The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part Movie Review

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019)

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Written by: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (screenplay by), Phil Lord  & Christopher Miller and Matthew Fogel (story by), Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (Superman created by), Bob Kane & Bill Finger (Batman created by), William Moulton Marston (Wonder Woman created by)
Directed by: Mike Mitchell
Starring:  Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Tiffany Haddish, Stephanie Beatriz, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Maya Rudolph, Will Ferrell, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer

Plot
It's been five years since everything was awesome and the citizens are facing a huge new threat: Lego Duplo invaders from outer space, wrecking everything faster than they can rebuild.

Verdict
While this is a solid movie, it's nowhere near as inventive as the first. It's been done before, but that doesn't mean this isn't enjoyable. There is just no way for this movie to be as unique as the first movie since it is a direct sequel. The story tries too hard for the big reveal of the first movie while also spending too much time in the real world. The animation is top notch.
Watch it.

Review
It's hard to top the first movie, it was a unique take on an idea I wasn't sure was viable, but Lord and Miller did a fantastic job. They followed The Lego Movie with The Lego Batman Movie (read my review) which really delved into Batman's flaws, producing a clever and funny script.

This is a good sequel that maintains the tone of the first, but there's just no way to top it. The concept of this movie is great. The real world sibling rivalry affects the Lego world with the boy's young sister appearing to be some kind of menace to the Lego inhabitants. The introduction of the Duplo blocks as simple minded space aliens was great. Emmet and crew don't know what to think and then are alarmed when the Duplo blocks destroy a gift and then the city. This first contact is the first contact of the younger sister wanting to play with an older brother who wants to get rid of her.

Emmet and friends become afraid of the Duplo blocks, and the boy grows up and builds an apocalypse themed city. It has a real Mad Max vibe, while Emmet is the only one that still remains chipper and hopeful.

The core story is from the sci-fi genre. Aliens come and their intentions of peace are misunderstood. That's layered with a sibling rivalry. It's a clever concept, but while watching it, these ideas felt muddled. Part of that is due to Emmet's arc, which I won't spoil

 

The Lego characters at times are operating independently of their world or a child's imagination. That just made the conclusion of the story a bit weird. This treads a lot of the same ground as the first. While the first was novel, this is content to mimic.
In the first movie, the real world reveal was such a cool moment. You can't make it the same reveal as the first movie,  but the story at times transcends imagination and reality and it didn't really need to. It's a been a while since I've seen the first movie but what from memory what happens in Lego world correlates to the real world. This story takes a few turns that don't seem to have a corollary. 

The movie is layered with jokes. It's just never as creative as the first movie. Rex, who becomes Emmet's ally is an amalgamation of Chris Pratt movie roles. That's pretty funny. Emmet's arc is a crutch. Moreover it seems purely like a commercial, quickly introducing various Lego sets for no ostensible reason other than salesmanship. I like the sibling rivalry aspect and how that translates, but we spend a bit too much time in the real world.

The credits were good, a neat touch with the song telling us how great the credits are and introducing the crew before the cast. The song and visuals are engaging enough that I sat through the credits.