Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Bad Santa 2 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 22, 2017

There are still some corners of the moviemaking market that are concerned with art, the medium's artistic merits, and telling a story of some value. There's also a much larger bracket that's all about making "fun" movies, diversion entertainment that allows the audience to escape into a spectacle of sight and sound for a few hours away from life's realities. Some movies try for both, and it takes a special filmmaker, a Steven Spielberg, to pull it off. Then there are movies like Bad Santa 2, pure cash-ins that bank on some past success, in this case the original 2003 hit, in hopes of catching lightning in a bottle, twice, and more than a decade apart. Bad Santa 2 offers neither art nor entertainment, nor does it catch anything in a bottle (except maybe some backwash during binge drinking sessions). It retains all of the first film's vulgarity but loses its charm and sense of creativity. This is nothing but a shell, a crude regurgitation of the original that tries to build a world-expanding story but instead flops about as it gets lost under the deluge of vulgarity, sex, and booze. It's the essence of the original, but the original's spirit is nowhere to be found. It's a classic case of the sequel gone bad and, even with a few good moments, doesn't amount to much more than a misfire filler film that probably won't often be paired with any viewings of the original classic.

Suicidal Santa.

Willy Soke (Billy Bob Thornton) is still drunk, holding down dead-end jobs, and depressed enough to turn on the oven and stick his head inside. He's suicidal, but he's having trouble going through with it. He's saved from his latest attempt when Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly) shows up at Willy's door in celebration of his 21st birthday and seeking fulfillment of an old promise. He also brings Willie an envelope full of cash and a plan that could score him part of a $2,000,000 heist. It's from none other than Marcus (Tony Cox), Willie's old partner-in-crime. The target: a charity. Willie is turned off but finds himself drawn to it when he meets one of the charity's employees, the lovely and curvaceous Diane (Christina Hendricks). But there's a drawback: his mother (Kathy Bates) is involved in the scam. The whole thing is off-putting, but that much cash is too much to ignore, and so too are the possibilities for some good times on the way.

While "crude" and "vulgar" describe both Bad Santa films, most of the similarities, beyond core cast retention, end there. The original supported its excesses with well-defined characters, an effortlessly flowing narrative, and a balancing charm. None of that is present here. It's mostly about sex: having sex (usually in restrooms or back alleys or even a Christmas tree lot), using sex as a weapon, and fighting over sex. But there's not much else here to give it any sort of meaningful flavor or dramatic heft. The film does attempt to weave together a deeper narrative meant to explore Willie's background, but it all falls flat. Kathy Bates is miscast as his foul-mouthed and tattooed mother. Her relationship with Willy is rightly edgy and contentious but it often feels less like quality narrative building and more like a basic vehicle meant to deliver more of the empty humor into the movie. That she can take a hit from her son and profanely quip with him at his level might make for a few fun exchanges, but it doesn't accomplish any real goal, at least in terms of better defining Willy as a person. The film has trouble focusing, relying too much on side scenes and empty humor in support of a core story that doesn't offer much of interest. The film far too often feels like it's struggling to get to a runtime rather than tell its story in the most efficient, enjoyable, and meaningful way possible.

Billy Bob Thornton sleepwalks through the part. His character is perpetually three-quarters drunk anyway, so "lifeless" is in the job description, but there's not that underlying vitality that he demonstrated in the first picture. He's going through the motions of boozing, having sex, and working through conflicting emotions in his life, the job, and in his relationships with his mother, Marcus, and Thurman. He stumbles around to one back alley or bathroom conquest after another but there's no rhythm to his action, no sense of even mild purpose or pleasure: he's almost literally an empty Santa suit. He carries the part just well enough to get by, stung more by the lack of a good script, but he certainly seems to be phoning in the performance. Tony Cox appears bored, too, pigeonholed into the film with little more purpose than playing to a few gags. Bates doesn't find the sort of enthusiasm she's capable of displaying. Only Brett Kelly impresses as Thurman, the overweight and naive counter-point to Willie's wild ways. Theirs is an interesting dynamic that's even more obvious here than it was in the first film, where Willie's pessimistic view of the world plays in stark contrast to Thurman's wonder of it all and hopeless naiveté. One of them has been tarnished by the world and the other polished to a shine by it, and neither really understanding their respective purposes or places in it.

