Movie Review: The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part *** ½ / *****

Directed by: Mike Mitchell.

Written by: Michelle Morgan and Dominic Russo and Phil Lord & Christopher Miller and Matthew Fogel and Raphael Bob-Waksberg.

Starring: Chris Pratt (Emmet Brickowski / Rex Dangervest), Elizabeth Banks (Wyldstyle / Lucy), Will Arnett (Batman), Tiffany Haddish (Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi), Stephanie Beatriz (General Mayhem / Sweet Mayhem), Alison Brie (Unikitty / Ultrakatty), Nick Offerman (MetalBeard), Charlie Day (Benny), Maya Rudolph (Mom), Will Ferrell (President Business / Dad), Jadon Sand (Finn), Brooklynn Prince (Bianca), Channing Tatum (Superman), Jonah Hill (Green Lantern), Richard Ayoade (Ice Cream Cone), Ben Schwartz (Banarnar), Noel Fielding (Balthazar), Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Cobie Smulders (Wonder Woman), Ike Barinholtz (Lex Luthor), Ralph Fiennes (Alfred Pennyworth), Will Forte (Abraham Lincoln), Jimmy O. Yang (Enthusiastic Zebra), Jorma Taccone (Larry Poppins), Bruce Willis (Bruce Willis), Gary Payton (Gary Payton), Sheryl Swoopes (Sheryl Swoopes).

 

The problem that comes with making a sequel to a genuinely original and innovative film like The Lego Movie is that it’s impossible to do the same thing and be original and innovative. The twist at the end of the original Lego movie – that the story we were just told was all invented by a child playing with the toys his domineering dad didn’t want him to play with worked wonders – because it allowed the film to be as goofy as it wanted to be, but still end up being quietly moving in those final scenes. Unlike M. Night Shyamalan the makers of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part don’t try and pull the rug out from under you again in a more convoluted way – but cop to the story telling dynamics fairly early. The two worlds colliding in this movie are the Lego worlds of the boy from the last film, and his little sister (nice to see the talented Brooklynn Prince from The Florida Project in another role). The fights they are having are the same type of fights all people have with their older and younger siblings. And for the most part, this all works just fine. The animation is still fun, and has some tricks up its sleeve – even if we’ve now seen three other Lego movies (or, if you’re like me, with kids – a couple dozen, since they churn out direct to VOD superhero Lego movies a few times a year). The jokes still fly fast and furious, with a good mixture of smart stupid jokes for the adults, and juvenile humor for the kids (which is still amusing to me). And the songs are still insanely catchy. And the storytelling premise works. It just cannot quite have the same impact this time around.

 

So basically the story now is that the heroes from out last film – Emmet (Chris Pratt) and Wildstyle (Elizabeth Banks) are now stuck in a post-apocalyptic, Mad Max style hellscape, where everyone and everything has been “grim and serious” – except of course for Emmett, who is still the same happy-go-lucky dope from the first film. Occasionally, their world is attacked by aliens – and one such alien comes down and appears unbeatable. This ship takes Wildstyle, Batman, Unikitty, Metelbeard and Benny with her to her world. Emmet sets off to try and save them – and gets the help of Rex Dangervest (also Chris Pratt) – a time travelling bad boy, who wants Emmett to be tougher – to become a Master Breaker, not a Master Builder. The biggest addition to the cast is Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi, a shape shifting creation voiced by Tiffany Haddish doing what she does, who is the leader of the new world the others are brought to – and immediately sings a song about how not evil she is (never a good sign).

 

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is consistently entertaining from beginning to end. Sure, there are a few jokes that don’t land – but as with much of Miller and Lord’s work (they aren’t directing this one, like they did last time – but they did co-write it with others), the film is so packed with jokes that some are going to fall flat. I did like that they genuinely did try and create two differing worlds – and while you could argue that for the most part those worlds break down far too neatly done gender lines, it is used to make the two worlds different. And the film does have an interest is breaking down some gender norms in other ways – as the female characters here are given far more dimension and complexity than they normally are in animated adventures where the star is a boy.

