Ghostbusters / Ghostbusters 2 [VHS] [1989]

Both movies are classics and feature Bill Murry at his best. The plots are humorous, but not ludicrous. A group of unemployed scientists start a ghostbusting agency in New York and save the city from destruction by weird, powerful, disembodied entities...twice.

While "Ghostbusters II" is in part sort of a remake of the first movie, it does contain some fresh ideas and mainly works because of the five-years-later effect – we meet the characters from the first movie again and see what has become of them.

The film is often considered inferior to it's the first Ghostbusters movie, but I beleive they're both classics and both brilliant in their own ways. Ghostbusters II has better special effects, features more on the relationship between Peter Venkman and Dana Barratt, has a catchier soundtrack and just feels more modern (it was created five-years after the original Ghostbusters but it could have been easily made in the 90's). The characters of Wintson and Egon (my favourite character) also have more to say and do in this installment even though poor Ernie Hudson (Winston) still doesn't have his name on the front cover.
GBII has always been considered to be less funnier than the first, but it has a lot more laugh-out-loud moments than the first film which featured a more subtle approach to humour that some people may not find to their taste. GBII is also bursting with original ideas (the hilarious 'mood slime' scene, the Statue of Liberty section and diversity of the new spooks) and can hardly be accussed of having exactly the same themes as the first film.
Where the movie does fall down slightly though, is the ending. There's the climax of the Statue of Liberty scene (I'm trying not to give too much away here!), then a few minutes of nothing, followed by the physical appearance of Viggo, and I have to say he was far scarier when he was in the painting.
But that's only a minor niggle in an otherwise classic comedy film.

As for the features of the DVD it's no-where near as good as the original Ghostbusters 15th Anniversary one. It features the usual scene selections and the theatrical trailer (which was on the GBI DVD anyway) and some 'filmographies', which are basically two pages dedicated to each actor on their background information such as other films they've been in, how many Golden Globe nominations they've had, etc. Not the most interesting features in the world and if you've watched all the extra clips and features on the first film's DVD you'll know most of this.

So this is not one for the DVD buff (I suggest you knock off one of the five stars I've given it if you are) but this is a great film nonetheless. I think even people who haven't seen the first movie would enjoy it. Brilliant.

A film with some marvellous moments and great performances. Make the most of it though as it looks as if there will only ever be the two films. A third film has been scrapped. Of course you can never tell.

The DVD transfer is excellent - picture and sound are excellent and it is a delight for the film to finally be released in its full ratio. The film is lacking in features though - filmographies, a short photo gallery and the trailer. Nevertheless one for the enthusiasts