Super Troopers 2 - Blu-ray Review

Movie
“You boy’s like Mexico?!”

Lightning rarely strikes twice. Especially when a film waits 17 years for the sequel to finally drop (well, it’s not the longest time between sequels, but still a pretty long time). Super Troopers was a smash hit in 2001, and became one of the biggest cult comedies of the 21st century. The film was never critically acclaimed or anything, but comedy fans like myself consider it to be one of the funniest raunchy comedies ever created, with enough repeatable one liners to put Arnold Schwarzenegger to shame. The comedy troupe behind it (Broken Lizard), has been activity in the comedy scene for quite some time, and have put out a good number of films (Slammin Salmon, Club Dread, Beerfest), but nothing they have EVER done has given them the fame (or been as widely received) as Super Troopers. I was one of those people who saw Super Troopers on a lark when it hit theaters, and wasn’t prepared for hilarious the film would be. I’ve seen it countless times, introduced most of my friends to the movie, and can pretty much spout the movie’s dialog verbatim, so you can bet your britches I really hoping for the sequel to get made when Broken Lizard expressed interest. Sadly, Super Troopers 2 has been years in the making, with studios pretty much refusing to have anything to do with it, and the comedy troupe resorting to crowd funding to get most of the budget together (although Fox invested some after they met their crowd funding goal). A move which is not only gutsy, but impressive when you consider the rabid love the fan base had to show in order to get the sequel to their favorite movie.

The boys are back in town! Last time we left the Vermont Highway Patrol, they were no longer highway patrol. They had moved on to a local department and were making their own brand of trouble there as well. Sadly it looks like they got fired from there too (due to an unfortunate “Fred Savage” incident, which they joke about the whole movie), and are making due in civilian life. Thorny (Jay Chandrasekar) is living as a lumber jack, Foster (Paul Soter) is still with his police officer girlfriend Ursula (Marisa Coughlin, who makes a few minute cameo for the film), while Farva (Kevin Heffernan), Mac (Steve Lemme), and Rabbit (Erik Stolhanske) are working as construction workers. When their old friend, Captain O’Hagan (Brian Cox) calls them into Canada for a fishing trip, they get the chance of a lifetime. The chance to get their old jobs back as police officers.

You see, It seems that Canada actually has a bit of U.S. soil on their maps (as well as ours), and the U.S. is taking back the small blip of land just north of Vermont. Governor Jessman (Lynda Carter, reprising her role from the first movie) has decided that the small area needs some official Vermont Police oversight, and she decides to give these band of misfits a second chance. However, Farva, Mac, Rabbit, Foster and Thorny are not your average cops. They may SAY that they’re going to do a good job and keep their noses clean, but we all know what is going to happen. Mayhem, insanity, drunkenness, lewd behavior, and more practical jokes than you can shake a stick at.

To me, Super Troopers 2 was the biggest disappointment of the summer. I’m not saying this because Super Troopers 2 is a genuinely bad film, but when it is a sequel to one of the biggest cult comedy films of the last 20 years (and then doesn’t live up to that high bar), you’re bound to be a let down. Super Troopers 2 is very obviously a passion project for Broken Lizard, as the comedy troupe spent the better part of two decades trying to get the film made. The vignette style humor of the first movie is replicated, as well as the troupe doing a lot of winks and nods to jokes in the previous films. This excitement and enjoyment in their characters is a great asset to the film, as the characters THEMSELVES felt like it’s only been months since they portrayed the Vermont Highway Patrol instead of years.

That being said, there is a distinct “swing and a miss” reality to the repetitive jokes and humorous skits. Many of the plot points in the film are hilarious, and they land solidly. But at the same time, a LOT more jokes miss the mark than I would have liked. The first film is pretty much a riot from beginning to end, but Super Troopers 2 is a bit more uneven and rough with the jokes. To give them credit, a lot of comedic actors actually asked to be a part of the film, so we get a LOT of cameos and side characters to choose from. Rob Lowe (who is downright hilarious as the Mayor of the town), Will Sasso, Damon Wayans, Sean William Scott, Tyler Labine, Andrew Carter, and yes, Fred Savage himself. The obvious enjoyment in making the product is high, and the cameos, as well as the leads, put a lot of effort in their roles. But sadly are undercut by an up and down series of laughs.




Rating:

Rated R for crude sexual content and language throughout, drug material and some graphic nudity




Video:

Captured on the Arri Alexa digital camera system that is so very popular today (with an unknown resolution master), Super Troopers 2 hops onto Blu-ray with a great looking Blu-ray transfer that is indicative of the clean source that the Arri Alexa cameras provide. The film is a bit flat at times (a side effect of Arri Alexa budget productions), but is an overall clean looking 1.85:1 AVC encoded image. Colors are warm and homey, with very little color grading throughout (except for a little bit of a honey colored tinge when dealing with wood paneling). The colors themselves are well saturated, with the bright primaries showing up with a Mike approved “pop” to them. Look at the Mounties running through the woods with their red/white/blue body paint. Or the crimson color of their red uniforms. Blacks are also good, with great shadow detail and only a hint of crush (mostly during the end battle at the sawmill). Detail levels maintain a high level of reveal, with mustache hairs and clothing details showing up with a very impressive level of texturing. Super Troopers 2 may not be the smash hit that we were all hoping for, but 20th Century Fox has given us a very good looking Blu-ray to watch, that’s for sure.








Audio:

Given a 5.1 DTS-HD MA track in English, Super Troopers 2 enjoys a rather typical, but well done 5.1 experience. Occasionally boisterous, and often times rather front heavy, the mix is typical of a comedy film as it places a large majority of emphasis on the front end of the room. Dialog is paramount and always above reproach, with crisp vocals and some decent panning effects in the front of the sound stage. The surrounds are usually fairly mild, relying on environmental ambiance most of the time, but it CAN be kicked into high gear in the couple of battles in the film. LFE is mild, but still constantly present, adding a bit of weight to some of the pullovers, as well as the score (with one big wallop near the end as the police move in to capture the smugglers). While it’s not a wham bang action track, the 5.1 mix enmeshed on the disc is indicative of a quality mixing experience combined with simple sound design. Nothing is ever out of sorts or distorted, but dialog is the main feature of the film, which limits the immersiveness of it a bit.








Extras:

• (making) SUPER TROOPERS 2
• Extended & Deleted Scenes
• Kevin Heffernan: Method Actor
• Theatrical Trailers











I’m not denying that Super Troopers 2 was a pretty fun movie. There were plenty of laughs, plenty of sight gags, and I was chuckling pretty hard more than a few times. However, those laughs were separated by sections of over the top humor that just had a hard time sticking, as well as some pretty bad segues. As a result the sequel to my favorite comedy on earth is a bit more mediocre than I had originally hoped for. 20th Century Fox has given us a solid Blu-ray combo pack, with good audio and videos, but a rather weak array of extras. While I WAS let down by the film, I still had a fun enough time with the comedy, and think it’s still worthy of checking out, even if it isn’t a laugh a minute like the original.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Hefferman, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Rob Lowe, Brian Cox, Will Sasso
Directed by: Jay Chandrasekhar
Written by: Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Hefferman, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish, French DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Rated: R
Runtime: 99 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: June 17th, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

tripplej said:

Thanks for the review. Will have to first catch the first one.

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wait? You haven't seen Super Troopers? That's almost a crime in my opinion

As I said in the review. It's not a bad movie .Just not on the plane of the first imo