 

In short, The Lego Movie 2 is a satisfying sequel in that it manages to repeat a lot about what made the first film so much fun but has enough different things in it that it doesn’t feel like its completely on repeat. Yes, the sticky part of the first movie – that it was a crass commercial exercise in part designed to sell toys, that also decried that sort of greed – is still there, but less pronounced since the film has a different message this time (but I kind of liked the inherent contradiction in the first film). Rare is the sequel like The Godfather Part II or The Road Warrior (or hell, Mad Max Fury Road) that actually comes along and builds something even greater out of the original. Most sequels, if we’re lucky, are like The Lego Movie 2 – entertaining riffs on what was done before. And this film gets that better than most.

Movie Review: Trolls

Trolls

Directed by: Walt Dohrn & Mike Mitchell. 

Written by: Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger and Erica Rivinoja based on the Good Luck Trolls created by Thomas Dam. 

Starring: Anna Kendrick (Poppy), Justin Timberlake (Branch), Zooey Deschanel (Bridget), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (King Gristle0, Christine Baranski (Chef), Russell Brand (Creek), Gwen Stefani (DJ Suki), John Cleese (King Gristle Sr.), James Corden (Biggie), Jeffrey Tambor (King Peppy), Ron Funches (Cooper), Aino Jawo (Satin), Caroline Hjelt (Chenille), Kunal Nayyar (Guy Diamond), Quvenzhané Wallis (Harper). 

 

Before I begin my review of Trolls, let me acknowledge the obvious and say that the film is quite clearly a cynical exercise in brand extension – a way to get Dreamworks animation and the troll doll company more revenue than simply selling movie tickets – because there is now a line of toys and everything else kids will want (a trip to Wal-Mart after the movie with my five-year-old confirms this). I know that. I also know that Trolls is the type of animated kids’ movie that normally I don’t like – it’s brightly colored, loud, fast-paced and frenetic in a way that often gives me headaches when I see it in kids films. Its message is both obvious, and yet I’m not sure is entirely thought through. Had I seen this film say 6 years ago, I may well have loathed it. Seeing it sitting next to my five year old though – who was completely into the film, so much that at the end she even got up and danced along with the trolls – I have to admit it – the film won me over.

 

As the title implies, the film is about trolls – specifically, trolls that look like those annoying troll dolls that for some reason have been popular for years and years. 20 years ago, this specific group of trolls escaped from the tree where they were held by the Bergens – a much bigger species, who looks more like what I envision trolls to look like, rather than the cute ones who are our heroes, but I digress. Once a year, the Bergens eat the trolls of Trollstice – and the Bergens believe this is the only way to be happy. When news of the escape breaks to the Bergens, they expel their Chef (Christine Baranski) whose job it was to keep them. All these years later, the trolls live in peace and harmony – doing nothing all day except for singing and dancing – unless it’s time to break for their hourly hug time. You see where this is going – Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick), decides to hold the biggest, brightest, loudest party ever – the chef finds them, and kidnaps some of the trolls. Princess Poppy is determined to get them back – and ends up alongside Branch (Justin Timberlake) – the only troll who hates singing, dancing and hugs – but knows a lot about Bergens.

 

The plot is perhaps too complicated – there are double crosses, and mistaken identifies – and a whole one involving the King of the Bergens (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), and a scullery maid who is in love with him (Zooey Deschanel), and various degrees of deception, etc. The film works best when it jettisons all that aside, and is just a pure, fun, entertaining musical. On that level, Anna Kendrick is perfectly cast as Poppy – perky in the extreme at all times, but never more some than when she’s singing jukebox versions of classic dance songs in full Pitch Perfect mode. And we all know that the film doesn’t have Justin Timberlake as Branch to have him not sing – and when he does, he’s fun to see to.

