The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

“It’s been five years since everything was awesome, and the citizens of Bricksburg face a huge new threat: LEGO DUPLO invaders from outer space, wrecking everything faster than they can rebuild. The battle to defeat the invaders and restore harmony to the LEGO universe will take our heroes to a faraway, unexplored world, 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.”

Lego has consistently impressed me over the years with the quality of content they release, from their television shows, video games, and subsequent film releases that have continued their good-natured message with their witty sense of humor. The Lego Movie had all of these in abundance, and after five years I was anxious to see what they had in store for us.

Picking up where the first left off, a new threat is introduced to Bricksburg when Will Ferrell’s character tells his son that since he is letting him play with his Legos, he now must let his sister play as well. This causes all kinds of problems as the city is constantly attacked by alien creatures, which is basically the little girl being the typical annoying sister type and destroying everything she touches. Five years later, the only way to prevent consistent destruction is to live in a vast wasteland that is unappealing and more mature, until several of Emmet’s friends are abducted to attend an intergalactic wedding in the ‘Sistar System’. These parallels to the kids real lives is what makes the film so much fun, colliding several different worlds of Legos: Duplos, the Lego Friends sets, making for some absolutely hilarious sequences.

While the themes of the first film were great for kids, this one goes in a bit of a different direction, trying to teach some more valuable lessons for the age group. Emmet struggles with trying to change to meet the expectations of his friends, while the storyline of the children is all about the relationship between brother and sister which is done wonderfully. Most prominently, it tells us that it’s okay not to fit into a certain type of mold and to be whoever you want to be, as Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi embodies.

The Lego Movie 2 has some great voice acting, with most everyone returning to their main roles, including some newcomers, Tiffany Haddish and Stephanie Beatriz. There are also some hilarious sequences with Superman and Green Lantern, again voiced by Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill. Chris Pratt pulls double duty voicing both Emmet and Rex Dangervest, essentially conversing with himself half of the film, which has some great moments as well.

My only complaint about the film was that it took a little bit of time to get going. I didn’t particularly enjoy the first act all that much until the film established itself as going in a different direction than the first one. Thankfully, once it gets going I started to have a blast with all the sequences, especially the musical numbers that somehow outdo the ‘Everything is Awesome’ song from the first.

Video

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.4:1. The film looks absolutely stunning, with a very large contrast of colors featured throughout the film. The beginning being rather bland, with lots of browns from the wasteland sequence. That quickly changes as we get to the Sistar System and the bright, glittery and vibrant colors take over. The animation itself is one of the most impressive things about the film, with the combination of that stop-motion and real animation look make it look exactly like you’d expect a Lego movie to look. The atmospheric effects they use with bricks are particularly impressive.

Audio

The audio is presented in Dolby Atmos and is the best way they could have complimented the film. Sound levels are well balanced, with lots of stuff going on in the film, your speakers will get a nice workout as ships fly overhead, brick explosions, and atmospheric effects of all kinds. The track is also great, with the original songs getting stuck inside your head long after the credits roll, and are a lot of fun, especially the Gotham City Guys song.

Special Features

Packed full of features, the film also includes the Sing-Along version of the film.

• They Come in Pieces: Assembling THE LEGO MOVIE 2
• Emmet’s Holiday Party: A LEGO Movie Short
• Outtakes and Deleted Scenes
• “Super Cool” (Office Lyric Version)
• Commentary by Director Mike Mitchell, Writers/Producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and Animation Director Trisha Gum
• Promotional Material

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is a lot of fun for kids and adults alike, providing a great sense of nostalgia for those who used to play with Legos as a kid, and heartwarming themes that children can experience while having fun with the film. The first film was hard to top, and this one comes very close.