Why Fans Think Ghostbusters 2 Is So Underrated

The "Ghostbusters" franchise is continuing to truck along. What first started off as a quirky action-horror-comedy hybrid in 1984 with the original "Ghostbusters" has become a nearly $1 billion franchise (via The Numbers) that includes several television shows and video games. Made on a modest budget of $30 million, the first "Ghostbusters" was a cultural phenomenon upon its release and is widely considered one of the best American films ever made, with the Library of Congress deeming the blockbuster worthy enough to enter the National Film Registry for its contribution to cinema.

The franchise's dominance has continued into the new century, with films like "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" being praised by audiences. The recent legacy sequel holds a whopping 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, proving that new fans are engaged with the ghosts of yesteryear. However, not all the films in the franchise have been well received. When it comes to "Ghostbusters II," critical reception has been mostly mixed to negative. Reviews from the '80s labeled it as a decent sequel, with outlets like The Washington Post calling it inoffensive. "For a major studio blockbuster, the thing is darned chummy, and above all, that rare, modest thing, a good show," read the outlet's review. More contemporary reviewers have also been mixed on the sequel, with Collider describing it as a film that makes no sense and mostly remains unfunny. While critics may have their fair share of annoyance with the first-ever "Ghostbusters" sequel, fans are singing a different tune.

A post on the "Ghostbusters" subreddit invited fans to gush about the sequel. u/rollthedye pointed out how the sequel was a retread of the first film but is still "fun and honestly a little scarier IMO." This was a similar sentiment echoed by u/Peter_Venkman008, who described the film as a comfort movie, with great set pieces like "when the Statue of Liberty is walking through manhattan and the Ghostbusters are about to save New York... [It] is just amazing."

"It had cooler ghosts. Cool tech, cool jumpsuits and was still funny to me ... and the river of slime is one of my favorite concepts in the franchise," wrote u/BruteTHE-SWISS, which happens to be the highest-rated comment on the thread. u/thundercat2000ca pointed out how the film would have benefited from scenes that didn't initially make the final cut. In an interview with Sci Fi Wire, star Bill Murray, who played Dr. Peter Venkman, lamented how the final product didn't resemble what was originally pitched. "So they had this idea, but it didn't turn out to be the idea when I arrived on the set," he said. "They'd written a whole different movie than the one [initially discussed]."

Despite changes, many users like u/StewpidGoRilla34 praised memorable scenes like the courtroom scene. "The courtroom scene is my absolute favorite scene in movie history. The build-up, the sound, the special effects, the dialogue, it's all outstanding. Then the reveal of the Scoleri brothers, and the battle. So good," the user wrote, proving that even the less-acclaimed "Ghostbusters 2" has some gems.