Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Cooled off.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 21, 2015

Credit the Hot Tub Time Machine films -- the original and this sequel -- with trying to add some creativity to the basic raunchy-buddy Comedy via the introduction of time travel, and a rather unique method of time travel at that. Further credit the first with doing it well. Don't credit the sequel for the same. Hot Tub Time Machine 2 is a dismal movie, a flavorless follow-up that retains three-quarters of the core cast but can't rediscover the simple pleasures of its predecessor, aiming less to tell a story and more to fill the screen with as many recycled jokes and over-the-top bits that include everything from blood to semen splattering the screen. Granted, that's par for the course for a movie of this nature, but even the sheer blunt force of this picture's over-the-top, gross-out bits -- not to mention stabs in the dark at "it matters" character development -- cannot overcome either a sense of repetitiveness of basic genre beats or a feeling that, even at the time of the shoot, the movie was largely a directionless mess that only hoped to capitalize on the name, not solidify the franchise as a favorite with potential to grow.

It's all fun and games until someone travels through time.

Since the guys took their first hot tub adventure, things have changed, and changed for the better, it seems. Lou (Rob Corddry) has become a famous Rock star and the head of a forward-thinking tech giant called "Lougle." his best friend Nick Webber (Craig Robinson) is also in the music industry, making a fortune by pilfering ideas from other great artists. Lou's son Jacob (Clark Duke), however, feels lost, looking for his place in the world. While at a massive party in Lou's honor, Lou is shot in a particularly painful place by a mystery assassin. Nick and Jacob do they only thing they can for him: rush him to the hot tub in hopes of taking him back in time and preventing what is certainly a painful and likely mortal wound. But either by accident, a stroke of luck, or by some other fantastical or perhaps even preordained manner, they wind up in the future, in the year 2025, to be precise. It's a magical world filled with the latest and greatest in technology, easy sex, and bad TV, but it's also a place where they meet up with Adam Jr. (Adam Scott) and begin the search for Lou's would-be assassin. Along the way, various misadventures come their way, as does an opportunity for reconciliation between Jacob and Lou and a greater understanding of how the hot tub works.

Frankly, there's not a lot of room for commentary in a movie like Hot Tub Time Machine 2. The movie is built around plenty of predictable silliness that's exactly the kind of thing audiences should expect: general crudeness, plenty of boobs, lots of penis references, gross-out humor, drugs, alcohol, and on and on. The movie features all of the usual pieces mixed up without much of a coherent plot around them or much in the way of satisfactory character development, either. The movie tries and tries to make both matter, but in the end they don't. Hot Tub Time Machine 2 cannot offer anything but shenanigan after shenanigan, a parade of hard-R mindless entertainment that frequently scrapes the bottom of the barrel with endlessly recycled content. All the movie has to offer is a general push of the envelope, and it's debatable that it even goes as far as some of its contemporaries, though certainly with the number of penises that are shot, syringed, and otherwise in some way painfully exploited, male audience members, at least, may rate the movie quite high on the "cringe" scale, for better or for worse.

Even without John John Cusack, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 still boasts a funny cast whose efforts get lost under the weight of the movie's nonsensical and incoherent story. They do what they can with the material, trying to have fun with it and going along with whatever Writer Josh Heald can throw their way, but it seems like there's an underlying lack of fun, a feeling that they're all as lost as the audience. It's not that the time travel (or dimension travel, as the case may be) elements are excessively confusing, it's that the details behind the hows and the whys seem lost under the deluge of the nonstop lowbrow humor that might be funny in the moment but rarely do the jokes add anything of value to the core movie. And outside of a few cool computer graphics and special effects, the future world the movie depicts isn't a particularly exciting one. In fact, the movie's ending offers up a significantly more interesting idea that will hopefully be implemented in future installments, if there are any; Hot Tub Time Machine 2 reportedly only grossed $12.8 million, somewhere in the neighborhood of 20% of the original's take.

