The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019)
The Lego Cinematic Universe has been one of the surprise hits over the past few years, even the weaker additions like The Lego Ninjago Movie has provided me not only a ton of joy but also some really strong character studies and exploration of different emotions. Naturally, I was excited to see where they go next, and where I think this film is overall still pretty solid it also started to show some signs of weakness.
One of my favorite parts of this franchise is the depth to it, where we follow our main lego characters and their storylines there really is more going on. There are deeper meanings in these films and that is still true with this edition, but instead of being subtle and clever with how they present this they decide to be very on the nose and even focus on these elements. Not only does this disappoint me due to the lack of artistic value with this, but it also took me out of the film. When we see the big picture and the forces clearly behind the world I lose interest in the smaller story and definitely stop valuing it as a meaningful force in the story itself. The messy lines between reality and the Lego world allow for a more engaging world that keeps you guessing, and allows for more creativity in the future. When you create very set answers to how these two worlds interact not only does it restrict where they can go in the future but it lessens the interest and engagement I have with it.
The humor is also disappointing, not because it is bad but because it is just so "ok" at times. This is a franchise that has defined its humor with extreme crossovers and jokes that really push humor in children's movies. This film really tones this down, there are only a few crossovers and it is much slower with its humor than the rest of the franchise which isn't a bad thing in itself, but the quality of humor and comedy they decide to focus on instead just kind of falls flat in a lot of places. The numerous references to the first movie got stale very quickly and the jokes themselves never got more than a light chuckle out of me. It isn't completely killed but it certainly is a step down from the previous films.
Still, though the tone of this film is pretty fun and it wasn't like I was getting bored watching the movie. They do have some twists and turns that raise the quality of the plot and puts it above most films of this type. As a musical, I also really loved this movie. The songs are catchy and go above the simple pop song that was "Everything is Awesome" from the first film. Tiffany Haddish especially performs on the soundtrack and gives what could even be some of my favorite songs from the entire year. The animation is also still incredible, it uses plenty of creativity on how it uses legos to build these worlds. The message is nothing new for older generations and they are really not going to get a lot from the heart of this film, but I do think it will really connect with children and give them a nice message on top of a fun movie they will probably really enjoy.
Still, though the tone of this film is pretty fun and it wasn't like I was getting bored watching the movie. They do have some twists and turns that raise the quality of the plot and puts it above most films of this type. As a musical, I also really loved this movie. The songs are catchy and go above the simple pop song that was "Everything is Awesome" from the first film. Tiffany Haddish especially performs on the soundtrack and gives what could even be some of my favorite songs from the entire year. The animation is also still incredible, it uses plenty of creativity on how it uses legos to build these worlds. The message is nothing new for older generations and they are really not going to get a lot from the heart of this film, but I do think it will really connect with children and give them a nice message on top of a fun movie they will probably really enjoy.
Overall The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part doesn't live up to the previous films in this franchise and will go back and forth with The Lego Ninjago Movie as the one at the bottom of the barrel. That said though this is far from bad, overall it is fun and still provides the basics of what I want from a film in this cinematic universe. This franchise overall continues to provide especially compared to so many other franchises made for children, but in the context of the Lego Cinematic Universe, I hope they can get back to the level of the first film where everything truly is awesome.