5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
Scott Calvin has given sterling service as Santa Claus for nearly eight years and enjoyed every minute, but it might come to an end if he doesn't find a Mrs. Claus.
Starring: Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, David Krumholtz, Eric Lloyd, Judge ReinholdFamily | Uncertain |
Comedy | Uncertain |
Holiday | Uncertain |
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 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Russian: Dolby Digital 2.0
Thai: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Russian, Thai
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
It took eight years and five (seven, if you count the “story by” credit) screenwriters to concoct a sequel to Disney's 1994 hit, The Santa Clause, and then they only wrote half a good story. That's the half in which Tim Allen's Scott Calvin suddenly discovers a second "clause" on the card he took from the coat pocket of the previous Santa, thereby accepting a contract to become Santa Claus. This one requires him to get married, if he wants to continue in the job. The portions of SC2 tracing that plotline had intriguing potential, beginning with the classic romantic comedy element of opposites attracting, then veering off into unknown territory, as the woman who falls for Scott faces a momentous decision. It's an extreme version of the choice faced by anyone contemplating a life partnership: Am I ready to take a leap of faith into something wholly new and unknown? But SC2 squanders that potential in a few rushed scenes, because its writers' room spent most of their effort dreaming up big, splashy action and effects sequences full of elves, animatronic animals, peripheral characters called the "Legendary Figures" and a fake plastic Santa who, for no obvious reason other than as a pretext for nutty routines, becomes a technocratic fascist and stages a coup at the North Pole. I suspect the writers enjoyed creating a villain with a false smile and fake hair and buffed skin. It was their subversive revenge on the L.A. executive suite, who may not even have noticed the reference. (Or, if it did, they thought, "But that's not me." Yeah, it is.) SC2 had the twin benefits of a big budget and the charms of Tim Allen (in dual roles) and Elizabeth Mitchell as the yummy but stern principal of now-teenaged Charlie Calvin's school. (The never-married principal and Charlie's extremely available dad fight when they first meet. Need I say more?) These qualities continue to give the film some entertainment value, but it has no staying power, and parts of it just grate. As a reviewer, I had no choice but to sit through Scott Calvin's blind date with SNL's Molly Shannon, but anyone who can do so willingly is made of sterner stuff than me.
The Santa Clause 2 was released in the same year as Sweet Home Alabama, another Disney catalog title I recently reviewed, and it too didn't benefit from a digital intermediate, but it looks a lot better on Disney's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray. No doubt part of the improvement is a function of the original cinematography by Adam Greenberg, whose trademark blacks and cyans were essential to the look of James Cameron's two Terminator films and can also be spotted in Eraser and the first Rush Hour. But overall the most likely cause is that SC2 received a superior (and perhaps more recent) scan. In any case, the image is sharp, clear and noiseless, with just a possible touch of grain reduction here and there. However, to the extent any grain reduction has been applied, it appears to have been done lightly with the kind of software tools that don't strip detail. You can see every pattern and strand on Dr. Neil's extensive and questionable sweater collection. Colors are bright, varied and saturated, especially at the North Pole, where everything is jolly, at least until the Toy Santa begins bringing in huge loads of coal. Then the transfer is good enough to show the impact as coal dust gets everywhere, darkening the realm of the elves until the real Santa returns to restore the reign of cheer, cookies and cocoa.
The elves' workshop is the surround standout of SC2's DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. It's a fully active sonic environment, with the rear channels full of unseen elves talking and working on various projects involving all manner of tools. When the Toy Santa first tours the workshop, he goes running around it and his voice is heard off-camera from all directions. Several flying sequences provide some effective pans, beginning with the opening aircraft surveillance and ending with an old-fashioned stagecoach-style pursuit in mid-air between Toy Santa and the real Santa. The dialogue is always clear, and George Fenton ("Elf George", as director Lembeck calls him on the commentary) hasn't lost his touch for a score that evokes Christmas music without sounding like it belongs in an elevator.
SC2 did solid box office, and it's harmless entertainment, but it doesn't build anything substantial on the foundation laid by the original Santa Clause. It's a sequel for the sake of a sequel (though not as blatantly so as The Escape Clause). Kids should enjoy it, though, and the Blu-ray treatment is superior. To that extent, recommended.
2006
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1994
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2000
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1990
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1993
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2011