to matching the hilarity of the original, doing what most bad comedy sequels do and re-hashing most of the humour that worked so well previously, only without the same conviction or execution. Most of the original cast return, and this time find themselves on board a lunar shuttle named Mayflower One headed for the moon (it's set in the near future). It short-circuits, causing its on-board AI to go insane and change course for the Sun. Ted Stryker (Robert Hays), the hero from the first movie, escapes from the insane asylum he was placed in by his employers after he discovered technical problems with the space shuttles, and boards the Mayflower in the hope of averting disaster. Also on board is his old flame Elaine (Julie Hagerty), who is now engaged to one of the flight crew, Simon Kurtz (Chad Everett).Despite the absence of the original writers, there are still a few laughs to be had throughout the film, namely in the form of the permanently stressed and chain-smoking air traffic controller Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges) and his incessantly chirpy assistant Jacobs (Stephen Strucker). There are welcome new faces as well, such as Chuck Connors, Raymond Burr, Rip Torn and William Shatner. But the saddest thing is that the best jokes are the ones re-worked from the original, with writer/director Ken Finkleman failing to inject enough humour to make this one stand out on its own and not just be remembered as the weak sequel to one of the funniest farces ever made. The surprise stand-out from the original, the late, great Leslie Nielsen, also sadly doesn't return. Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker claimed on a DVD commentary that they have never seen this film, and they'd probably do well to keep it that way.

'Flying High II' - or as it is better known, 'Airplane II: The Sequel' - this follow-up feature takes place in the near future and this time involves disaster on a plane trip to the moon. While the destination differs, this sequel has been quite rightly described as "more of the same", a characteristic which has its pluses and minuses. On the positive side, returning co-stars Roberts Hays and Julie Hagerty do equally well with the deadpan humour on hand, and the gag ratio is just as high here with some of the funniest moments left to the backdrop (a poster for 'Rocky 38' with an aged Stallone; two foreigners spitting their drinks when they overhear Hays mention a bomb). On the less positive side, several gags are copied directly from the first film without variation, which results in less spontaneity, especially when it comes to overly familiar lines like an emphatic "you can tell me". Science fiction (as opposed to disaster films) are, however, the lampoon target here and the futuristic setting allows for greater creativity, especially in terms of sets and costumes. The '2001: A Space Odyssey'/HAL parody is simply excellent and its fun to see William Shatner essentially spoofing his own 'Star Trek' persona. Yes, this sequel may not be as fresh and original as its predecessor, but it is very decent of its sort - even if the film was made without the blessing of the original movie's writer-directors.

Airplane! was one of the best comedies from the 1980s. Some would argue it was THE best. So this sequel had a lot to live up to. Obviously it's nowhere near as good as the original. It's not as creative or unique. It reuses some of the same jokes and gags. But it also adds some new material. Unfortunately, the sense of familiarity wears on you after awhile. I'd say after about the hour mark I was no longer laughing steadily. Instead I was chuckling every few minutes. Still, as far as sequels go, not being a complete wretched abomination can be seen as a huge accomplishment. I'd recommend you not watch it immediately after the first film. That might help some of the reused jokes seem a little fresher.