Daddy’s Home 2 [Blu-Ray]

Director: Sean Anders

Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, John Lithgow

Release Date: February 20, 2018

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 6.5/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

When it comes to raising their kids, Dusty (Mark Wahlberg) and Brad (Will Ferrell) finally have this co-parenting thing down.  That is, until Dusty’s macho dad (Mel Gibson) and Brad’s sweet-natured father (John Lithgow) come to town, throwing the whole family into complete chaos.  As old rivalries create new problems, Dusty and Brad’s partnership is put to the ultimate test in this hilarious and heartwarming comedy that gives new meaning to the term ‘blended family.’

Get ready for some over the top, Christmastime family fun with even more daddies! The follow-up to 2015’s surprise hit comedy, ‘Daddy’s Home 2’ rejoins former daddy-rivals Brad (Ferrell) and Dusty (Wahlberg) who now find themselves in a courteous and well established partnership as each gives their all for the best of the kids. But when the arrival of Brad and Dusty’s own fathers (Lithgow & Gibson) combined with a sudden family getaway throw things into disarray, the harmonious balance begins to dwindle as tensions rise and things begin to once again go increasingly sideways. As things only get continually worse, Brad and Dusty will have to try and ignore the meddling of their fathers and find a way to reacquire their positive co-dad attitude if they hope to salvage both the vacation and their extended family.

Directed once again by Sean Anders (Daddy’s Home, We’re The Millers) who additionally co-wrote the screenplay with regular collaborator John Morris (Daddy’s Home, We’re The Millers), Anders does a more than capable job at the helm of ‘Daddy’s Home 2’ guiding this amusing holiday sequel along with ease. The film also owes a tremendous amount of credit to the many talented folks that comprise the cast which features many new and returning individuals to the series including Will Ferrell (Anchorman), Mark Wahlberg (Transformers: The Last Knight), John Lithgow (Interstellar), Mel Gibson (The Expendables 3), Linda Cardellini (The Founder), John Cena (Trainwreck) and more, nearly all providing pretty solid performances in each of their respective roles.

‘Daddy’s Home 2’ is another amusing outing (and this time Christmas-themed for some extra holiday cheer) with previous enemies turned “co-dads” Dusty and Brad whose families now enjoy a peaceful coexistence. Naturally, while half of the fun in the first film was the rivalry and hilarious depths the two were willing to reach in order to stay on top, the sequel takes advantage of the Daddy concept to introduce the father figures of our two leads and also utilizes their arrival to reignite some of the resentment each still holds toward the other. The sequel certainly offers a solid helping of laughs and heartwarming family moments, all with some Christmas themed happiness sprinkled throughout, although the humor never quite manages to reach the levels of hilarity the first movie accomplished at times and also finds itself relying a bit too heavily on the original formula as opposed to truly branching out. Even while not quite on the level of the first film, ‘Daddy’s Home 2’ still provides plenty of family fun that shouldn’t go unappreciated, guided smoothly along once again by director Sean Anders and sporting an impressive cast filled with plenty of talented individuals. I would certainly encourage anyone that enjoyed the first film to try and make a point of giving ‘Daddy’s Home 2’ a chance when you have the opportunity, it may not be quite as memorable but definitely still manages to deliver plenty of laughs and heartwarming fun that should make it more than worth the time of any fan of the original.

Overall, ‘Daddy’s Home 2’ serves up plenty of solid laughs and feel good family moments, along with some extra insanity courtesy of Gibson and Lithgow as the fathers of our two male leads. It never quite manages to reach the level of hilarious and moving that the first film accomplished, but it still comes together into a fairly solid sequel that is likely to please fans. ‘Daddy’s Home 2’ is recommended, especially for fans of the first film and anyone that tends to enjoy an amusing comedy about family with no shortage of laughs and heartwarming moments sprinkled throughout, all finished off by a perfectly suited Christmastime setting. Odds are it should at the very least prove worthy of the rental cost and a couple hours of your time and might also make a solid selection for a family movie night one lazy evening.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Daddy’s Home 2’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing a 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks pretty wonderful as a whole and delivers a sharp and detailed presentation with rich, vibrant colors, and no notable faults to be uncovered throughout. It holds up beautifully even during the darkly lit and fast moving sequences, never allowing anything occurring on screen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, this is a fantastic high definition video presentation from Paramount that should easily please fans and first time viewers alike.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack compliments the film splendidly with a consistently crisp, clean and fairly active audio presentation throughout. It regularly takes advantage of all seven available channels in order to send crowd chatter, disaster-related effects and music along with plenty more throughout the various speakers whenever fitting, and always making certain that any dialogue or other audio elements that may be occurring simultaneously remain clean and fully audible. Overall, this is a great Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that delivers on every level from start to finish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Daddy’s Home 2’ includes some amusing extras that fans of the series should have fun with. Included on the release are some ‘Deleted, Extended and Alternate Scenes’ from the movie (running approximately 11 minutes altogether), in addition to a ‘Gag Reel’ (running approximately 4 minutes) and a collection of Behind the Scenes Featurettes that include interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more. The included Featurettes are: ‘Making a Sequel’ (running approximately 5 minutes), ‘Look Who’s Back’ (approximately 7 minutes), ‘Co-Dad’s: Will and Mark’ (7minutes), ‘The New Dad’s in Town: Mel and John’ (8 minutes) and ‘Captain Sully’ (2 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 6.5/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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‘Daddy’s Home 2’ Arrives on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray combo pack, Blu-ray combo pack & DVD February 20, 2018 & is Now Available to Own on Digital from Paramount Home Media Distribution

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You can purchase your copy of ‘Daddy’s Home 2’ by clicking on the Amazon Cart icon immediately below!