Movie Review: The LEGO Movie Part 2 · 3:54am Apr 9th, 2019
Another animated movie that I've been meaning to get to for a good while.
Well, no time like the present! XD
So, back in 2014, The LEGO Movie came out and took the world by surprise. For an animated movie based on a line of construction toys, it was a hilarious and often surprisingly clever, metafictional story that deconstructed traditional heroic narratives and was gorgeously animated too. In the years after its release they made two spinoff films, The LEGO Batman Movie (which I saw and had good fun with) and The LEGO Ninjago Movie (which I didn't see).
But finally, a direct sequel was announced in 2018, and early in February of 2019 The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part was released.
How does it compare to the original film? Several other reviews criticized it for not being as "fresh" or "original" as the first LEGO movie...
And to that I say, "nuts."
The LEGO Movie 2 opens in hilarious fashion, right after the very end of the first LEGO movie, with the city of Bricksburg being invaded by aliens... or rather, DUPLO creatures. Our main hero, the cheery construction worker Emmett Brickowski (voiced by Chris Pratt) offers them peace, but a fight breaks out and the DUPLO creatures level the city...
Five years later, Bricksburg is now "Apocalypseburg": a Mad Max-type wasteland where everything is "tough" and "gritty," from Emmett's girlfriend Lucy (Elizabeth Banks) to Batman (Will Arnett) and all other incidental characters...
Well, not Emmett. He's still as cheerful and upbeat as ever. It makes for one big exercise in hilarity to see this post-apocalyptic wasteland made of freaking LEGOs, where everyone is scowling and edgy-looking... and then there's this one construction worker minifig who still cheerfully goes about his morning, saying hi to everybody he runs into. "Good morning, sewer babies!" 
Lucy tells Emmett that he can't always be upbeat and happy about everything, and that he needs to "grow up" and become tough like the other residents of Apocalypseburg. She tries to teach Emmett how to brood, and from there Emmett ends up relating a dream he's had, of a cataclysm where everyone and everything is sucked into darkness...
A cataclysm known as "Armamageddon". XD
But before Lucy or Emmet can make anything of this, another invasion of the DUPLOs hits, led by the Mini-Doll figure General Sweet Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz). She captures Lucy, Batman, and the rest of Emmet's friends (Metalbeard the pirate, Unikitty, Benny the spaceman) and absconds with them to "the Systar System"... a place of outrageous color and good cheer, full of talking candy, "non-threatening teenage vampires" and ruled over by Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi (Tiffany Haddish), a shapeshifting mass of bricks who can become anything she wants to be... and most definitely is not evil at ALL. She even sings a song about it! XD
Emmet, desperate to save his friends, converts his house into a spaceship to give chase. When his ship is destroyed in the attempt to reach the Systar System, Emmet is suddenly rescued by "Rex Dangervest" (also voiced by Chris Pratt). An outrageously macho "galaxy-defending cowboy, archaeologist and raptor trainer," Rex is a hilarious satire of Chris Pratt's various action movie roles. Emmet is immediately awestruck by his manly badassery, and asks for his help in teaching him to be the tough guy he needs to be to rescue his friends.
At the same time, Lucy - not buying the Queen's proclamations of not-being-evil - tries to escape and figure out the truth of the Systar System and what the Queen and her forces really want them for. Is the Queen really telling the truth? Who's really the bad guy in this story? And what exactly IS Armamageddon?
It all comes to a head - Emmet's journey, Lucy's own discovery, the truth about the Systarians and about Rex too (and let me tell you, it's quite a doozy!) in one heck of a finale. The developments of the plot and the way that the movie came to a conclusion were some of my favorite parts of the movie, because a good number of the thematic content of the movie really resonated with me. Kudos to the film for making me feel genuinely moved about a story that's based on little plastic bricks!
The LEGO Movie 2 is, to use a pun, a well-constructed film. It's equally parts hilarious spoof and zany comedy, but it also has more than a fair share of heart to it. In particular this shines with Chris Pratt as Emmet and the exploration of his character in the movie. (And also, kudos to Pratt and to the film developers on the character of Rex Dangervest too - no spoilers for those who haven't seen the movie, but the revelations about Rex made for a heck of a story!)
Many of the other characters in this film are well-acted too. Elizabeth Banks does a great performance as Lucy, portraying the character's emotions (be they silly, like the initial "brooding time" she has in Apocalypseburg) to serious (one scene with her and Emmet right before the film's darkest hour really impressed me) with great ability. While Will Arnett's Batman doesn't get quite as much material to work with - but hey, he's had his own movie now, so... I can roll with it.
The new characters are quite fun too. In particular is Tiffany Haddish as the Queen of the Systar System. She's just such a bombastic presence, it makes for a lot of hilarity to go with her scenes. XD
(And also too, while it's unexpected as all get-out, I had a good laugh at a certain actor's two cameos in this film. Never thought I'd see Bruce Willis in LEGO form )
Honestly, I really don't have any major criticisms of this movie. While maybe I would have liked to have seen more with Metalbeard, Unikitty or Benny, their lack of presence in this movie didn't really hurt it in my eyes. The story with Emmet and Lucy and so many of these other characters, plus some of the story's themes (some of which I'd argue are quite important in this day and age!) more than made the movie work for me. ^_^
Very much recommended, especially if you liked the original LEGO movie.
Huh, a good sequel. Good stuff. I never saw the original LEGO Movie, despite my having what amounts to basically an armada of LEGOs at home of all varieties and ages. But I'm glad its sequel did good.
Apocalypseburg, loved it
Also all of that talk about needing to mature by being 'tough, edgy, and grittier' acting like that's totally mature, closing out anything cute or happy or sweet? ... I'm lookin' at you Batman V Superman.
5041376
Yeah, it's a nice surprise when the sequel is a worthy film in its own right. I was a bit curious earlier, given that LEGO Batman and Ninjago didn't have quite as good a reception as the first LEGO movie... but this was a pretty good one. ^_^
5041517
Haha, nice one!
Yeah, this movie really is a pretty wonderful message about what growing up actually is. And how it isn't acting "cool," or "gritty" or "macho". While a lesson about kindness/sharing/not being a jerk is always important, it's especially so in this day and age.