The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part review

THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART:

A VERY WELL-CONSTRUCTED FOLLOW-UP THAT PROVES EVERYTHING IS (STILL) AWESOME IN THIS FRANCHISE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Batman, Rex Dangervest, General Mayhem, Unikitty, Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi, Emmet, and Lucy in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

            The Lego figurines are calling a comeback in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, the highly anticipated sequel to the 2014 critical and commercial smash The Lego Movie. I remembered being skeptical towards the first movie when it was announced and thought it would be Warner Bros. Animation’s biggest commercial “Block” up since Space Jam.

            But when the trailer was released, I started getting some excitement and thought it looked fun, though I still had some concerns whether or not it would be any good. Those doubts were immediately dismissed when I finally saw the movie, it was a blast for both kids and adults with gorgeous animation, brilliant storytelling, a great sense of humor, and a lot of heart. 

            It was one of the few times a feature-length commercial actually worked, earned widespread acclaim from both critics and audiences, ticked people off when it wasn’t nominated for a Best Animated Feature Oscar, and even spawned the spin-off films, The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie which were both released in 2017.

            Now 5 years after the first film, we have The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part with Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jurassic World 1 and 2), Elizabeth Banks (Spider-Man trilogy, The Hunger Games franchise, Power Rangers (2017)), Will Arnett (Arrested Development, Blades of Glory, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies), Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Horrible Bosses 1 and 2, Pacific Rim 1 and 2), Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation, Fargo (TV series), Sing), and Alison Brie (Mad Men, The Five-Year Engagement, The Post) reprising their roles and Lego Movie directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs, 21/22 Jump Street, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) returning as producers while Mike Mitchell (Sky High, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, Trolls) directs. The sequel has a lot to live up to after the success of the first film and it ended on the hilarious Duplo alien cliffhanger, so I was very much looking forward to a follow-up. 

             The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part didn’t disappoint, it’s just as entertaining as its predecessor and offers more of the colorful animation, and self-aware humor we come to expect from the Lego movies. Granted, it does a lot of repeating and the moral isn’t quite as strong as the first film, it’s still an enjoyable, warm-hearted adventure for the entire family.

            After the notoriously adorable Duploaliens invaded the city of Bricksburg and rendering it to a bleak, post-apocalyptic setting known as Apocalypseburg, construction worker, Emmet (voiced by Pratt) and his friends of Master Builders, Lucy/Wyldstyle (voiced by Banks), Batman (voiced by Arnett), Astronaut Benny (voiced by Day), Metalbeard (voiced by Offerman), and Unikitty (voiced by Brie) are visited by the leader of the Duploarmy, General Sweet Mayhem (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz-Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Short Term 12, BoJack Horseman) who captures all of Emmet’s friends and takes them to an unknown world known as the Systar System ruled by the sassy, shape-shifting alien, Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi (voiced by Tiffany Haddish-If Loving You is Wrong, The Carmichael Show, Girls Trip). 

            It seems all Watevra Wa’Nabi wants to do is unite their worlds together to live in peace, but unbeknownst to the citizens of Apocalypseburg, she’s planning something diabolical. It’s up to Emmet to unlock a tougher side to himself within his usually upbeat self so he can get the courage necessary to save Lucy and his friends with the help of a rugged adventurer known as Rex Dangervest (also voiced by Pratt) who is a galactic hero, cowboy, and raptor trainer all at the same time, and I’m sure those in no way relate to a person involved in this film, before the villainous queen plunges their universe into Our-Mom-ageddon. 

            The film also features the voices of Will Ferrell (Anchorman 1 and 2, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers) reprising his role from The Lego Movie as President Business, Richard Ayoade (Submarine, The Double, Early Man) as Ice Cream Cone, Channing Tatum (21/22 Jump Street, Magic Mike 1 and 2, Smallfoot) as Superman, Jonah Hill (Superbad, 21/22 Jump Street, This is the End) as Green Lantern, Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious 4-6, DC Extended Universe, Ralph Breaks the Internet) replacing Cobie Smulders as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones, Frontier, DC Extended Universe) as Aquaman, Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, DC Extended Universe, I, Tonya) replacing Jenny Slate from The Lego Batman Movie as Harley Quinn, Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors 1 and 2, Central Intelligence, Suicide Squad) as Lex Luthor, Ralph Fiennes (The Prince of Egypt, Harry Potter franchise, The Grand Budapest Hotel) reprising his role from The Lego Batman Movie as Alfred Pennywise, Will Forte (That 70s Show, Saturday Night Live, MacGruber) as Abraham Lincoln, Bruce Willis (Die Hard franchise, Unbreakable/Glass, RED 1 and 2) as himself, and Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation, The Other Guys, Sonic the Hedgehog) as Banarnar. 

            Overall, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part offers more of what audiences enjoyed about its predecessor on top of an equally warm-hearted moral. I will admit, as sweet as the message of family is in this movie, I thought it was executed better in the first film.

            In the first movie, the scenes with the kid playing with Legos were only in its last act and you felt more of a connection with him and his father which makes all the metaphors in the Lego universe have a deeper meaning. And while the moral is still effective and the live-action scenes are done well, they felt a little clumsy this time and even inconsistent with the first movie’s logic, you’ll know what I’m talking about once you see it.

            The main characters are just as funny and charming as they were in The Lego Movie and some of the new characters are fun to watch. Haddish is funny as the alien queen and portrays her almost like a Disney villain, she even has a song number that quite humorously points out she’s the antagonist, but a lot of the side characters this time are pretty forgettable and not very interesting. 

            Thankfully, the film makes up for its flaws with some more hysterical in-jokes, fourth-wall breaks, and pop-culture references. Many of which involve Pratt’s career now that he’s become an A-list celebrity after appearing in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World movies. 

            The Lego Movie 2: The Second Partisn’t the Toy Story 2, Shrek 2, or How to Train Your Dragon 2 of Lego movies. But for those looking for an entertaining family outing or a literal “Block-Buster” to watch before Captain Marvel, I guarantee you’ll have a fun time with The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, cuz EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!