In a Nutshell
The much-anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed, global box office phenomenon that started it all, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, reunites the heroes of Bricksburg in an all-new action-packed adventure to save their beloved city.
[imdb]http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3513498/[/imdb]
Review
The box-office success of the first LEGO movie meant a further outing for Emmet, Lucy and Co.
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller may have handed directorial duties to Mike Mitchell, but they’re still involved with the movie, writing the screenplay and serving as executive-producers for the project. Much like their work on Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, another smash hit for the duo that was given the unnecessary sequel treatment, they don’t quite know what to do second time round.
Yes the script is still just as sharp and funny as before, poking fun at everything they can, from popular culture to the many franchises LEGO has(and hasn’t) at its disposal for the movie (Marvel isn’t returning their calls right now), but it’s all just a little too messy this time around.
Just too Manic for it’s own Good
They’ve thrown everything they can into this instalment, from musical numbers, time-travel to raptors, but the end result is a film that’s just too manic and messy for its own good and lacks the charm of its predecessor.
Initially kicking off right where the previous film left off, before a quick flash forward to five years later, the film’s plot sees Emmet forced to travel from the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Bricksberg, the aptly named Apocalypseburg, to the ‘Systar System’. Along the way Emmet encounters Rex Dangervest, a ‘galaxy defending, archaeologist, cowboy and raptor trainer’ from the future who offers to help him stop ‘Ar-mom-
I can’t talk about Rex too much because it’s too spoilerific, but I will say this; the time-traveling aspect of his character was one of the things I really liked about this sequel. It’s time-travel, but seen through the eyes of a child whose watched films like Back to the Future and not overthought the potential ramifications and implications it might involve, Rex is just able to travel through time.
Time travel aside there’s just too much going on this time around and the film struggles to fit everything in. Some of the characters from the last film get lost along the way, particularly Will Arnett’s Batman, who stole the show last time. Yes, he still plays a prominent role within the film, but his proposed wedding with Tiffany Haddish’s brilliantly named Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi to prevent ‘Ar-mom-ageddon’ just wasn’t that funny and the jokes between the two quickly got very repetitive.
Expands on the Concept of the Original With Inception Levels of Cleverness
It’s commendable that the writers have at least tried to expand the concept of the first movie, a drama that is unfolding within the mind of a child as he plays with his toys; this time round the drama is driven two children, Finn and his younger sister Bianca.
Sometimes Finn is influencing events onscreen and at other points we’re watching things from Bianca’s perspective, it’s a clever Inception-esque idea, but the end result is a narrative that’s just too manic and messy for its own good and lacks the charm of Lord’s recent work of Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse.
Maybe it’s the fact the surprise factor is gone second time around, no one thought the first LEGO movie would be that slick and clever, for me it’s the closest any film has ever come to replicating the magic of The Naked Gun movies onscreen, there was just so much going on within every frame of that film that it had to be seen on the big screen.
Sadly the Laws of Diminishing Returns are all too Present
This time round critics and moviegoers are going in with much higher expectations and maybe that’s why I’ve had this slightly underwhelmed reaction to this film. I wanted this to do what Toy Story 2 did, expand upon its predecessor, flesh out the characters and their world and most importantly give viewers a reason to return for a second time.
The end result is a film that just feels like more of the same, albeit with more musical numbers and less President Business. No matter how clever and inventive Lord and Miller may be as writers they can’t wipe away the sense that this film exists merely because the box-office numbers added up for a sequel and Warner Bros. wants to make more money.
Verdict
It’s still awesome, just not as awesome second time around.
