James Reviews: 'The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part'

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have spent the 2010s becoming a powerhouse duo in Hollywood. From remaking Jump Street, to adapting Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and winning Oscars for their work on Into the Spider-Verse, everything they touch is certified gold. If the folks at Disney/Lucasfilm understood that, Solo might have just made its budget back.

Now they return to the Lego Movie franchise to deliver a proper sequel after the disappointing Ninjago film. It's nice of them to return to scripting after serving as producers for the spinoffs, and the spike in quality is evident as The Second Part is a fun meta sequel that faithfully continues on the original story.

It starts out five years later, the city of "Bricksburg", having suffered numerous Duplo attacks, is now "Apocalypseburg". Described as a gritty, edgier version of its predecessor—an under-the-radar comment on how remakes always try to be darker than the version that came before. Emmet—once again voiced by the lovable goofball that is Chris Pratt—is the only citizen who has not let the surroundings change him. Everyone else is some post-apocalyptic, Mad Max style version of themselves, but Emmet still remains a happy, go-lucky optimist who listens to upbeat pop songs. This clashes with Lucy/Wyldstyle—voiced by Elizabeth Banks—who spends her days brooding and staring out into the horizon. She's bothered by the fact that Emmet hasn't adapted to this new environment, and fears that his brightly coloured new home will invite another alien attack. The dynamic here could be taken as a subtle hint that one needs to mature as they grow up and experience new things. It also cleverly hints that the child who oversees this Lego realm, who is now getting close to a teenager, is also confronting the fact that he will have to stop playing with these toys sooner or later.

However, it's apparent that the kid has developed a more cognitive imagination, as he has created a character called Rex Dangervest. Rex is also voiced by Pratt and is a combination of the actors' most recent blockbuster roles; Star-Lord, Owen Grady, and Josh Faraday (plus a reference to Indiana Jones rumours). Running a ship with a crew of raptors, he helps Emmet across the cosmos to rescue his friends from the "Systar System."

A lot of creativity has clearly gone into the expansion of the Lego universe, with the Systar System changing up the location to a kingdom in space. Extraterrestrial exploration may seem to be all the rage these days, but Lord and Miller write brilliant humour, unique set pieces for action, and even organize a catchy musical number. The seamless blend of scenes make it fun to watch and relatively easy to follow the plot, which is where part of the problem lies.

Nobody's saying this has to be some grand, mind-bending story with confusing linear patterns and subtle metaphors all over the place, it is a child-oriented movie after all. Yet the twist that's being set up could be seen coming from miles away, the buildup to the villains' true intentions and the supposedly shocking reveal feels null since so many puzzle pieces have already been dropped for the audience to put together. What the original got right was having their villain set up from the start, then slowly unravel their plan until the hero is forced to take drastic measures to save the day. Perhaps the reason why the whole "twist villain" doesn't work here is because it's another gimmick that has been used a lot in animated movies of this decade.

Aside from pumping out more spinoffs, there's not really much else for this franchise to offer, but as far as this film goes, that won’t be necessary. Despite its ups and downs, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part manages to successfully continue the main story, while at the same time capping off the franchise on a good note.

Rating: 8/10 - Great