The Lego Movie 2:The Second Part Falls Apart but is Able to Reassemble

The Lego Movie seemed to be poised for disaster given the reputation of movies based on toy brands but leave it to writing/directing duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller on proving us wrong by delivering one of the best animated movies of the decade. For The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, this would be a tough act to follow, with Lord and Miller staying as screenwriters but passing the director's mantle to Mike Mitchell. Can this sequel keep everything awesome or is it time to for these toys to be put away?

"Well, we're from the planet duplon, and we're here to destroy you."

Oh boy...

Beginning right where we left off, Emmet (Chris Pratt) a construction worker turned Master Builder had saved the day with the help of his his friends and fellow Master Builders: Lucy Wildstyle (Elizabeth Banks), Batman (Will Arnett), Princess Unikitty(Alison Brie), Metalbeard (Nick Offerman) & Benny the Spaceman (Charlie Day). But right at the peak of their victory party a new threat arrives in the form of cute and cuddly duplo bricks.

General Mayhem's prisoners.

Five years have passed and Lego land has been reduced to an apocalyptic wasteland à la Mad Max. Everyone except Emmet, are all paranoid and brood-like against their invincible yet adorable new foes. Things take for the worse when Emmett's friends are captured by the enemy lead by General Sweet Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz) and taken to their leader Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi (Tiffany Haddish). Emmet sets off on a rescue mission and runs into Rex Dangervest (also voiced by Chris Pratt), a cocky and action-prone action-Lego figure who tags along on the trip.

Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi

The last time a Lord and Miller project got the sequel treatment with the pair not returning in the director's chair was with Cloudy With a Chance Meatballs 2. It captured the silly and creative energy of its predecessor but lacked the heartfelt emotional anchor. A streak that has fallen yet again with The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. That's not to say it doesn't have heart, but the execution is clumsily handled. There is no surprise twist now that we know what the twist was in the last film, and while the movie embraces that notion it leaves much of the build-up predictable and at times contrived, especially with its stepford set-up.

The many celebrity cameos 

The movie is also more geared for kids with Mitchell's background consisting of directing Trolls, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, and Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked; adding in the musical numbers, a few childish/unfunny jokes, celebrity cameos, colorful characters and brightly-colored visuals. This results in a sequel that is cute and amusing for the little ones but not have that extra layer that will pull adults in.

Even Blue the raptor makes an appearance. 

Naive Emmet still makes for a likable lead who faces the conflict on what makes a man and a good leader after Lucy berates him that he should take manners more seriously. He looks up to the manly and muscular Rex and views him as the tough hero he should be while Lucy comes to terms with her past and being honest with one's self. As for the rest of the cast, they are mostly reduced to mere punchlines, cameos and one-note with Batman being the only supporting player with an arc that was briefly mentioned in his own spin-off movie which apparently has no ties with this one or the Ninjago movie.

The Lego Movie 2:The Second Part may not be as awesome as the first part but is still loads of fun and does a better job on than what Cloudy 2 was aiming for with its premise. Not to mention a catchy theme song that will get stuck inside your head. 

Final Verdict: B