6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie teams up once again with his angry little sidekick, Marcus, to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve.
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Tony Cox, Christina Hendricks, Brett Kelly (I)Comedy | 100% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.84:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
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.
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'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 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).
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.
2016
Extended Cut
2014
2016
2013
2016
1987
2011
Unrated
2015
1990
2013
2006
2010
2018
Extended Cut
2014
2014
2009
2012
2019
2018
The Magnum Edition
2016