Warner Bros.’ “The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part” is an exciting, fun adventure for all ages. It’s hilarious. It’s emotional. It’s engaging. It’s just straight up fun.
The film capitalized on its format big time, once again using real world problems like losing LEGO pieces under the dryer as major plot points. Just like the first installment, the movie revolves around Emmet Brickowski, voiced by Chris Pratt, and his friend Wyldstyle, voiced by Elizabeth Banks, as they try to save their LEGO world from certain doom. “The Second Part” also sees the return of many characters featured in the original, including Will Ferrell’s President Business, Will Arnett’s Batman and Charlie Day’s Benny, a 1980-something Space Guy. The voice performances from every one of them were phenomenal.
The film is comedy gold, satirizing everything from “Planet of the Apes” to Batman’s long history as a television and film character. The true genius of the film is that it’s not afraid to make fun of itself and acknowledge its own ridiculousness. Some of the best moments occur when things get really silly and the characters turn around and comment on that. At one point, Rex Dangervest, a new character, even goes so far as to say “I told you stuff doesn’t make any sense here.”
The music is once again fantastic, with the two most notable songs entitled “Catchy Song” and “Super Cool.” The former is a bouncy pop beat with the repeating lyrics “This song’s gonna get stuck inside your head,” while the latter is a hilarious song designed to play over the film’s credits. As singer Beck says in “Super Cool:” “The credits of the film are the main attraction,” so don’t even think about leaving your seat until the beautifully-made credits sequence is over and the song about how great the credits are has ended.
Story wise, the movie makes great use of the revelation at the end of the first film that all the LEGO people and the world that they live in are projections of the child who’s playing with them. “The Second Part” takes place a few years after the events of the original and the kid has grown into a young teenager, but the idea is the same. This time, however, instead of the boy’s strict father serving as the villain, it’s his younger sister who’s always trying to destroy what he builds. The story parallels the challenges of growing up as well as the difficulties that a sibling rivalry can cause. The plot from the LEGO characters’ perspective is interesting enough, but when you finally realize what it all means from the live action kids’ perspectives, the film shows its depth on a whole other level.
“The LEGO Movie 2” is a great film. Hilariously funny, deviously clever, heart-wrenchingly emotional and above all silly, it’s a film that everyone should experience. It didn’t quite measure up to the all-around awesomeness of the first one, but it came pretty close. It’s definitely worth the watch.
Keagan Miller is a psychology junior and columnist for The Battalion.