Still, when the credits roll, you'll leave knowing you had a good time. Maybe not a great time, but it's enough to satisfy fans of the original and create a few new ones as well. I guess I might as well admit it and say this was my favorite movie when I was younger (until the Ninja Turtles came along of course). Not that I'm older and a bit wiser (ok, maybe not), "GB2" is still fun, just not like it used to be. (*** out of *****)
Both sides of the argument will be happy with this disc as 2.35:1 widescreen and pan & scan are contained on the disc (opposite sides). This print is really in great shape, showing little or no signs of wear. The transfer is equal to it. With the exception of a few minor shots (particularly some in the courtroom and special effect sequences) that suffer from inconsistent black levels and grain, this is just stunning for a 15-year old movie. Flesh tones couldn't be anymore accurate and compression is well controlled. You could even say the majority of this movie simply looks perfect. (****)
Brought into the new millennium, the 5.1 sound mix is not quite as well done. Nearly the entire movie is centered with a few moments of subtle and barely noticeable rear speaker work. Most of the soundtrack fills the field nicely, but that's the extent of this mix. The LFE channel gets the day off too. Dialogue is clean with no distortion so they got the important parts right, but we've all heard better work from movies much older than this. (***)
Plenty of deleted material is out there for this movie, but none of it gets included here. The only extras are some trailers and filmographies. On a final note, who did the cover art? Not only is the picture on the front from the original film (and missing Ernie Hudson), but also the police on the back aren't even looking at the walking Statue coming right towards them. (*)
Most of the leads here including Reitman, Aykroyd, Ramis, and Murray were reluctant to make the sequel. I'm sure the studio was relieved when they decided to go ahead. It grossed nearly $120 million before the theatrical run was over.
Article comments