The Lego Movie 2 - Movie Review - More magnificent mayhem?

This film is a U, was released on February 8th 2019 and this review will contain NO SPOILERS 

Introduction 

Lego is THE ABSOLUTE BEST. If there's one thing you need to know about me, it's that I adore Lego, it is my favourite creation in the whole wide world, and it's the only thing I love more than films. I've grown up with the toy and still collect it in my teenage years. It is actually the thing responsible for me becoming a fan of things like the Marvel films. So half of what I've rambled on about since last July is all because of Lego. There is something almost magical about the endless possibilities of the little bricks. It can be anything in the world, your imagination is literally the limit. But, because it's good, does that mean that it could be possible to make a good film out of it? YES. 

5 years ago, a film called The Lego Movie was released. Many people had concerns that it'd just be a 90 minute long commercial and have no aspect of quality to it. But how wrong they were. The Lego Movie is without a doubt the best animated film of the 2010s, even surpassing films like Toy Story 3. It had some of the most innovative animation, really clever jokes, solid voice-acting, and a story with a lot of heart and lots of originality. Since its release, the Lego franchise has had some subsequent entries - The Lego Batman Movie which was also terrific and the best Batman movie since The Dark Knight, and The Lego Ninjago Movie which didn't add much but still wasn't bad. So, we now have a return to the original film, following on from its events. 

Thoughts Going In 

If I'm completely honest, I was 95% sure that I'd like this film. I hadn't watched the trailers but based off the previous films and craziness of the sets and marketing, nothing was throwing me off. If I did have one concern, it would probably be linked to the fact that Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the directors of the original, weren't in the directors' seat. While they are still screenwriters, the reigns have been given to Mike Mitchell, someone who is no stranger to animation, but no stranger to bad animation too, having been behind Shrek 4 and Trolls. So, minor concerns but nothing really worrying. 

The Story 

The Lego Movie 2 takes place 5 years after the original, the city of Bricksburg has devolved into a post-apocalyptic wasteland 'Apocalypseburg' after the Duplo invaders arrived, and everyone has adopted a new lifestyle of being miserable and brooding, all except for Emmet. The hero of the first is still as naive and optimistic as before. This is a problem for his best friend, Lucy, but is especially an issue when a new spaceship arrives and kidnaps all his friends from the first film, taking them to the Systar system. So, it's up to Emmet along with a new character, Rex, to save them. 

What I Liked 

The best thing about The Lego Movie 2 was the story. Many people will probably just see this as a standard "save the good guys from the bad guys" story. But when peel back a few layers, you notice that there is something a bit more complex going on in the background. The first film was all about the relationship between a father and son through Lego, but this is the same but about a brother and sister. This especially struck a chord with me because I have a younger sister and when we were younger, she'd always interfere with my playtime and have different ideas compared to what I was doing and we often didn't get along and occasionally had a bit of a fight. The portrayal of this story in this film was very well done and I found it very relatable and understandable, more so than that of the original.

If you're familiar with the Lego franchise you probably expect some fantastic animation and great humour and this film delivers both. This is definitely one of the most consistent franchises as each installment does something different story-wise, but they all have the same overall feel and tone. The animation is beautiful, it captures every aspect of Lego remarkably. As the franchise progressed, there began to be a slight decrease in the amount of on-screen elements being made from Lego. Natural elements such as water or clouds began to just be that. However, when the film is in the Lego world, 99% of what you see is made from Lego, with minor exceptions. There is such a mesmeric whiz and energy to the animation of these films and it is really fun to watch, even when everything goes a bit bonkers and is unbelievably fast-paced. Then there are also little details such as fingerprints or scratches on the pieces which make the film look so tactile and realistic. There is also an observable contrast between the dusty and battered Lego the brother uses and the colourful, friendly Lego that the sister uses. The jokes are also great, there is a perfect balance of stuff for the youngsters and stuff for the older kids / adults. Not every joke lands, but name me a film where every joke does. So, this film keeps up the franchise's consistency from an animation and humour standpoint.

There are plenty of new things this film introduces that keep it from feeling like it's retreading familiar ground. The new characters are lots of fun, the most notable is Rex Dangervest, who is a tough and more masculine version of Emmet as well as being a satirical riff on characters that you'd typically see Chris Pratt play in films such as Guardians of the Galaxy or Jurassic World. The contrast between the two made for quite a funny dynamic and it kept his side of the story entertaining. There is a new villain called Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi who is an entertaining character because she is made up of literal Lego bricks and shape-shifts between different things like animals or just shapes. As for the returning characters, many of them like Benny, Unikitty or Metalbeard are just there but others do a bit more. Batman in particular is still as fun as before and I don't think he'll ever get boring, a comedic take on Batman is way better than the dark and serious ones we see in the actual DC films these days. I should also mention that the film is also a musical to some extent, there are a few musical numbers. They're obviously not songs of real quality because they're pop songs in an animated film from the 2010s, but because they're so catchy it doesn't matter. There's even a song called 'Catchy Song' and it is not falsely titled, a whole sequence in the film revolves around some characters trying to avoid the song, and you can tell how hard it is for them. So, lots of new things too.  

What I Didn't Like 

The thing that bothered me is that there seems to be a lack of logic in this film. Remember in the first film when Emmet moved on his own? Well that was just a little moment that bugged me in the first as no real explanation was provided as to how that was possible. The sequel doesn't help. The events in the Lego world are presented as the imagination of the children, but there are many times when Lego characters move on their own in the real world and we're just supposed to accept this. This is slightly annoying because it prevents the film from being the most clever it can be. That and there is also a plot-line involving time-travel which makes little to no sense either. They do try to get away with it by having a line about how time travel makes no sense but that doesn't solve the issue. Fortunately, these segments are quite entertaining so you can look past it. However, I would've preferred them to have been handled in a way that fits the established rules of the world. 

Conclusion 

5 years ago it was awesome, 5 years later it's still awesome. The Lego Movie 2 didn't disappoint in the slightest. It has a relatable and heartfelt story, some fun new characters and songs, and more of the same fantastic animation and hilarious jokes. Only a few illogical moments hold this film back from being as good as the original. Speaking of which, in terms of the Lego movies, the first is still the best, but I think this edges out the Batman movie slightly, so it's the second best in the franchise. Here's another thing, I've gone on for ages about how I think Pixar is the best animation studio. But now, I think they're in danger of being overtaken. The Lego films have adopted everything that made Pixar great for their own success. Some really complex narratives, amazing animation, heart and emotion, and funny jokes. Nothing Pixar has made this decade is better than The Lego Movie, so depending on how good Toy Story 4 is, we'll see who is the new king of animated films going into the 2020s. I loved this film and hope there's still more to see in the future. 

I'm going to give The Lego Movie 2 a 9/10