What makes it different from others?

Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

The Music in this film is better then the 1st if you are able to find the Soundtrack I would get it. Very inspirational. For some reason with the 1st Movie there are multiple versions of the soundtrack one with Tender years and one without. I purchased this film on DVD and it is a double feature which also includes the 1st movie. Even though you know John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown band performed the music its uncanny how well Michael Pare made you believe he was the one singing. I listen to the soundtrack to the film quite a bit while cooking. Runnin thru the Fire Open Road Just a Matter of time three tremendous songs. Michael Pare made the character Eddie Wilson/ Joe West an Icon in my book.

You can't possibly have made a worse sequel than this. It relates nothing to the original except for Michael Pare being in it. They totally wrote off Frank, Joann, Kenny, heck even Doc. Like this was going to work without all them in there. Plus the music which was great in the original soundtrack is at best average here. You want a good sequel to the first cruisers soundtrack, get John Cafferty's Tough all over album. Now thats really good. For the people who like this lousy movie, you obviously never saw the original. Which is by far superior in every way to this garbage. This is movie is a total disappointment. But when you get none of the original cast, writers or director, this is what you get. Eddie doesn't live in this bomb. He really drives his car into the drink.

Saw the 2 movies again on TV recently (saw them first about 10 years ago) and loved them just as much as the first time around, probably more. "Eddie Lives" is my favorite though - it has great music from start to finish, John Cafferty's voice is marvellous and he has come up with some truly good songs, songs that sound as good today as ten years ago when I bought the soundtrack. The movie has a touching story line and a hunk of a lead in Michael Pare. The final 'huge crowd' scenes are amazing - you wonder how they managed to get the crowd go "Eddie, Eddie!!" Have now bought the movie on DVD and watch it whenever I need a'feel good' movie.

The music in EATC II is great, but the continuity between the two movies leave much to be desired. The second movie leaves out the vital Frank Ridgeway character entirely without so much as mentioning him - a case of revisionist history. In the second movie,in a flashback, Eddie utters the words "Words and music..." and it is Sal to whom he is speaking. But in the original movie, he was saying those words to Frank "Word Man" Ridgeway (played by Tom Barringer). Eddie's girlfriend Joanne Carlino is likewise left out. The flashback scene with Bo Diddly seems as if it could have been an outtake of the first movie (comments, anyone?). In summary, II is worth watching (and hearing) for its great, great music, but as a movie, it does serious violence to the marvelous first movie.