The Hangover – Part II (2011/Warner Blu-ray W/DVD & Digital Copy)
Picture:
A-/B- Sound: A-/B- Extras:
C Film: B-
Well, if
you enjoyed The Hangover then you
will enjoy The Hangover – Part II. Viewers may experience an overwhelming sense
of déjà vu while viewing this film (newly on Blu-ray), but don’t fret there is
good reason for this. Fact of the matter
is, that the writers/director of the film essentially decided “not mess with a
working formula.” The first film was a
surprising, smash hit for the studio and a sequel was a no brainer. The problem, however, like many films was how
to make a sequel for a film that was already brilliantly self-contained.
The Hangover – Part II reunites the original cast of The Hangover (no Heather Graham) in
celebration of buddy Stu’s (Ed Helms’) forthcoming nuptials as they venture off
to Bangkok for
a good time. Director Todd Phillips has
Stu, Phil (Bradley Cooper), and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) once again traveling
down amnesia lane as a bachelor party gone too far, leaves the gang
reconnecting the dots of the previous night.
Like super sleuths, small momentous, body parts, and oddly placed
tattoos help the Wolf Pack trio reconstruct where the night took them. Like the last film (where they lost bachelor Doug
[Justin Bartha] ), the gang is a man down as Stu’s future brother-in-law Teddy
has gone missing, with the only trace of him left behind being a severed finger. To make matters worse Stu’s future
father-in-law already despises Stu, so calling home for help is out of the
question, and if said brother-in-law is not found the marriage is over before
it begins. So the journey begins, but
after hearing the characters saying “I can’t believe this is happening again” over
and over, any viewer can tell it is a tongue in cheek apology for repeating the
exact storyline of The Hangover.
The film
is funny and completely insane; embodying the same raunchy, frat humor as other
films like Old School and Superbad, but again the problem remains
it is just The Hangover in Bangkok instead of
Vegas. The smoking monkey and silent
monk sequences are funny, though even those scenes seem to be slightly altered Hangover sequences.
Hangover 3 is in the works and even cast
member Bradley Cooper acknowledges they will have to step it up for the next
time around; i.e. changing up the formula.
It is scary for creators to step away from a formula that worked so well
and made them millions the first time around, but for sequels there are only
two clear choices; kick it up a notch or don’t make it at all.
The
technical features of this new film are amazingly well done and I was
pleasantly surprised. For a ‘frat film’
in smoky, dark Bangkok I wasn’t expecting anything fantastic, but The Hangover – Part II delivers. The picture is a 2.40 X 1 AVC MPEG 4 encoded,
1080p High Definition that boasts of great colors, crisp images, and solid
black levels. The well balanced, texture
rich flick has viewers embracing each bead of sweat and five o’clock shadow as
the source material is nearly spotless.
I won’t say it is the best thing I have seen, but as a newly produced
feature it is done right. The audio is a
5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and comes through as crisp, clean and clear. Comedy in general does not act as good ‘demo
material’ on Blu-ray, but The Hangover:
Part II does a solid job of utilizing the surrounds with the musical scores
and panning effects; all of this on top of a crisp dialogue track.
The DVD
is a major downgrade in the case of The
Hangover Part II as compared to the Blu-ray the image is muddied and the
audio lacks ‘oomph.’ Stick with Blu-ray.
The
extras are not overwhelmingly great for this release, but a few gems standout
along with a Digital Copy of the film:\
- Unauthorized Documentary
(Essentially a Mockumentary of The
Hangover Part II that features everything, but how the movie was
actually made as it manages to harass the likes of Todd Black, J.J.
Abrams, and Morgan Spurlock)
- Gag Reel (kind of funny)
- Behind the Story (Holds three
separate featurettes that takes a look into Todd Phillips filming style, a
special smoking money, and finally a Ken Jeong special feature)
- Action Mash Up (a compilation
of all the most intense moments of the film [in 46 seconds])
- Digital Copy
I expect
there to be a second release of this film on Blu-ray, much like The Hangover. Though many have bashed this sequel, I found
it fun and like I said if you enjoyed the first time around, the insanity that
is The Hangover - Part II is right
up your alley.
- Michael P. Dougherty II