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Blu-Ray : Recommended
Ranking:
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Release Date: July 17th, 2018 Movie Release Year: 2018

Super Troopers 2

Overview -

The Broken Lizard crew is at it again with Super Troopers 2, a movie that is surprisingly better than it has any right to be. Plot is largely pushed aside in its second outing and replaced by a series of skits. Though your enjoyment relies on how much you like these skits, they hit more than they miss and left me with a smile on my face. Pair that with a decent Video and Audio transfer and you have a Recommended release for any group of friends looking for a laugh on a Friday night.

When an international border dispute arises between the U.S. and Canada, the fun-loving Vermont Highway Patrolmen – Mac, Thorny, Foster, Rabbit and Farva – are called in to resolve the situation. The Broken Lizard comedy team of Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Erik Solhanske and Paul Soter return to star alongside Brian Cox, Rob Lowe, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Lynda Carter. Featuring hilarious bonus material on the making of the film along with extended and deleted scenes and a Kevin Heffernan featurette, the time is “meow” for SUPER TROOPERS 2.

OVERALL:
Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
Blu-ray + DVD + Digital
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Length:
99
Aspect Ratio(s):
1.85:1
Audio Formats:
French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles/Captions:
English SDH, French, Spanish
Special Features:
Theatrical Trailers
Release Date:
July 17th, 2018

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

It always amazes me how we can get a sequel to just about anything today. Back in 2015, if you would have told me that we would be getting a sequel to Super Troopers seventeen years after its initial release, I would call you a liar. Yet here we are in 2018 with Super Troopers 2 being released after a crowdfunding campaign that raised $4.4 million. I for one don’t mind the first film. To me it is the more, dare I say, “Intelligent” (and I use that term loosely) frat boy type comedy that actually hits more than it misses. But where would a sequel go? Usually, sequels to comedies tend to ride on the goodwill of its predecessor and offer nothing new. But could this be something different? 

To say that Super Troopers 2 has a bare-bones plot like its predecessor is an understatement. There is even more scatological humor here than the first. This essentially is a series of skits centered around a threadbare plot, and your enjoyment of this film hangs on how often these skits land for you because this plot is structured around the skits. Not the other way around. Thorny (Jay Chandrasekhar), Favra (Kevin Heffernan), Mac (Steve Lemme), Foster (Paul Stoler), and Rabbit (Erik Stolhanske) are brought back into the police force team after they are assigned to take over for a group of Mounties in Canada. Of course, the Mounties don’t like being replaced and hijinks ensue.  

The special sauce in this outing is the Canadian vs USA jokes. I usually don’t go for such broad humor, but everyone here is a stereotype in some way or another, so in my book that makes it fair game. The Canadian Mounties, led by the wonderfully slimy Guy LeFranc (Rob Lowe), take the usual Canadian stereotypes and turn them up to eleven to the point where they are more cartoonish than Dudley Do-Right. And they play it perfectly. Especially Lowe with his exaggerated tan and hair, one wonders why anyone would trust such an obvious slimeball. But Lowe has played this character before and he relishes in being the kind of villain you love to hate. The interplay between the Troopers and the Mounties are where the majority of the humor lies, and for the most part, it works. When you take the typical straight-laced State Trooper stereotype, and put them in a situation where they pull someone over and speak French to throw off the typical person who doesn’t speak French, well it isn’t highbrow humor, but it gets a laugh out of yours truly nonetheless. These guys just feel natural around each other. Like they have been hanging out for the past seventeen years, so when it was time to slip back into their foolish banter, it seems effortless. In fact, I question how much acting is actually involved here versus this is just how they act on a daily basis. 

Super Troopers 2 has even less structure than its predecessor. At times it seems aimless. Its plot is only there to service the humor, instead of the humor servicing the plot. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t get more than a handful of good belly laughs throughout this aimless adventure. As long as its viewer isn’t easily offended, Super Troopers 2 has a good ratio of jokes that actually land, and like its predecessor is a great party movie to watch with a group of friends.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray 

20th Century Fox brings Super Troopers 2 to Blu-ray with a standard slipcover to hardcover casing, featuring artwork that is so over the top it can only exist in this cartoonish world. Inside lies a BD-50 Blu-ray, DVD, and a Movies Anywhere digital copy that unlocks the HD version.  Once popped in we are presented with a few skippable trailers before being brought to a still image main menu that lets us navigate from there.

Video Review

Ranking:

Super Troopers 2 brings home the yucks with a 1080P MPEG-4 AVC encode that gives us exactly what you would expect with a release of this nature. With an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and shot digitally with an Arri Alexa camera, I’m beginning to see some common flaws with the Alexa line of cameras. In darker, more underlit interior scenes, the image tends to lose its dimension and have a noticeably flatter image. That is definitely the case here, specifically with a seduction scene toward the end of the film and at the scene at the club toward the beginning. The club scene suffers from a. bit of color bleeding due to the multiple strobes in the scene. None of this ruins the enjoyment, but it is worth mentioning. Detail work is particularly strong, showcasing every hair of every over the top mustache, to the hilarious sheen on Rob Lowe’s bronzer job.

Super Troopers 2 features a razor-sharp, highly detailed transfer, that will satisfy any fans of the film despite some minor imperfections along the way.

Audio Review

Ranking:

Super Troopers 2 brings the party to your living room with a DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix. Right from the first scene, where the band is playing in the tour bus, we hear it through the surrounds with expert speaker separation that one would not expect from such a mix. The club scene has the exact same effect here. Bass response is often subtle, but kicks in at times (like the bear attack scene). Dialogue is clear and audible and at a generous volume.

Super Troopers 2 gives you just what you would expect in the audio department, and even though this won’t wow anyone out there it does have a bit of a kick when needed.

Special Features

Ranking:
  • Making of Super Troopers 2 (HD 39:50) – An absolutely hilarious behind-the-scenes featurette that has some pretty hilarious antics. It could almost work as a blooper reel for how it comes off.
  • Kevin Heffernan: Method Actor (HD 1:50) – Another hilarious featurette that is just the actor doing impressions. 
  • Deleted/Extended Scenes (HD 19:40) 
  • Theatrical Trailer (HD 3:24)

Final Thoughts

Super Troopers 2 is a mindless, scatological romp that is also pretty damn hilarious. Its stars are obviously not just co-workers; they are friends that know each other and riff off of each other effortlessly. Can the focus on Canada be construed as offensive? Yes. If you want to see it, it is there. But it is not done in a mean-spirited way. And even though our leads are the “Ra Ra America” stereotypes, they are found to be wrong many times here in hilarious ways, making them look just as foolish, if not more in some cases. Add that with a good-looking video transfer and good sounding audio mix, and you have a great party movie that is Recommended.