I can’t imagine the kind of pressure that comes with doing a sequel to a film no one expected anything out of, only for it to turn out to be one of the most inspired, imaginative, and exhilarating animated films to come out of western cinema in recent memory – at least, until it’s writer-director duo, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, decided to get involved in a Spider-Man movie several years later, and did it again. The two aren’t directing the follow up to The Lego Movie, which is appropriately titled The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, but they are the two credited screenwriters, leaving directorial duties to Mike Mitchell.
The film opens right after where the first one ends, where Brickburg is invaded and soon destroyed by Duplo blocks with toddler voices. We then flash forward five years later, Bricksburg is now a post-apocalyptic wasteland that everyone has adjusted to, except for Emmet (Chris Pratt), who remains upbeat and optimistic. Lucy (Elizabeth Banks) tells him he needs to start growing up and change his attitude, which Emmet is forced to embrace when Lucy, Batman (Will Arnett), Benny (Charlie Day), Princess Unikitty (Alison Brie), and Metalbeard (Nick Offerman) are captured by the mysterious person called General Sweet Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz), and takes them to the Systar System.
The film obviously can’t capture the same wow factor, that lightning-in-a-bottle revelation that the first one was, but similarly to Creed 2 last year, that doesn’t mean it isn’t still a great movie. It simply means it’s not quite as perfect, not quite as tight. The pacing is kind of wonky, and the way it flows from one plot thread or one perspective to the next can feel a bit jarring. It also lacks the layered storytelling that impressed me the most about the first one. It was a film about storytelling, it was about a father-son relationship, it was about art, it was about many things, each theme complemented each other, and the film was a major success because of that. This one is more simplified in terms of plot and theme, which is forgivable since it is ultimately aimed at children.
The film also expands on the real world that the Lego story is exploring metaphorically. We see more of Finn (Jadon Sand), and the way he clashes with his younger sister, Bianca (Brooklynn Prince) because of the way she plays with his Lego figures. That conflict is ultimately what drives this particular narrative as the film touches on empathy, toxic masculinity, working together, and the fact that it’s more than OK to feel bad sometimes, sometimes things can feel bleak, and that’s fine because there are healthy avenues to acknowledge and process them and make things better.
Like the first film, it also has its hand on the pulse of the current pop culture landscape, throwing commentary and subversive twists on things like post-apocalyptic movies, the ending of Infinity War, the relationship dynamic between Emmet and Lucy as established in the first film. Also, there’s an element to the film that makes me think the filmmakers hate – or, at the very least, deeply critical of – the persona that is associated with Chris Pratt in his live action films, and it’s gonna take a lot to convince me otherwise.
But past all that, the movie is still really funny and just as relentlessly dense in its background gags, meta jokes, and playful moments where the Lego figures are seen in the real world perspective. There’s also a handful of musical numbers, and each of the songs are a delight and immensely catchy. The one called “Catchy Song” doesn’t mess around when it repeatedly states “this song is gonna get stuck inside your head.” Tiffany Haddish is a lot of fun as Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi, a shape shifting leader of the Systar System, and she gets an amazing Disney style villain song where she tries to convince the kidnapped characters that she is, in fact, not a bad guy.
While The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part doesn’t necessarily reach the heights of the first film, it still manages to a really great sequel. It’s a film that has lot on its mind, as well as its heart. The humor is always on point, the songs are a lot of fun, the characters are still likable and grow in interesting ways, and it’s themes are explored beautifully, building to a very poignant payoff in the end. I would say it’s better than the both The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie, and if they can keep these main movies consistent, I would be more than happy to see a third Lego Movie.