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The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part Review: A Solid Sequel With a Strong Emotional Core

Published Sat, 02 Feb 2019 18:45:07 -0600

Last updated Sun, 03 Feb 2019 20:07:53 -0600

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part isn't quite as funny as the first one, but is still a solid sequel with a great emotional core.

Director: Mike Mitchell
Summary: It's been five years since everything was awesome and the citizens face a huge new threat: LEGO DUPLO® invaders from outer space, wrecking everything faster than they can rebuild.

The LEGO Movie was lightning in a bottle. When the movie was first announced, no one thought it was going to be any good. Even if it turned out okay no one thought it was going to have any lasting impact. Yet here we are with our first proper sequel, our fourth movie in this little franchise, and they have once again managed to make this work. These movies should be lazy–easy cash grabs–yet everyone involved has decided that they are going to use this platform to tell interesting stories with real emotional heart.

That means we're back to exploring a world where this is about LEGO and the title is literal. It's been five years since the LEGO DUPLO® invaders came in and now the world is a Mad Max parody. It works until one of the invaders kidnaps pretty much the entire main cast of the first movie, save for Emmet who needs to go out and save his friends. Along the way, we meet some new characters with lots of reminders of what made the first movie work so well. We get to see Unikitty, MetalBeard, and Benny the Spaceman (still the best character in these movies) return along with some fun reveals about Wyldstyle and Chris Pratt doing dual roles as Emmet and Rex Dangervest.

There is a lot more singing this time around and the movie is clearly aware of how much "Everything is Awesome" got stuck in all of our heads five years ago. The new songs are just as insidious, maybe even more so, and some of the best jokes come in the form of songs. By the end though, the movie is clearly making a point about something the same way the first one did. The first movie was about the misappropriation of childhoods by adults and the second one also has a great moral, which won't be spoiled, and will speak to kids and adults alike.

However, nothing will beat that original reveal from the first movie that the LEGO world is literally a LEGO world. They play it up a bit more in the sequel and don't bother to be as subtle as they were the first time around. They don't need to because we know the twist. It makes for some excellent puns. There is another twist coming around toward the end that has a killer joke for the nerds in the audience and, much like the first movie, the best jokes are hidden in the background or go by so fast you miss them.

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part isn't quite as good as the first one but it's an extremely solid sequel with a great lesson at the end for the entire family. There are hilarious jokes, insidious songs, and while it isn't as original because we've seen this before this is far from a lazy sequel.

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