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I'm not
going to spend a lot of time and energy discussing the intricate
plot details and originality of Home Alone 2, because the
filmmakers obviously didn't. If you really want to know what
the sequel is about, watch the first Home Alone, then simply
shift the action to New York. This is another one of those
tired remakes that get passed off as a sequel just to make
a few bucks off the popularity of the original. This one's
completely on autopilot. One original idea though is the idea
that human electrocution can be hysterical.
I had seen
this back when it first came out on Laserdisc and watching
it again, I was struck with one recurring thought: boy does
this movie suck! Within the first ten minutes, every possible
joke from the first film is regurgitated here. The only bits
of deviation from the first movie are all due to the change
in location and certainly not because of any amount of imagination
or intelligence by the filmmakers. If you've never seen Home
Alone 2, don't tempt fate and ruin it for yourself now.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The overall
detail in this non-anamorphic widescreen Fox disc is better
than what was presented on the first Home Alone, no doubt
due to the slightly newer master used here, which is from
1993 instead of 1991. However, colors are so out of whack
that this disc becomes irritating to watch. Fleshtones run
between pink and orange, with overall colors, especially reds,
being highly oversaturated. It's like watching this through
an orange filter. Black level is good but shadow detail has
a slight veil to it, not quite pulling the job off. There
were only a slight amount of compression artifacts to be found
and very little in the way of film grain. Ironically, the
experience of watching the video quality of this disc is somewhat
like the movie itself, so bad it frustrates you to watch it
for any length of time.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
Similar
to the first film, this is a predominately mono presentation
with only John William's score providing any stereo or surround
presence, though you will find occasional stereo effects stretching
to the left and right. Dialog is well recorded and presented
here very well, with no distortion or masking from the effects
or music. This Dolby 2.0 surround presentation is an accurate
representation with nothing inherent in the original mix to
push the limits of what a soundtrack can do. French and Spanish
Dolby surround tracks are also included, although only English
subtitles are available.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? Included
for your displeasure are the original theatrical trailers
for each film in the unholy Home Alone Trilogy. Further adding
to the theory of the paint-by-numbers approach to Home Alone
2 is that its theatrical trailer is a sing-a-long complete
with bouncing house to guide the viewer through all the familiar
Home Alone territory.
Parting Thoughts
I'm thinking
that the reason that Fox lowered the price on the Home Alone
discs is because they feared some sort of indictment for fraud.
(Editor: How about just plain 'ol crimes against humanity?)
Home Alone 2 has bad quality written all over it and maybe
they thought people might confuse the higher price tag with
some sort of higher quality. Don't even do yourself the disservice
of renting Home Alone 2!
(Note:
This disc is also available in a Home Alone Collection of
all three films, retailing for $79.95. And for more MacCaulay
Culkin fun, check out our reviews for Home
Alone and Home
Alone 3.)
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