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Leprechaun 2
Other // R // February 27, 2001
List Price: $24.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
"Idle Hands" has long been a favorite of mine, and the directing and accompanying commentary track by Rodman Flender impressed me enough that I thought I'd give some of Flender's other movies a try. "Leprechaun 2", as you could probably guess, happened to be one of them. Although "Leprechaun 2" is a disappointment compared to "Idle Hands" (although admittedly, Flender had more money and more experience on his side there), on its own, "Leprechaun 2" is a lot of fun and widely considered the best of the five Leprechaun movies to date.
The leprechaun -- I say 'the' leprechaun, although there's no indication that it's the same one from the first movie -- decides it's time to settle down. See, leprechauns can only marry once every thousand years, and his chance last time was blown by an all-too-loving father. Lep does find another suitable lass, a descendant of his 'love' from back in the day who happens to look exactly like her, so he starts the sneezing/marriage thing up once again. (I could explain the sneezing part, but...no.) Her boyfriend, who inadvertently ended up with one of the leprechaun's magic gold coins after a struggle, has to save her and keep from dying himself, 'cause you remember from the original film how possessive leprechauns are about their gold. Actually, that's about the only bit of continuity that carries over, because Leprechaun Rules Of Engagement have taken a hundred-eighty degree spin. Add a drunk uncle and some St. Patrick's Day celebrations, and you have the makings of...something. But hey, I liked it.
Video: Unlike the wretched original "Leprechaun" disc, "Leprechaun 2" is (get ready to cheer) 16x9 enhanced! Yup, see the leprechaun off unsuspecting folks in full widescreen 1.85:1 glory. I could make some stupid analogy about how an anamorphic transfer from Trimark is like finding a four-leaf clover, but I think I'll get enough mocking e-mail from reviewing this disc at all. Don't need to make it any worse... Anyway, when Trimark does widescreen, they do it right. Colorful, clear, and pretty close to flawless. No gripes from me, but come on, Trimark...why not revisit "Leprechaun" and give it the same treatment?
Audio: You haven't lived until you've experienced "Ultra Stereo". Not knowing what that was, I hit the lovely "audio" button on the remote for my Toshiba SD3109 only to get a generic "2 channel; Pro-Logic" message. Maybe that doesn't look snazzy enough on paper. In any event...it's average. Didn't strike me as remarkable in any way, but it didn't strike me as sucking either.
Supplements: Four full-frame Leprechaun trailers are here (but three are...ssshhh!...hidden), and seeing the preview for "Leprechaun 4: In Space" again has compelled me to get the Canadian import right now. Seriously. There aren't any other extras, but hey...what else do you need?
Conclusion: Seriously, do I need to write a conclusion for this? I'm one of the few people who'll admit to enjoying movies featuring a killer leprechaun, and if you feel the same way, "Leprechaun 2" is definitely worth a purchase. It's priced to move, and the quality of the disc by far the best of the series currently available on DVD. (Sadly, "Leprechaun 3" hasn't made its way to DVD yet, and as I alluded to earlier, "Leprechaun 4" is only available on DVD in Canada.) With an MSRP of $14.99, is there really an excuse to pass it up? "Leprechaun 2" is quite an improvement over the original, and although it's played a little too straight (especially compared to the next three movies in the series), sure...I'd recommend it as a purchase.
The leprechaun -- I say 'the' leprechaun, although there's no indication that it's the same one from the first movie -- decides it's time to settle down. See, leprechauns can only marry once every thousand years, and his chance last time was blown by an all-too-loving father. Lep does find another suitable lass, a descendant of his 'love' from back in the day who happens to look exactly like her, so he starts the sneezing/marriage thing up once again. (I could explain the sneezing part, but...no.) Her boyfriend, who inadvertently ended up with one of the leprechaun's magic gold coins after a struggle, has to save her and keep from dying himself, 'cause you remember from the original film how possessive leprechauns are about their gold. Actually, that's about the only bit of continuity that carries over, because Leprechaun Rules Of Engagement have taken a hundred-eighty degree spin. Add a drunk uncle and some St. Patrick's Day celebrations, and you have the makings of...something. But hey, I liked it.
Video: Unlike the wretched original "Leprechaun" disc, "Leprechaun 2" is (get ready to cheer) 16x9 enhanced! Yup, see the leprechaun off unsuspecting folks in full widescreen 1.85:1 glory. I could make some stupid analogy about how an anamorphic transfer from Trimark is like finding a four-leaf clover, but I think I'll get enough mocking e-mail from reviewing this disc at all. Don't need to make it any worse... Anyway, when Trimark does widescreen, they do it right. Colorful, clear, and pretty close to flawless. No gripes from me, but come on, Trimark...why not revisit "Leprechaun" and give it the same treatment?
Audio: You haven't lived until you've experienced "Ultra Stereo". Not knowing what that was, I hit the lovely "audio" button on the remote for my Toshiba SD3109 only to get a generic "2 channel; Pro-Logic" message. Maybe that doesn't look snazzy enough on paper. In any event...it's average. Didn't strike me as remarkable in any way, but it didn't strike me as sucking either.
Supplements: Four full-frame Leprechaun trailers are here (but three are...ssshhh!...hidden), and seeing the preview for "Leprechaun 4: In Space" again has compelled me to get the Canadian import right now. Seriously. There aren't any other extras, but hey...what else do you need?
Conclusion: Seriously, do I need to write a conclusion for this? I'm one of the few people who'll admit to enjoying movies featuring a killer leprechaun, and if you feel the same way, "Leprechaun 2" is definitely worth a purchase. It's priced to move, and the quality of the disc by far the best of the series currently available on DVD. (Sadly, "Leprechaun 3" hasn't made its way to DVD yet, and as I alluded to earlier, "Leprechaun 4" is only available on DVD in Canada.) With an MSRP of $14.99, is there really an excuse to pass it up? "Leprechaun 2" is quite an improvement over the original, and although it's played a little too straight (especially compared to the next three movies in the series), sure...I'd recommend it as a purchase.
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