Daddy’s Home 2 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
Of all the good comedies we’ve gotten over the years that deserved sequels, it’s almost frustrating that a pedestrian comedy like DADDY’S HOME would get a sequel. The original wasn’t bad, it was just very predictable and light on the laughs. So I wasn’t excited about sitting through the sequel since I assumed it was going to be more of the same. However, as prepared as I was to bash the film’s existence, I found myself actually enjoying the sequel. And yes, I’m as surprised as you are, but the addition of Mel Gibson and John Lithgow, along with the Christmas setting injected some laughs in a premise that I thought the original had beaten to death. DADDY’S HOME 2 isn’t a genre bending comedy, but it’s efficient enough and provides enough laughs to keep you entertained throughout.
After the events of the first film, Brad (Ferrell) and Dusty (Wahlberg) are in sync with their co-parenting relationship. They’re arrangement is working well until they learn that their fathers are going to be coming to town for Christmas. Don (John Lithgow) is Brad’s dad and is an overbearing, sentimental type that likes to smother Brad with hugs and kisses. Basically, he’s the polar opposite of Kurt (Gibson), who is a man’s man that likes tough love and womanizing. Intent on proving Dusty isn’t happy with his co-dad relationship, Kurt books the family in a cabin for Christmas, pitting everyone against each other in a series of comical events and forcing the family to accept their arrangement and ultimately, come closer together.
Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg continue with the characters they created in the original, to equally humorous effects. But even in the beginning, it felt like their characters were already stale and so the film wasted no time in injecting their fathers in the mix. As soon as John Lithgow and Mel Gibson enter the picture, you can almost feel the life being injected into the film and the stars. The idea is still the same; one is a macho man and the other is very effeminate. But having the additional characters gives everyone enough room to breathe and excuses to take their characters to exaggerated lengths. I’ve always been a fan of Mel Gibson and DADDY’S HOME 2 is another step on his journey back to relevancy. Once again, he proves how powerful his screen presence is as he easily eclipses everyone around him.
As I’ve alluded to, there’s not a whole lot of originality in the film. You know where the laughs are coming from and you know how most of the scenes are going to play out. For the filmmakers, and especially director Sean Anders, the talent comes in knowing when to move to the next bit. The pacing is where DADDY’S HOME 2 excels because it doesn’t dwell on bits too long and therefore, never gives the audience time to get bored. If you don’t like the way something is going, it doesn’t matter because the group will be on to the next thing pretty quickly. That’s a lesson they probably learned in the first one, when things tended to drag on and bits got stale quick, mainly due to a lack of material to work with. And again, the added cast members give everyone more to work with.
It’s easy and fair to question why a movie like DADDY’S HOME 2 even exists, but somehow the filmmakers managed to create a fun film that utilizes its talented cast and ends up being better than the original. It’s not perfect by any means, but the cast is fun and the comedy is consistent enough to make it worthwhile.
4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: I was pleasantly surprised with the video transfer for the original DADDY’S HOME 4K, so the great transfer for DADDY’S HOME 2 isn’t much of a surprise. Once again, this is a nice upgrade over the Blu-ray, with all of the rich, bold colors coming through with more color and vibrancy than on the Blu-ray. This is another colorful movie and the 4K does those colors justice in every scene. Closeups and settings get their standard improvements as well, but I think you’ll be surprised by how good this looks overall.
Audio: This isn’t the kind of movie that’s going to blow the speakers out of your ceiling, but the Dolby Atmos track is more than efficient when utilized.
This title was reviewed using a Samsung UBD-K8500 with a Sony XBR75X850C TV.
There are no special features exclusive to the 4K, but it does include a Blu-ray of the film, which includes the following special features:
Deleted Scenes (11:17): Six scenes ranging from extended to deleted. When it comes to extended scenes, I’m glad they were cut since it doesn’t take long for a scene to run too long.
Featurettes (28:36): Five featurettes that are too short on their own. We get a featurette focused on the new characters, the returning characters and even a short one on Captain Sully.
Gag Reel
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