I think this is going to be an ongoing debate forever. “whether GB2 is good or not”, my opinion, its a good movie.
Face it, the first is a classic, cant top a classic comedy. People always seem to compare GB to action/sci-fi franchises, (ie.Star Wars, Indy etc.), but GB is a comedy franchise, its hard to keep laughs just as ripe and the feel upbeat when doing a Comedy sequel. Comedy sequels usually beg for laughs, scrapping the bottom of the barrell for low level humor. GB2 never forces a laugh, unlike most Comedy sequels, which give eye-rolling one liners and bits.
it was well shot, had decent effects, well acted, fast paced, had some funny one-liners, and a decent story.
sure, it kept the same formula as the first film, and some of the character work was a little dull..
Louis, for example, hardly had any comic flare to his character like in the previous movie, save for a couple scenes and lines, in the first film you couldnt wait to see what goofy antics Louis/Clortho was doing.
the Dana/Pete relationship was a little too bittersweet and less cynical, the cynicism was what gave it the spark in the first film, but i geuss working some light Romantic Comedy in the mix gave the film's sarcastic deadpan humor some diversity.
For what it is, they did a good job, i havent seen any Comedy sequels that are as a solid effort as GB2 (try and think of some, maybe Christmas Vacation, but thats about it)
Overall, its a feel-good and entertaining movie.
I bet when GB3 rolls around, the debate will transcend to “which is better? GB2 or GB3?”