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 does look quite nice. The digital shoot presents as neither flat nor glossy, instead offering a rich, complex picture that's alive with bright colors and quality details. Viewers will find every hair on Lou's chest clearly visible in early shots, while more general facial and clothing textures are pinpoint accurate. Various future computer graphics are sharp and intimately detailed, too. Basic image clarity is robust and healthy and there's never any sense of softness about the transfer. Colors are alive and healthy, particularly cool technological blues but there's a wide assortment of hues on clothes and various surfaces to enjoy. Skin tones appear accurate and black levels aren't problematic. The image suffers from no perceptible bits of noise, blockiness, aliasing, or other maladies.

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 features an active DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Music is large and spills out of the speakers with good balance and clarity. Surrounds carry much of the load, creating a full-on immersive sound experience. The low end, too, is deep and prominent in support. General ambient effects are also full and feature near constant surround activity, particularly evident when basic party din fills the stage and practically transports the ears to the locations in question. Gunshots and a few other deep, penetrating effects are well defined and offer a good sonic jolt. Dialogue reverberates nicely when necessary, and the spoken word enjoys the track's full attention, never lost under, or forced to compete with, all of the surrounding sonic activity.

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 contains several bonuses, including an audio commentary and a number of short featurettes. Inside the Blu-ray case, buyers will find a DVD copy of the film as well as a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy. Note that this release contains two cuts of the film, the theatrical version (1:33:22 runtime) and an extended cut (1:39:15 runtime).

• Audio Commentary: Director Steve Pink and Writer Josh Heald offer a fun, easy track in which they discuss a scrapped opening, various anecdotes from the shoot, minor goofs, performances and Chevy Chase's character, script details and plot specifics including time travel, and much more. Fans should find much to enjoy in this commentary.
• The Making of Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (1080p, 5:06): Cast and crew discuss a myriad of topics in a number of compact sound bytes interspersed with clips from the film and the set.
• The Future as Seen from the Hot Tub! (1080p): A piece that branches out into five smaller supplements, each of which take a peek at some of the future world details and technologies seen in the film. Included are The World of the Future (2:02), Choozy Doozy (4:40), Fashion Forward (2:06), Smart Cars (3:02), and Adam Takes a (Drug) Trip (1:34).
• You're in the Hot Tub Now! (1080p): A number of short featurettes that cover a number of film specifics. Stay by Nick Webber (and Lisa Loeb...) (3:09) looks at Lisa Loeb's song and its place in the film. Father and Son (4:22) examines the Lou-Jacob relationship. The Webber Strut (4:44) features a look at Nick's dance. Gary Winkle (2:34) offers a brief look at one of the film's secondary characters. Wedding Day Climax (2:39) examines the wedding scene plot details. Adam Has a Son?!? (3:30) looks at one of the new characters in the movie. Who Shot Lou?!? (3:43) takes a look at the movie's main mystery. Where Would You Go In a Time Machine? (2:22) sees the cast and crew answer the question on the tip of everyone's tongue. Who is Steve Pink? (1:56) introduces viewers to the movie's director via cast and crew sound bytes. Finally, Inside the Hot Tub (2:02) looks at the process of making the sequel and reuniting the cast.
• Deleted Scenes/Extended Scenes (1080p): Dorchen at Work (0:46), More Mirror, Mirror (2:39), Fooling Jacob (0:55), and Choozy Doozy Taping (0:33).
• Bloopers and General F%#! Ups by the Cast (1080p, 8:33).

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 doesn't miss John Cusack. It misses a coherent script. It's a dismal film that's nothing but a parade of raunchy jokes, a few of which hit but many of which miss and feel forced into the plot rather than organically flowing from it. The remaining core cast gives an honest effort, but their performances are lost under the pressure of a crushing script that's nothing but empty dialogue and lowbrow humor. Fans of the first film will want to take a look, but the future appears bleak for the hot tub. Paramount's Blu-ray release of Hot Tub Time Machine 2 does feature excellent video and audio along with an honest assortment of extra content. Fans of the original should rent while others should start with the first and, outside of anyone who sees that original as a revelation, probably pass on this one.