Blu-ray

This belated sequel to Will Ferrell's 2004 comedy smash Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy moves the action from the mid-'70s to the early '80s as Ron (Will Ferrell) is hired to be one of the anchors on the world's first 24-hour news station. Stuck in the graveyard shift, Ron's team decides to focus on trivial but attention-grabbing newscasts and celebrity gossip, which makes them a ratings smash and changes the landscape of news reporting.

This is all very funny. However, the trouble with Anchorman 2 is that the above only takes up half of the film's bloated running time. The other hour sees it go careering off the rails with even more absurd and pointless detours – not least a lengthy and not even remotely hilarious sub-plot about Ron going blind. Admittedly, a spectacular, cameo-packed, news team brawl almost pulls things together for the finale – but in truth, by that point, the damage has already been done.

Picture: Anchorman 2 arrives on Blu-ray with an exceptional AVC 2.40:1 1080p encode that is nigh on impossible to fault when it comes to detailing, colour reproduction and black levels. While the movie doesn't offer much in the way of action, the hi-def imagery always makes a real impact – particularly when its comes to all of those loud '80s fashions.
Picture rating: 5/5

Audio: The Blu-ray's DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack defies expectations. Not only does the mix excel at reproducing dialogue in a clear and natural way, it also proves to be a surprisingly spacious affair with well-rendered positional effects and a punchy LFE channel. These latter elements help when it comes to providing the acoustics for Chapter 19's news team battle royale, which even throws explosions and laser blasts into the mix.
Audio rating: 4.5/5

Extras: As well as the original 118-minute theatrical cut of Anchorman 2, this Blu-ray release contains a second platter housing a 143-minute 'Super-Sized Version' promising 763 new jokes. We must admit we didn't bother counting.

Across the two discs you'll also find a fairly irreverent commentary by producer Judd Apatow, writer/director Adam McKay and actors Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner; eight deleted scenes; 25 deleted/extended scenes; two gag reels; six reels of outtakes; nine clips from the cast read-through of the script; five behind-the-scenes featurettes; three audition clips; three previsualisation clips; six trailers; and Jack Black's Spoiler Alert song performed at a charity benefit.
Extras rating: 4.5/5

We say: A newsworthy Blu-ray package for Will Ferrell's ho-hum comedy sequel

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Paramount, All-region BD, £25 Approx
HCC VERDICT: 3.5/5