The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) Movie Review

THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART (2019) MOVIE REVIEW

There's nothing quite like a good sequel. From heartfelt love stories to high speed action romps, the second chapter in a film series can either make or break the franchise all together. Household blockbusters like Terminator and Aliens both made their names with sequels that not only matched the original, but surpassed them in terms of quality. Unfortunately however some sequels are often left in the shadow of their predecessor and are soon forgotten about. And while I would love to say the 5-year wait for the Lego Movie's highly anticipated sequel was worth it, all it did in the end was leave me wanting more and a little short changed. 

It seems that life has imitated art as five years after Emmott Brickowski was declared "special" and saves everyone from the end of the LEGO-verse, a new threat quickly arises in the form of invaders from outer space, leaving wreckage and devastation in their path. As they continue to battle over countless days and months, the invaders kidnap Emmott's friends, forcing him to venture to new planets and rescue his friends from imprisonment. One aspect a sequel should always nail is the story of our main protagonist and continue building the character in new and creative ways. While The LEGO Movie 2 does have a new adventure for Emmott to go on, his story arc more or less remains the same as the first film where he was trying to be the hero he wasn't perceived to be. Here he once again is portrayed as the underdog despite the fact he has proven himself to be the "special" in the previous movie. And yes in the end of the first movie, it was revealed that everyone can be "specials" but it's rarely shown only until the very end of the film as a convenient plot device. 

While it seems like the movie is offering nothing but nonsense, there is plenty of humour to be found in The Lego Movie 2. Chris Pratt and Elizabeth Banks reprise their roles as Emmott and Wyldstyle respectively and both do great jobs throughout. Pratt perfectly plays up his naive but loveable personality while Banks gives emotion and character depth to Wyldstyle who as stated is given a much deeper character arc with much of the movie focusing on her. All the side characters including Batman, Benny and UniKitty to name a few all return and are all given prominent roles during the film with most of the laughs being the result of their dialogue and interactions being the best thing about this movie. Most of the jokes throughout the movie manage to hit but unfortunately have been downgraded in terms of "cleverness". Although there are plenty of niche references for hardcore movie and pop culture fans, alot of the musical numbers and jokes have been simplified and while it was intentional, the songs quickly became annoying and not fun to listen to. 

I may be being a bit too harsh on a movie like this. The Lego Movie 2 is a movie made for a younger demographic and I'm clearly not the target audience. But that's ultimately what frustrated me about this sequel. It's not a bad movie, not even close. But the sheer enjoyment I had from the first movie was something that's not easily replicated in cinema today. It was a movie that could be enjoyed by all ages and although this movie to an extent is much of the same, the recycled character arcs and repetitive messages throughout made me realise this movie really didn't need to be made. Once again, I did enjoy this movie and thought it was fine but after waiting 5 years for it, it definitely wasn't what I expected and sadly, even wanted. 

OVERALL

6 / 10