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: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.84:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: DTS 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
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.
Mamma and her little drunk.
Bad Santa 2's 1080p transfer, sourced from a digital shoot, looks fine for the most part but doesn't stand out as anything particularly special. Detailing never leaves all that much to be desired within the scope of 1080p resolution, though it's a bit limited by the somewhat flat and smooth digital texturing. Faces -- pores, scruff, and various imperfections -- are satisfactorily revealing. Clothing texture prove complex, not substantially but enough to sort out the broadest santa suit fabrics and fringes and finer creases in leather. Environments -- a dirty bathroom, a wooden bar -- show nice structural complexities and location specifics. Colors are very well saturated and bold, perhaps cranked up a tad to enhance reds in particular, but the palette is nicely cheerful and diverse with plenty of punch in any lighting condition. Black levels hold their own and flesh tones appear stable. Source noise is evident in low-light shots; a conversation around the 61-minute mark is a great example. This isn't a particularly eye-catching image, and it shows some minor deficiencies from the source, but overall it makes for a good all-around Blu-ray release.
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 two versions of the film: 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 Blu-ray is decent. Video and audio are fine but don't stand apart. Supplements are rather straightforward. Rent it.
2016
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