Bad Santa 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

Bad Santa 2 was reportedly finished at 4K, but on the flip side this 2160p, full 4K release is not equipped with HDR colors, so viewers will have to turn the setting off on the television side to see the movie properly lest it feature a severe, unwatchable red push (at least that's the case with the Sony used for this review). Set up properly, the movie's textural finesse impresses a good deal over the 1080p Blu-ray, also included with this release. The UHD is much sharper overall and clarity sees a significant boost. Details are notably, and often remarkably, improved. Skin is practically smeary on the Blu-ray in comparison, and finer-point details like facial hair are appreciably sharper on the UHD to the point that the strands of Willy's goatee could be counted. Clothing textures, too, are much more revealing, whether more obvious furs and Santa suit textures or much finer stitching on collars. Even without HDR, colors appear a little more lively, fuller, punchier. The change isn't anywhere near drastic as they are with a high-end HDR release. It's very, very subtle. Reds remain very deeply saturated. Blacks are fine, skin tones seem a little healthier. Source noise is much more apparent in this release, however. The boost in detail alone makes this version a hefty upgrade. It's a shame Broad Green couldn't pair it with HDR enhancement. With the red Santa suit, Thurman's bright blue shirt, and some other vibrant colors, it would have been interesting to see what HDR would have done for the movie. The 4.5 score is reflective of the 2160p image as-is, then, and doesn't factor in the absence of HDR colors.

There appears to be a glitch on this release. Using the Samsung UBD-K8500, fast-forwarding and rewinding makes the version selection menu screen appear and disappear, appear and disappear as the process is underway. In fact, the menu screen occasionally sticks atop the screen even after hitting play. Pushing the pop-up menu button on the remote fixes the problem, but it jumps in and out several times in quick succession. A very glitchy disc. See screenshot 11 for a photo of the disc in playback.

Bad Santa 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Bad Santa 2's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is fine, much like the video in that it's stable but a bit unremarkable. Music is satisfyingly spacious and clear, spreading along the front with enough width to please and wrap around the back to support, but not overwhelm. Little bits of background city ambience are finely integrated, with various bits of city street and location-specific interior support elements helping to recreate the scene and gently place the listener in it. The track is never afraid to work the surrounds, but never in a seriously obvious or hard-hitting way. It's touch-up support only. Dialogue drives most of the film. It's delivered with pleasing clarity, prioritization, and positioning. No real complaints for a track that doesn't require or deliver much beyond the basics.

Bad Santa 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Bad Santa 2 contains several supplements, all of them very brief, and all of them on the included 1080p disc. Two versions of the film are available on both the UHD and Blu-ray: the Theatrical Version (1:32:16) and the Unrated Version (1:34:50).

• Thurman Then & Now (1080p, 2:27): A quick look at the actor's progression between the first film and this one.
• Just Your Average Red Band Featurette (1080p, 2:00): This piece focuses on the movie's raunchiness.
• "That's My Willie" Original Animated Series (1080p, 3:51): A series of lightning-quick animated shorts from the Bad Santa universe.
• Jingle Balls (1080p, 0:35): "Jingle Bells" set to vulgar language and sex.
• Trailers and Spots (1080p, 7:14 total runtime): Includes Red Band Teaser Trailer (Uncensored), Red Band Trailer #2, "Campaign", "Pharma", "Bad Award", and "Walking Bad".
• Gag Reel (1080p, 3:59).
• Alternate Opening (1080p, 1:00).
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 2:41): A few scenes thrown together with no identifying titles.
• Alternate Ending (1080p, 2:49).

Bad Santa 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bad Santa 2 is a total misfire of a sequel, following up with all of the ancillary things that helped set the first one apart but none of the pieces that really gave it life. The cast seems bored, the writing isn't there, the scenes are dull...nothing about the movie stands out. It works well enough as 90 minutes of sex and innuendo and more good work from a now-mature Brett Kelly, but that's about it. Broad Green's UHD release offers a serious uptick in clarity, sharpness, and detail, but it doesn't comes with HDR color enhancement. Audio is fine and the disc doesn't earn an Atmos/DTS:X sound boost, either. Supplements are fine, but brief, and there is no added content on the UHD. Fans of the film with UHD playback will definitely want to get this, even without the HDR colors; the other improvements are fairly substantial.