Metascore
56 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 14
  2. Negative: 2 out of 14
  1. Even the special effects are more to the point of the comedy than they were in the first film. For some reason, this appears to leave more room for the sort of random funny business that Mr. Murray and his friends do best, or to which they react with most aplomb.
  2. Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    80
    Ghostbusters II is babyboomer silliness. Kids will find the oozing slime and ghastly, ghostly apparitions to their liking and adults will enjoy the preposterously clever dialog.
  3. 80
    Here, the comedy breathes, and the illusion that it's not a factory-assembled product (which it most certainly is) is a nifty one. For a major studio blockbuster, the thing is darned chummy, and above all, that rare, modest thing, a good show.
  4. Ghostbusters II doesn't seem to be pushing as hard as its predecessor, which of course makes it even more fun. There's an old-shoeishness to the proceedings; even Murray's owlish put-downs seem a little less snide-they're almost affectionate, if that's not too outrageous a word in this context. [16 Jun 1989, p.1]
  5. Reviewed by: Desson Howe
    70
    Everything and everyone you liked in the original are there. But GB II often seems like "Ghostbusters: The Preview Reel, Extended Mix," with its rather see-through buffet of special effects, comic bits and music-video transitions.
  6. Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    63
    Jumbo budget and the same talent notwithstanding, the element of surprise is missing. And ghostbusters, it seems, need that every bit as much as their targets. [16 Jun 1989, p.1D]
  7. Ghostbusters II is a comfy experience for all concerned - easy bucks for the producers, easier yuks for the consumers; nothing ventured, money gained. [19 Jun 1989, p.D9]
  8. Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    60
  9. Reviewed by: Richard Schickel
    60
    The movie and everyone in it remain, under Ivan Reitman's determinedly casual direction, very loosely organized. They amble agreeably, but not necessarily hilariously, from one special-effects sequence to the next. These are not better, worse or even different from the original's trick work, and their lack of punctuating surprise is the film's largest problem, especially at the shamelessly repetitive climax. [26 June 1989, p.89]
  10. Reviewed by: Llyod Sachs
    50
    As amiable and formfitting as Ghostbusters II can be, it's a thin, dimly conceived affair. For all its rave-up special effects, it adds little to director Ivan Reitman's original, which itself was no fountain of wit but at least had a fresh gimmick going for it. [16 Jun 1989, p.37]
  11. 50
    The film gets by on the sheer good-naturedness Reitman is able to place in all of his efforts, though it doesn't seem likely to inspire the same level of affection as the original. Innocence is one quality that can never quite be recaptured. [16 Jun 1989, p.28]
  12. Rather wan in its anything-goes spirit of invention, the movie has a surprisingly low number of laughs; some of the initial premises are good, but there's very little energy in the follow-through, and this time Murray's listlessness seems more anemic than comic.
  13. Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    38
    Ghostbusters II is such a lazy effort that the formula machinery is laid bare for all to see. It suffers from writing that is obvious, sloppy, and unimaginative.
  14. The best thing in the movie is Peter MacNicol as Dana's boss at the museum, a slippery character with an incomprehensible accent. [16 Jun 1989, p. E1]
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 17 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. ghostbusters 2 comes out 5 years after the first one did which by the way why isnt it up on metecritic for us to review? its a 10 by the way. the second one isn t near as good as the original and after 5 years its not like it was a rushed sequel like alot of movies are theese days . its still entertaining with some good humor and when i was a kid i went to see this at the movies like 4 times and loved it. but that was 22 years ago and im older i may have game it a 10 then but its a 6 now. it borrows to much it feels like from the first and the comedy isnt as funny as what the original was nor is the action which GB1 blended both so well together. still its a ok film that could have been far worse. Full Review »
  2. 10
    I saw this movie years before seeing the first one, which is probably why I liked this sequel better than the original. Still, I love it because it was the one that made me a huge Ghostbusters fan. Full Review »