My Movie Review on The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part · 5:39am Feb 1st, 2022
Yo, what's up, Kemosabes?
This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, I'm gonna give you guys my take of "The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part".
Here's the rundown of this sequel:
Five years after Lord Business's plan fell through, Bricksburg has been reduced to an apocalyptic wasteland due to repeated attacks from the planet DUPLO, which is a world across a universe called the Systar System. With the war raging on, every resident turned into hardened warriors. Everyone except for Emmet, who remains in a positive state and is as upbeat as ever.
However, the general of the DUPLO army, General Sweet Mayhem, unexpectedly arrives and kidnaps Lucy (Wyldstyle), Batman, Metalbeard, Benny, and Unikitty. In an act of loyalty and heroism, Emmet decides to go rescue his friends. Along the way, he also meets a galaxy-defender, archaeologist, cowboy, and raptor trainer named Rex Dangervest.
After I did my review on the first LEGO movie, I decided to not waste any time at all in making an analysis of its direct sequel. I only saw the film once when it was in theaters, but I remembered this sequel being relatively enjoyable.
The only question now is...what do I think of "The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part" after all these years?
Well, similar to its predecessor, I didn't think this movie was 100% perfect. The biggest reason for why is because the gags used with Banarnar were more pesky than funny, and the character himself was quite honestly the least interesting element in the film. Any time Banarnar would do something like fall to the ground, the film would immediately get distracted from driving forward. Regardless of Ben Schwartz being the guy who voiced the character, Banarnar is pretty much one of my new least favorite characters, both due to him being annoying and for not giving any important contributions to the story.
Other than that, though..."The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part" was truly a worthy successor to the original!
For instance, the direction by Mike Mitchell, the screenplay by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and the story by them and Matthew Fogel, were amazingly well-done.
When I was giving the film a second look, I was astounded by how it expanded on its predecessor's cliffhanger-ending. It provided a great foundation for the sequel to build itself on, and the significance it played in the overall story gave the impression that Lord and Miller intended on making a two-film story from the beginning. Plus, despite Lord and Miller not helming the director's chair this time, Mike Mitchell was the perfect choice for commandeering this sequel, in large part because of previously directing "Shrek Forever After". He was faithful to the first film's style and portrayal of the characters while incorporating something of his own in the process, which was also a prospect I admired in his work on the Shrek film he directed.
Outside of the jokes revolving around Banarnar, the film's humor was incredibly entertaining. I can hardly remember a single gag that didn't make me laugh, and there was an innocence that made the comedy too irresistible to not like. And just like its predecessor, this sequel contained heart and emotion that was powerful beyond compare.
The morals and themes of the sequel were well-done too. The morals in question were that we should always take the time to mature as people, but we also shouldn't change ourselves into someone we're not. In addition, we must never lose touch with the people we love or stop trying to make a positive impact in the world.
Th animation was astonishing, if I may add.
In every way, the sequel's visual style is the same as its predecessor's. But, Mitchell and the animators also weren't afraid of taking risks and extending themselves creatively. Their work in creating the Systar System and DUPLO characters was remarkable, of course. If I had to pick what I believe was the most accomplished of the animated elements, though, it'd be the character animation of Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi. Everything about the animators' work on Wa'Nabi was perhaps the most visually expressive since the Genie in Disney's "Aladdin" (animated version), and her shapeshifting clearly provided them with an endless amount of fun and creative possibilities.
Likewise, the live-action scenes were brilliantly well-done.
Just like Lord and Miller, Mitchell's experience directing numerous live-action movies was clearly of great benefit to him. He approached directing the film's live-action scenes with confidence, and the cinematography was deeply appealing. Plus, I couldn't help but feel for Finn and Bianca so much because of what they were going through, and both Jadon Sand and Brooklynn Prince gave awesome performances. Whenever their scenes come up, you could definitely tell that the conflicts between the LEGO inhabitants and the mistrust between them was a clear representation of Finn and Bianca's strained relationship, which honestly explains a lot about the overall events.
Finally, the vocal performances, characters, and character development were fantastic.
The returning cast members and characters were as wonderful as ever, that's for sure.
One of the biggest things I enjoyed was the fact that Lucy/Wyldstyle's origins were delved into for this movie. Not only did doing so give Lucy greater opportunities to develop, but it showed that there was more to her than meets the eye. Elizabeth Banks gave a wonderful performance as the character, and her portrayal contained a greater amount of depth as well.
Plus, Chris Pratt was as phenomenal as ever in the role of Emmet, and he did a marvelous job voicing Rex Dangervest too. He played both characters with a passion and commitment equal to when he was in the first movie, and her certainly didn't stop himself from making his mark despite this movie being a sequel. Both Emmet and Rex also had dynamic character development, and I loved how it was becoming apparent that Rex was basically an alternate reflection of Emmet.
And as with the first movie, Will Arnett stole the show with his performance as Batman. He nailed every piece of dialogue he had, gave fun comedic-timings, and helped the character become more fully-realized than before. Batman himself had great development throughout the film.
The new characters and cast members were fun as well.
However, when it comes to who my favorite of the new cast members and characters were, that honor goes Tiffany Haddish and the character of Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi. Haddish's not only incorporated hysterical comedic-timings, but her performance was as three-dimensional as the character herself. She gave the character wonderful personality and emotion, that's for sure.
And boy, can Haddish sing or what?! All the songs Wa'Nabi sung were the literal showstoppers of this sequel, and the way Haddish hit all the lyrics was nothing short of spectacular.
Wa'Nabi herself was also an undeniably complex character with brilliant development, and I enjoyed how the filmmakers made her a suspicious sort of individual before building her up into a genuinely innocent figure. Her chemistry with Batman was also some of the most deliciously fun I've seen in an animated film.
In the end, "The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part" is what I'm happy to classify as one of the best animated sequels around, as well as a worthwhile experience that shouldn't be passed over. As the final LEGO film to be made and distributed by Warner Bros., I believe this sequel is the perfect conclusion to the series.
So, I rate "The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part" 4½ out of 5 stars.
When I saw it in theaters, the first half is a bit creepy, in my opinion, but the second half is what made me happy, and if it wasn't for the plot twist, then the movie would've been treated like a B-movie and would've sucked as it treated girls' toys like they're really are evil, forcing siblings to fight each other.
Meh not what the original was
I'll have to view it personally to make a proper opinion on it. But great review on it though.
5632903
You mean ‘not as good as the original’, correct?
Has to say I enjoy this movie. Not as good as a first one, but this movie has it moments that made me love the movie and I really like UniKitty in this movie
5632919
exactly.
5632972
I thought so. Thanks for the clarification.