 

The film is rather and fast paced – and last only 90 minutes – which is good, because anymore and the film couldn’t sustain its sugar high. It isn’t a good film per se – and I don’t think I would want to see it more than once (which doesn’t seem to be an option, since my five year old has already seen it twice – she saw it at a birthday party opening weekend, and insisted on taking me the second weekend, because she didn’t want me to miss it – and she loved it both times). But for parents looking for a relatively pain free 90 minute activity with their kids, Trolls does the job. If that sounds like I’m damning the movie with faint praise, maybe I am – but I will say that for 90 minutes, I had fun. What more really did you expect from Trolls?

Movie Review: Shrek Forever After

Shrek Forever After ***
Directed by: Mike Mitchell.
Written By: Josh Klausner & Darren Lemke.
Starring: Mike Myers (Shrek), Eddie Murphy (Donkey), Cameron Diaz (Princess Fiona), Antonio Banderas (Puss in Boots), Walt Dohrn (Rumpelstiltskin / Priest / Krekraw Ogre), Julie Andrews (Queen), Jon Hamm (Brogan), John Cleese (King Harold), Craig Robinson (Cookie), Jane Lynch (Gretched), Conrad Vernon (Gingerbread Man).

The first Shrek movie worked as well as it did because it was original, clever and funny in the way it skewered fairy tales and Disney animated movies with an irreverent style that worked on one level for kids and another for adults. The second film was more of the same - still fun and clever - but rather forgettable after you left the theater. The third film was simply lazy - it felt like they rushed it into production to capitalize on the series popularity, and didn’t care if the film was good at all. The less said about the forgettable Christmas special the better. Before watching Shrek Forever After, I thought that the filmmakers had gone as far as they could with these characters, and it was time to put them behind them and move on. But I am happy to report that Shrek Forever After is the best of the series since the first film. It seems that this time, the filmmakers actually cared about the story and the characters, and came up with a fine film for the whole family. Yes, the originality of the first film has worn off, but this film is as good as a fourth in a series can be expected to be.

When the film opens, Shrek is getting worn down by family life. He has no time for himself, is tired of the same routine day after day, and is sick of being looked on as a hero. He is an ogre, and wishes that he could go back and be treated like that again - feared and hated, and most of all left alone. After a fight with Fiona, he meets Rumpelstiltskin, who is angry at Shrek because when he rescued Fiona from that tower, he screwed up his plan to take over the kingdom of Far, Far Away. Shrek doesn’t know this, so he allows himself to be talked into signing a contract where Shrek can spend a day like he used to before he got married and had kids. The only catch is he has to give up a day from his past in exchange. He agrees, but finds out the day that Rumpelstiltskin took was the day Shrek was born. So now, everything has been completely changed - Shrek never met Donkey, never rescued Fiona, never did anything, because he never existed. If he cannot put things right in 24 hours, he will disappear forever. In effect, this is a version of It’s a Wonderful Life, with Shrek looking at the mess the world becomes when he was never born.

The film is clever and fun pretty much beginning to end. The voice actors have always been good in this series - even in the third installment - and the slip into their roles like slipping into an old shoe. Myers is always amusing as Shrek - even if he isn’t in most of his other roles. Murphy has made Donkey into one of his definitive characters. Diaz is fine, if the least of the three main characters as always. Banderas does his best work of the series as Puss in Boots - who has become fat and lazy. The main new addition is Walt Dorhan as Rumpelstiltskin, who is wonderful doing a Jack Black impression (I was convinced it was Black until I saw the credits).

As with seemingly all animated films these days, Shrek Forever After is in 3-D. The effects are fine, but I’m starting to get a little tired of having to wear the glasses, especially since they don’t really add much to the visual look. The effects here are seamless - which is much better than something like Clash of the Titans where the effects were a distraction - but doesn’t add anything either. If I didn’t get in for free, I’m not sure I would pay extra for the privilege of seeing these effects.

Shrek Forever After is far from groundbreaking, but what it does it does well. The movie is fun pretty much from beginning to end. If you liked Shrek, but like me started to believe that the series had lost all its steam, then I think you’ll enjoy Shrek Forever After. That doesn’t mean I hope there is a fifth installment however. They have advertised this as the final Shrek adventure - and I think it is time to give up while they are ahead.