Daddy's Home 2

It plays better than it reviews — the watch lands harder than the write-ups suggest.

• “The surreal and silly sequel to the hit 2015 comedy skates on the well-known but still-appealing comic personas of stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg and their zany chemistry.”

  Katie Walsh, Chicago Tribune · 63

• “The good news is that I found the sequel better than the original — the writing sharper, the jokes fresher and smarter, the comic interaction between the lead characters consistently engaging.”

  Glenn Kenny, RogerEbert.com · 63

• “The similarities between Daddy’s Home 2 and last week’s release, "A Bad Moms Christmas," are striking. Not only are the two films sequels to successful first installments but they follow the similar template of bringing back the most popular elements of the first movie, stirring veteran actors into the mix, and finishing everything off with a big kumbaya moment.”

  James Berardinelli, ReelViews · 63

• “Like the passable original, this formulaic comedy can’t stop teasing the possibility of a funnier, smarter movie being made with the exact premise, central conflicts, and stars.”

  Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, The A.V. Club · 58

• “Of course, there’s a sort of comfort in familiarity, especially around the traditions of the holidays. But Daddy’s Home 2 never manages to really catch you off guard and crack you up the way the best comedies should.”

  Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly · 58