BLU-RAY REVIEW: NEIGHBORS 2
9/18/2016

OVERVIEW: Just when you thought it couldn’t get more outrageous, Seth Rogen (This Is The End, Pineapple Express) and Zac Efron (The Lucky One, That Awkward Moment) return in the hilarious, no boundaries comedy, NEIGHBORS 2: SORORITY RISING, coming to Digital HD September 6, 2016 and Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand on September 20, 2016, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The follow-up to Neighbors, the explosively funny blockbuster, NEIGHBORS 2: SORORITY RISING features even more hysterically raunchy banter and outrageous antics, but this time the ladies have taken charge. The DVD and Digital HD include deleted scenes,gag reel, line-o-rama and more. Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital HD include deleted scenes, gag reel, line-o-rama and more.

SYNOPSIS: Now that Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly Radner (Rose Byrne) have a second baby on the way, they are ready to make the final move into adulthood: the suburbs. But just as they thought they’d reclaimed the neighborhood and were safe to sell, they learn that the new occupants next door are a hard–partying, out-of-control sorority, led by Shelby (Chloe Grace Moretz). Mac and Kelly are forced to team up with their charismatic ex-neighbor and nowsecret weapon, Teddy (Zac Efron), since the ladies of Kappa Nu aren't going down without a fight. It’s parenthood vs. sisterhood when the new neighbors assert their right to party just as hard as the boys.

FILM REVIEW: It seems as though, whenever studios announce a sequel, the immediate thought almost always comes down to: “can they make a good follow-up?” Ninety-nine percent of the time, the reasons to follow up with a sequel seems be financially-based. Simply put, it’s to make more money, rather than there being a good story that desperately needs to be told. That’s especially true with many sequels to hit comedies. The chances of botching what worked in what was initially conceived as a standalone-comedy, tends to increase with each successive follow-up. There’s no better proof of this than the recent sequel to “Zoolander” (Not to imply that it [part 1] was great, by any stretch of the imagination).

While the plot in “Neighbors 2 - Sorority Rising 2” is almost identical to part one, part two appears to be very much fast paced and consistently funny, from scene to scene. This allows it to not feel like a complete rehash on many levels. As well, there seems to be many more laughs in this sequel than there were in first flick (which does not always happen in comedy sequels, in my experience). Seth Rogen and Rose Bryne are always entertaining to watch on screen and have terrific comedic chemistry. The same can be said for the duo, Rogen and Zac Efron – they continue their winning comedic ways in this latest installment.

As I alluded to above, “Neighbors 2 - Sorority Rising 2” always has a joke seemingly in every scene; however, it does try to tackle some larger issues, with both success and failure. Part one featured an undertow of a good amount of heart beneath all of the hijinks, and so does Neighbors 2 - Sorority Rising 2. It features characters dealing with figuring out who they are as college students, as post-graduates, and as parents of a growing family. I’m certain most can relate to at least one of the characters’ situations and surprisingly enough, the film handles it with a good amount of heart. Having said this, though, the flick does fall a little flat when it tries to tackle more serious topics such as sexism and feminism. Both the writers and director (Nicholas Stoller) don’t seem to have a good handle on either of those subjects and while the topics are certainly worthy of being discussed in the film, they don’t lead to anything particularly impactful in this case.

Overall, “Neighbors 2 - Sorority Rising 2: Sorority Rising” is a very entertaining and worthy sequel to the 2014 hit. It features all cast members at their comedic best while the mostly recycled plot does not get in the way of how funny this movie actually is. In addition, it has just enough heart to make it more memorable than other comedy offerings, and although some topics aren’t as well handled as others, it is still nice seeing all involved, bring their A-game. I remember laughing out loud during the first movie; however, this latest effort brings that big deep-belly laughter while being a comedy with something to say. In the end, “Neighbors 2 - Sorority Rising 2” ends up being funnier than the original movie and a near-perfect sequel to the original. I would appear as though the formula of making the humor more gender-neutral helps significantly in making this sequel so intensely funny.

Three and a half stars out of five is a fair assessment of this latest release and I would certainly recommend viewing this one in theaters with family, friends or a significant other, in tow.

Review By Movi-Man Stan 

BLU-RAY: The film is presented in widescreen in a 2.40:1 aspect ration preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just flawless. Not only the picture looks great in this release, also the sound it is good, a 5.1 Dolby Digital in English that provides a good complement to the picture. It also includes  English, French  and Spanish subtitles.

VIDEO:
Widescreen (2.40:1) 16x9

AUDIO:
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English / DTS Digital Surround 5.1 Spanish and French

Subtitles - English SDH, Spanish, French

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Blu-ray™ unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.

DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.

DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet™ lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.

Deleted Scenes

Gag Reel

Line-O-Rama

Nu Neighbors - Neighbors is back with a new direction and plenty of new cast members. Director Nick Stoller and Producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg talk about their initial ideas for the Sorority Rising, the traps they avoided in making their first sequel, and the big differences between the first film and Neighbors 2.

The Prodigal Bros Return - The not so beloved brothers of Delta Psi return... for a day. We hear from Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jerrod Carmichael and Zac Efron about their day on set while they catch us up on where they’ve been since the end of Neighbors.

Girls Rule - Neighbors 2 has added a new threat to Mac and Kelly’s household in the form of the Kappa Nu women. Learn more about the experiences of the new women on set.

The Ultimate Tailgate - A behind-the-scenes look at the tailgate sequence.

Feature Commentary with Co-writer/director Nicholas Stoller and Producer James Weaver