7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.4 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.4 |
The McCallisters are rushing once again as they embark on a trip to Florida. In their haste, Kevin is separated from them and winds up on a plane bound for New York.
Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O'Hara, John HeardFamily | 100% |
Comedy | 97% |
Holiday | 42% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, French, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
As a 10 year old in 1992, I was the target audience for Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. I remember my parents driving me and a whole van load of my cousins to the theater on the day after Christmas. I remember going back to school in January and having enraptured lunchroom discussions about which of Kevin’s pranks was the coolest. And I remember pestering my mom to buy me the SNES tie-in videogame and the awesome Tiger Electronics “Talkboy” featured in the movie. It’s hard to believe, then, that Home Alone 2 is now 17 years old, and that I have peers who have since shown the film to their kids. What a trip. Until today, I hadn’t re-watched Home Alone 2 since the mid-1990s—on a worn-out VHS tape—but I had a good idea what to expect. Namely, to be disappointed. And yes, after finishing the film, my happy cloud of nostalgia evaporated and I was faced with the reality that Home Alone 2 is nothing more than a ridiculous and redundant cash-in on the success of the first Home Alone, which itself, in retrospect, isn’t that great either. That said, I can still see why the film appealed to the 10 year-old me, but I question whether today’s tweeners—weened on 300 and Grand Theft Auto IV—will have much interest in Macaulay Culkin’s tame-by-comparison shenanigans.
Yes, his mouth stays like this for about 85% of the movie.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York arrives on Blu-ray 17 years after first screening in theaters, and considering the early-1990s vintage of the source material, the film's 1080p/AVC- encoded transfer looks swell. The print itself is very clean, with hardly any specks or flecks or other blemishes, and though grain levels fluctuate throughout the film—at their heaviest during some of the indoor scenes, like Kevin's parents at the Floridian police station—I never found the grain to be overtly distracting. The film goes for a realistic color palette that largely presents New York as it is, and holiday colors are expectedly in abundance. Since much of the film takes place at night, it's important that black levels are properly attuned, and for the most part, they are. I was worried that the scenes in Kevin's uncle's Brownstone would be too dark, but there's really only a little bit of crush and I found that I could make out all the necessary details. Overall clarity is good, but not necessarily great. There are some occasional soft shots, but most close-ups show a good deal of facial and clothing texture. I did, however, notice what seems to be some minor edge enhancement during a few scenes, giving the image a slightly artificial quality. Aside from that, and some negligible contrast wavering during a few aerial shots, I was pleased by Lost in New York's look.
"That was the sound of a tool chest falling down the stairs."
One of the highlights of the film is John Williams' frantic holiday-themed score, and it gets a
proper treatment here with a decent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. Bright horns stab
and squeal, strings jump up and down staccato stair steps, bells and xylophones chime with
Christmas cheer, and the reedy timbres of woodwinds sound clear and defined. The score bleeds
pleasingly into the rear channels, where it's often joined by environmental ambience, like the
hustle and bustle of airport chatter, the cooing and fluttering of pigeons, big thunderclaps, heavy
rain, and the mechanical whirring, buzzing sounds of Duncan's Toy Shop. Some of the foleyed
tumbles and body-blows that Marv and Harry take are a bit boxy and over-the-top, but the sound
design plays into the whole "live-action cartoon" feeling of the film. Vocals are prioritized well, and
you'll have no trouble comprehending dialogue during even the most audibly hectic scenes. The
only audio hiccup I caught was at 17:14, where you'll hear rain beat down in the rears, cut out
suddenly for a split second—for no reason—and then resume once again. Otherwise, the track is
stable and dynamically solid, even if it doesn't necessarily deliver any explicitly impressive sonic
theatrics.
All you get in your supplementary stocking are trailers for Home Alone (1080p), Home Alone 2 (SD), and Home Alone 3 (SD).
No, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York isn't nearly as mind-blowingly awesome and hilarious to me now as it was when I was 10. In fact, the film only tickled my funny bone once or twice this time around. Judging by the inflation of maturity levels among kids these days—there are now 10 year-olds using social networking sites—the default age for proper enjoyment of Home Alone 2 may now be in the 5 to 9 range. If you're an adult looking to pick up the film for the nostalgia factor, you may be disappointed, but if you've got a young kid who's into pranks and hijinks, this could be one of those discs that gets constant rotation.
Re-issue
1992
1992
25th Anniversary
1992
25th Anniversary / Ferdinand Sticker Sheet
1992
1992
Multi-Screen Edition
1992
1992
25th Anniversary Edition | Remastered
1990
1996
Movie-Only
2011
1997
1989
2003
2007
1996
2004
2018
2015
2002
1966
1998
1983
Three-disc Edition
2009
2011
Grinchmas Edition
2000
2007
Anniversary Edition
1994