'The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part' A Review

Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is an animated family adventure film, a sequel to the 2014 surprise hit. The story picks up at the end of the previous film when the dad(Will Farrell) lets both his kids Finn and the younger Bianca play with his Legos causing a confrontation in the Lego-world of the characters. Five years past and Emmet(Chris Pratt) and Lucy(Elizabeth Banks) are living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland which is under constant attack from aliens. A number of master builders including Lucy are abducted and taken to the Systar System in order for Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi(Tiffany Haddish) to wed Batman(Will Arnett) and avoid Our-Mom-Ageddon. Sound convoluted? It's even more so!

The majority of the voice cast return from the original and all put in respectable performances however some of the magic is worn off and a focus on the convoluted stuffed-to-the-gills plot rather than character doesn't allow them to go beyond the surface as far as performance. Because of time and over exposure as well as the visibility of his personal life Pratt no longer has the everyman charm that was his most bankable asset. He is sufficient in his return to Emmet but not particularly engaging, the believability and engagement of his naive optimism being a crucial part of the success of the first installment this flounders given that void. Haddish is a wonderful addition to the cast and has two thrilling musical numbers but ultimately is underutilized.

Visually the film has outstripped its predecessor with more complicated and compelling animation however the plot is exceptionally convoluted to the point of incomprehension. The moral heart of the previous film was a slow burn with the reveal at the end bolstering it whereas here the "real world" intrudes from the beginning and instead of heightening it distracts and the moral sibling rivalry and indifference transforming into love and cooperation is manufactured rather than organic and thus lacks any real effect.

Entertaining and fun but lacking some of the magic and much of the heart of the original.

Rent It.