Review Summary: Doesn't lack for ambition, but not quite awesome this time around.
For many great movies, the pressure seems to mount even higher to make a sequel that works just as well. The LEGO Movie was a novelty at the time it released in theaters. It was entertaining and creative as well as laugh-out-loud funny. In the meantime, it had a game-changing twist in the third act that really brought it to "instant classic" status. Yes, a new franchise was born.
Yet, I can't help but notice that sequels seem to be following the same template nowadays. "Be more ambitious, be darker, and be different". Just ask The Last Jedi, Avengers: Infinity War, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and many others over the past few years. In that case, Second Part follows that formula to a T. It takes risks, but some of them in directions that may have seemed a bit too extreme for this particular franchise.
The cheery and fun atmosphere of Bricksburg has now become a Mad Max-like apocalypse that just seemed way too over-the-top for my taste. Now yes, it does make sense considering the human plot in play here (more on that later). However, I honestly think it could have been toned down somewhat. WALL-E is an example of a gentler version of this vision. The animation itself, however, is a few steps up from the original. There's more interesting and creative touches to the visual presentation here that are very cool.
The filmmakers also spend way too much time on set-up. The first half hour to about 40 minutes I found to be underwhelming to a degree. It moves slow, and some characters seem out-of-character. It takes quite a bit of time before things really start cooking. It's only when the new characters Queen Whatevra Wanabi (Tiffany Haddish) and Rex Dangervest are introduced that things finally start to gel.
Some of the best characters from the original LEGO Movie are sadly pushed to the side and given little to do. Unikitty (Allison Brie) and Benny (Charlie Day) are just there. They have no purpose besides being guinea pig examples of how the human part of the plot affects all the characters. Thankfully, that curse evades Batman, who once again steals quite a few scenes thanks to Will Arnett's spot-on voice.
As the Queen herself, I was a bit nervous about Haddish's casting. However, she proves to be a great choice. She brings an Ursula-like persona to her character that works very well. She's given two catchy pop musical numbers also. And speaking of the musical numbers, there's a song that does succeed in rivaling "Everything is Awesome". The "Catchy Song" definitely works in its purpose, while being something that kids won't be able to let go of for weeks.
Chris Pratt returns as Emmet, and he's actually given double duty here between Emmet and Rex. His versatility here is fantastic, and he's given a few great jokes too. Elizabeth Banks provides a convincing character arc to Lucy, while Stephanie Beatriz gets several great moments as General Mayhem. There's quite a few funny cameos, including one spoiled in the trailers (Bruce Willis).
Speaking of laughs, they don't generally hit their mark as much as one would hope. Some work (a stab at Marvel and Disney is particularly a hoot), and some fall flat. Considering Phil Lord and Chris Miller usually hit most of their targets with their jokes, this surprised me a bit. However, Lord and Miller do still know how to pull off surprises. In the last half-hour, a few welcome twists really help the overall film. A couple of them in fact are downright shocking.
I've mentioned the human part of the story, and live-action scenes do play a more prevalent part this time also. These help bring a more suspenseful layer to the plot, while at the same time being a bit more predictable than the original as well (though, to be fair, no one thought about live-action characters playing a part the first time; now its expected). Without spoiling anything, the last two live-action sequences wildly succeed in giving the movie a strong ending.
Ultimately, this LEGO Movie does classify as a mild disappointment. To be honest, a simpler feel, a shorter beginning/set-up, some better comedy, and more to do for the side characters would have really gone a long way. Its' better than the Saturday morning-feel of The LEGO Ninjago Movie, but its' not nearly as funny or clever as the original or The LEGO Batman Movie.
However, there's still a lot to like about it. It has its creative touches. It brings in a couple of new memorable characters. There's a few risks taken that do have a strong payoff. And as I mentioned before, the ending is fantastic. I only wish the rest of the movie could have followed that same lead.
My Score: 7.3/10
Content Concerns for Family Viewing: The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part is rated PG for "some rude humor". Ultimately, there's nothing really here that's inappropriate for under the age of 6. I'm surprised action was not included, as there are a handful of mildly intense scenes of LEGO action (particularly towards the beginning). Some explosions occur (but nothing graphic, of course). We see a couple of sequences of LEGOs falling to their doom in "storr-age!" (lol) A human character steps on LEGOs, and reacts relatably painfully. Some LEGO weapons are shot. A LEGO banana slips and bruises himself a handful of times.
Besides that, Queen Whatevra shifts into what appears to be a slightly curvaceous female form a few times. Batman is shown shirtless with a ripped physique. LEGO wine bottles and glasses are seen. MetalBeard says he likes barnacles cleaned off his "bilgepump". Someone is called a "grumpledumpus" a couple of times. One character lies and deceives.
