The all-star comedy cast from ‘Grown Ups’ returns with some exciting new additions. After moving back to his hometown to be with his friends and their kids, Lenny finds out that between old bullies, new bullies, wild bus drivers, cops on skis and 400 costumed party crashers, sometimes crazy follows you. This time around, the grown ups are the ones learning lessons from their kids on a day notoriously full of surprises: the last day of school.
Presented in 1.85:1 with a 1080P MPEG4 AVC encode, ‘Grown Ups 2’ does look superb.
As you would come to expect from a new movie, the presentation from the get go is brilliant. Definition and detail is superb throughout, with the actor’s facial lines or clothing details looking razor sharp all the way through the movie, with skin tones looking natural. Clarity is again spot on, whether it’s in day time or night time settings not a single detail is lost. Colours are also fantastic, again making no difference if it’s in the day time or in darker settings. A perfect example of all of this, funnily enough is in the K-Mart sequence. All the different colours really pop off the screen and really stand out, and you get to appreciate just how detailed this transfer is. No grain at all, no digital noise and no blocking from what I could see. A top transfer from Sony.
The main track on the disc is a very good DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track.
All speakers are put to full use from the off, the centre speaker deliver dialogue clearly and is never lost within the rest of the track. The front and rear speakers are used to full effect, creating great ambience with background noises that really immerse you into the movie. For example, the crowd noise at the house party or at the train station. The soundtrack to ‘Grown Ups 2’ is delivered superbly throughout the film, ranging from the comedic light heartedness of the film’s score or the more banging party music from the house party towards the latter part of the film. LFE kicks in when needed, and is most predominantly noticed more towards the start of the movie with the deer running through the house. This added in with the surround mix, it almost fools you into thinking the deer is in your own home. As with the video presentation, a very good audio track is on the disc.
Also included is a Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, and an English descriptive audio 5.1 Dolby digital track. English, English SDH, Danish, Finnish, Hindi, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese and Swedish subtitles are also included.
On the Blu-Ray are the following extras –
* Deleted Scenes (HD, 7 mins) – Seven in total (Frozen Pretzel, Up and Comer, I Won, Boutique, Hugs Not Drugs, Drivers Test, Hardcore and Advice)
* Look Who Stopped By (HD, 5 mins) – A brief look at the new cast members as well as the cameos throughout the film
* The Feder House (HD, 2 mins) – A brief look at one of the film’s main sets
* Mr Spade’s Wild Ride (HD, 2 mins) – A very quick look at the making of the tyre rolling scene
* Shaq and Dante: Police Force (HD 2 mins) – A behind-the-scenes look at the comedic cop duo
* UV copy (redeemable via code)
Not masses of extras on the disc, no commentary, no interviews with the cast or crew overall quite disappointing. Initial copies of the movie will also receive a slipcase.
I’m not going to beat around the bush, ‘Grown Ups 2’ is not a good film. However, it is an enjoyable 110 minutes or so to stick on in the afternoon with a few laughs thrown in here and there. ‘Grown Ups’ is just the same, and the sequel pretty much follows the same formula.
It was nice to see all of the primary and supporting cast back bar Rob Schneider (but from what you read about him, that’s probably not a bad thing!). It’s obvious to see everyone had a great time making ‘Grown Ups 2’.
The cameos, for me, really outshined the rest of the cast; especially Steve Austin and Shaquille O’Neal! Both steal every scene that they’re in and you have to love Steve Austin dressed up as The Terminator! Another worthy mention goes to Taylor Lautner and his ‘Frat Pack’. I’m not the biggest fan of Lautner but he does quite well in the film. A special nod also to Kris Murrell and her fancy dress as Hulk Hogan!!
I find that Adam Sandler does tend to be very hit and miss with the films he makes recently and over the past few years, but for me ‘Grown Ups 2’ is one of the better ones but I think sadly gone are the days of the likes of ‘Happy Gilmore’ and ‘The Wedding Singer’. ‘Grown Ups 2’ just tries to get cheap laughs, for example pee stains on underwear or a family of characters just there to say “WHAAAAT” at every opportunity. However, there are some genuine laughs throughout the film that does make up for some of the films shortcomings.
The film was never going to win any awards, there’s nothing new to add to the table, everything has been done time and time again but overall it is a half decent comedy and a worthy sequel to ‘Grown Ups’. If you was to ask me would I want to see a ‘Grown Ups 3’, I’d say yes as its just light hearted good fun. However, I would much prefer to see Adam Sandler go back more to his roots and make a film like he used to make.
Overall Sony have released a good Blu-Ray release boasting both fantastic video and audio presentations but is unfortunately lacking in the extras department. If you’re a fan of the first movie, I see no reason why you won’t enjoy the sequel, just don’t have very high expectations.
Order your copy from Amazon.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq5CIH0duMk