Plot: What’s it about?
I was never overly crazy about the original Super Troopers, but it definitely has its fan base. It’s not always a great sign when so many years have passed between an original film and its sequel, but Super Troopers 2 should still please the fan base that enjoyed the original film. All others should probably steer clear as it’s likely to turn off many casual viewers. In some ways, the long gap has weakened the film a bit. Some hijinks are more amusing when there’s more of an innocence behind them, but when middle age men are performing them, it’s really kind of sad. Ultimately, I found the film neither terrible nor entirely necessary. Instead it just sort of exists; it’s there. It also surprised me that the film even made it to theaters. I thought surely this would be something that would premier on Netflix. I’m all in favor of the theatrical experience, but it just seemed like something more geared to home loungers than your average theatergoers.
We learn during the opening moments that the officers have been fired from the police department, after a mishap with actor Fred Savage went wrong. Once again we’re introduced to Farva (Kevin Heffernan), Jeff Foster (Paul Soter), Thorny (Jay Chandrasekhar) and Mac (Steve Lemme). We’re brought up to speed a bit on what they’ve been up to before getting into the gist of things. Captain O’Hagen (Brian Cox) assembles a group to go on a fishing trip in Canada. He gathers the troopers for this. Upon arriving, they learn why they’re really there. There has been a recent land survey which results in Canada giving over the land to the U.S. If the group succeeds at this then they’ll become full time troopers again. Really the plot is just an excuse to get the gang back together to resort to more playing pranks on one another and civilians. Whether or not that’s enough for you will all depend, but there’s a tired feeling to this whole sequel. Instead of offering endless laugh-out-loud moments, I only smirked a few times here and there. Some jokes land, while others fall flat on their face. Some of the running gags aren’t even the least bit amusing. This includes Thorny becoming addicted to estrogen pills. This long running joke is carried too far, but really isn’t funny to being with.
At the end of the day, I feel like this sequel is a mixed bag. It may be worth watching once for the hardcore fans, but it offers nothing new. It isn’t terrible, but too often settles for cheap and lowbrow humor when, if it just tried a little harder could’ve been a real winner. The actors are committed to it, but I don’t think we need a third film any time soon. With the turnaround rate for this sequel being so long, I doubt we’ll even get one. That is unless we’re watching these troopers as senior citizens. I better not give them any ideas.
Video: How’s it look?
We get an attractive 1.85:1 transfer that showcases the strong visuals the film does have to offer. Details are strong, outdoor scenes display nice accuracy and details as well. Facial hair, pores, details on faces, all that good stuff comes through with strong detail here. Fans should be impressed with the results.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The DTS HD track gets the job done. The film stays pretty active as there’s always something brewing. Vocals are fine and all the channels stay active to help keep us engaged. There’s the clarity as well. All things come together to make this a winning track that’ll please fans.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Making Super Troopers 2 – Running just over 30 minutes, there’s a little more than meets the eye when it comes to your “standard EPK’s”. We get the obligatory interviews with the cast and crew, but also a history of how the project came to be. It’s quite interesting, actually.
- Extended/Deleted Scenes – Nearly twenty minutes of deleted scenes are shown in varying quality, but don’t offer a lot of insight to the film – they were wisely cut.
- Kevin Heffernan: Method Actor – The less said, the better. It might help if you took a few pills earlier in the day.
- Theatrical Trailer
The Bottom Line
The plot is straightforward and simple, but there are a lot of jokes and bits that I didn’t touch on. With comedies it’s more a case of did it make me laugh or not. Sadly, too many of the jokes just fall flat. It isn’t a terrible film, and I was never crazy on the original, so my expectations weren’t high. It’s just that a lot of the jokes are rather pathetic. It might be worth a rental at most, but this isn’t something I’d return to in the future.
