THE LEGO MOVIE 2 REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Prior to its release in 2014, I don't think anyone was expecting The Lego Movie to be as good as it was. I didn't think an animated film based on Lego would work and would only appeal to young children. However, I couldn't have been more wrong and The Lego Movie proved to be a pleasant surprise. It was funny, entertaining and managed to appeal to viewers of all ages, especially those who have played with Lego. It was successful, both with critics and at the box office, leading to two spin-off films, The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie, being released in 2017. While the former proved to be just as good as its predecessor, the latter was a disappointment. Five years after The Lego Movie's release, a much anticipated sequel has been released.

It's been five years since everything was awesome and the citizens are now facing a huge new threat: Lego Duplo invaders from outer space, wrecking everything faster than it can be rebuilt. The battle to defeat the invaders and restore harmony to the Lego universe will take Emmet (Chris Pratt), Lucy (Elizabeth Banks), Batman (Will Arnett) and their friends to faraway, unexplored worlds, including a strange galaxy where everything is a musical. It will test their courage, creativity and Master Building skills, and reveal just how special they really are.

Making a sequel that lives up to people's expectations can be a challenge, fortunately, The Lego Movie 2 is just as entertaining and enjoyable to watch as its predecessor. It expands on the original’s premise and introduces viewers to new worlds and characters, showing that there’s no limit to someone’s imagination. The sequel has also crafted a timely story that is inventive, funny and can be enjoyed by the whole family. The end of The Lego Movie revealed a twist and that the entire film had been based on a young boy, Finn (Jadon Sand) playing with his father's (Ferrell) Lego pieces. It then ended with his younger sister, Bianca (Brooklynn Prince) wanting to play too, leading to the Lego Duplo characters entering the universe. While The Lego Movie was about Finn forming a closer relationship with his father, in the sequel, we see Finn playing with his sister. At first, he's not happy about this, leading to a divide in their relationship. Anyone who has siblings will be able to relate to these scenes as there's a lot of arguing. Because they can't play without fighting, their mother (Maya Rudolph) tells them to pack away the Lego. This leads to a sense of uncertainty for the Lego characters as it seems like it's coming to an end. 

I found the writing to be quite clever and inventive with words. In the beginning, Emmet is troubled by dreams of a pending 'Armamageddon', which references the children's mother. The 'Systar System' sounds a lot like 'Sister System', which indicates Bianca and the world that she has created. 

The Lego Movie 2 picks up straight where its predecessor ending, with Emmet introducing himself to the Lego Duplo characters, unfortunately, things go wrong, with the Duplo characters taking over the world and turning it into a post-apocalyptic wasteland named Apocalypseburg. For the majority of the film, the Duplo characters are perceived as invaders and as the main villains. After Lucy, Batman, Benny (Charlie Day) and Unikitty (Alison Brie) are kidnapped, Emmet goes out on a rescue mission. 

Most sequels suffer from being predictable as they follow the same narrative path, leading to a boring viewing experience and disappointment. This isn't the case for The Lego Movie 2, which continues the story of its predecessor and, instead of repeating the same narrative, the writers, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Matthew Fogel, manage to keep things interesting by introducing viewers to new characters, such as Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi, whose name is a clever play on the words 'Whatever I wanna be', (Tiffany Haddish) and General Sweet Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz). Queen Watevra is a shape-shifting alien who is the ruler of the Systar System whose plan is to marry Batman in order to unite the two universes together. Despite Queen Watevra singing a song about how 'not evil' she is, Lucy isn't convinced and tries to come up with a plan to stop her. Meanwhile, during his rescue mission, Emmet meets Rex Dangervest (Pratt), a self-declared galaxy-defending archaeologist, cowboy and raptor trainer. Considering that Emmet and Rex are both voiced by Pratt, the twist involving Rex's character isn't that much of a surprise. While The Lego Movie 2 isn't unpredictable and it's easy to see most of the twists, it is still entertaining and there isn't a dull moment to be found in its 107 minute runtime.

The Lego Movie is remembered for its catchy song, 'Everything Is Awesome', and its sequel features several more songs, including 'Not Evil', which is sung by Queen Watevra, 'Catchy Song' and 'Everything's Not Awesome', a twist on the original song. This songs add to the overall enjoyment of the film and I can imagine children annoying their parents by singing 'Catchy Song' repeatedly. While 'Everything Is Awesome' is an upbeat and optimistic song, 'Everything's Not Awesome' is more of a slow ballad, sung by the Lego characters who believe all hope is lost. However, while it's not a negative, depressing song, it is actually sung with a sense of hope. It is a more realistic song than 'Everything Is Awesome' which ignores the realities of life. 

The Lego Movie 2 features strong voice casting. Pratt returns as Emmet and Rex, who is an amalgamation of other roles played by Pratt, including Star-Lord from Guardians Of The Galaxy, Owen from Jurassic World and Joshua Faraday from the 2016 remake of The Magnificent Seven. The character of Rex makes for great self deprecating humour. Also returning is Banks as Lucy, Brie as Unikitty, Charlie Day as Benny and Nick Offerman as MetalBeard. While Lucy spends most of her screen time trying to rescue her friends, the latter three don't get as much screen time. New additions include Haddish as Queen Watevra and Beatriz as General Sweet Mayhem.

Lego bricks have been available ever since they were first manufactured in 1949, seventy years ago. Because of the technology that is available now, including iPhones, iPads and so many apps, it's a little hard to believe that Lego bricks are still popular now, however, the release of The Lego Movie and its spin-offs and sequel proves that there will always be an appreciation for Lego. There's a lot of fun to be had with The Lego Movie 2 and, while it lacks the fresh quality of the original, it is still a successful sequel.

7/10