"Ghostbusters 2" was several years behind its predecessor. It’s also behind in popularity as so many sequels are. There are some great things about it, but the sum of its parts is not greater than that of the first movie.

What was done right: Probably the most important thing was bringing back the same actors. In many cases characters like Janine, Louis, and even Dana might be dumped for new characters or, Heaven forbid, played by different actors. Revisiting everyone that was important in the first one lessens the disappointments of the movie though it doesn’t completely overcome them.

The writers didn’t try to create a second self-contained story. Instead we see the continuation of the lives of these people. There’s the aftermath of the first movie, what their other interests are now that the team has disbanded, and how they interact with each other after so many years.

Here’s how they fit in. It’s 5 years later. Dana has been married after splitting with Peter but is now divorced; she has an infant son, and has temporarily left music to restore paintings for a museum. An evil presence is hiding in a painting there and has targeted Dana’s son to use for its new embodiment. As it begins making attempts to grab little Oscar (unsuccessful attempts since its power is still growing) Dana turns to the only people that can help, the Ghostbusters. Only the team doesn’t exist anymore.

The city blamed the destruction Gozer caused on the Ghostbusters not only stiffing them on the bill, but also opening the door for enough lawsuits to put the team out of business. Egon is working in a lab, Peter has a crappy TV show, Ray owns a little bookstore and also dresses up to entertain kids with Winston. They are all eking out a living, but life is not particularly good for any of them.

When they band together to help Dana they are arrested for causing even more damage to the city and sent before an iron-fisted judge. As he’s about to throw the book at them a couple of ghosts come for his head. He lifts all bans and clears all charges so that the Ghostbusters can and will save his hide.

Back in business the team gets Janine back and hires Louis for taxes and legal matters. They discover that the negativity of New York is generating an underground river of slime flowing to the museum where it empowers the evil spirit of Viggo who has defenses against their proton streams. They will have to find other ways to bring down this spectral baddie.

There is some terrific comedy throughout most of the movie. Louis and Peter in the courtroom scene stand out the most for me. In fact, that scene is great all the way around. It has a great ghost battle with better special effects than the first movie. There are several other great points such as searching the subway tunnels (nice creepy atmosphere here, too) and digging up the street. If the whole movie had been as strong as these scenes it would have exceeded the first one and probably led to another movie.

The effects are generally better than the first one. They really don’t have as many ghosts to show it off, though. Slimer makes a great appearance, the heads underground are gruesome, and the specters in the courtroom I’ve already said were good.

So what drags it down? Primarily it’s the river of slime and good will vs. Viggo at the end. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the effort of someone trying to make a positive, uplifting ending, it just doesn’t work here. I think it’s largely because they walked a fine line on the other side of which was too much cheesiness and they crossed way over that line. The most glaring indication of that is the renaissance-style painting of the Ghostbusters team that appears supernaturally. That is beyond corny – the punctuation to that line they crossed way back half an hour ago.

In addition to the corniness I wasn’t satisfied with several plot points: the generation and true purpose of the slime, the source of Viggo’s power, and why and how Viggo is reemerging at this time (though much of this would eventually come to be more adequately explained in the video game). I did, however, like the tie-ins to the first movie, the way they incorporated the return of the team with the return of the movie, Peter and Dana rekindling a romance, and other points that are often poorly done in sequels.

If you’re looking for a comedy look at "Ghostbusters" 1 first. Watch this one afterwards, but don’t hold out great expectations. It is worth seeing if you like #1, but maybe not worth seeing over and over for many people.